Anorexia: A Problem We All Face Essay, Research Paper

The World Book Encyclopedia defines anorexia as, “one who avoids food for psychological reasons”. Most “experts” believe that those who suffer from anorexia are starving themselves to avoid growing into adults. It is also common knowledge among these experts that anorexics “want to gain attention and a sense of being special”. People say that anorexia doesn’t stop at affecting the victim at hand; instead, it surpasses the anorexic. Which means that anorexia affects the personality of the person; that it branches off to affect other parts of that anorexics life. Body image obsession, self-devotion, attention grabbing, selfishness, are all attributes which keenly describe anorexia in the eyes of the media and most hospital institutions. It is that view point which affect modern societies view eating disorders, and anorexia in particular. Examples can be found in the recent attention paid towards anorexia, most of this well deserved attention, however, is not positive. Sketches on television viewed by the programming of such shows as Saturday Night Live, poke fun at anorexics by making them into exactly what the media prefers them to be, and shows that all the attributes are true. Others like radio legend Howard Stern has games like Guess The Bulimic. It is things like these that make it very difficult for one suffering from an eating disorder to come out and seek help in fear of being hurt. Imagine, if you will, being in lonely, miserable cell. You have the ability to leave at anytime, and there at the door are your family and friends, encouraging you to escape. However, there is a drill bit in your back and every time you try to move, it pushes into your back. You’re restrained, restricted from freedom. That is a sketchy portrayal of the eternal pain the anorexic mind suffers from. It’s hardly a child trying to get attention, much less a child making a dangerous attempt to gain social acceptance. Those who treat anorexia in modern medical practice try, not to cure the eating disorder, but rather to go straight to the root of a deeper psychological problem. The number of misinformed “professionals” in the medical world is staggering. This can only be shown by the education they receive while in college. The information on eating disorders is vast, but woefully understudied by qualified persons. Few in the medical community have a meaningful connection with anorexia or the family of eating disorders it belongs to. The education of the general public is crucial to the development of medical treatment. If the public cares about something, the problem will get resolved in time. Like my father says, “If the moon were made of gold, or some other valuable material, we would have colonies there already.” This is very true in today?s medical industry, if something is profitable or appealing to the public or a private investor, then there will be progress. The media does not promote the healing of anorexics in anyway, and we have too few private investors to support the fight against this escalating problem. The methods employed by American hospitals today to cure anorexia are equivalent to treating AIDS with cough drops. Neither will do anything to cure the disease or the person. There is no advanced knowledge of anorexia, and the treatment is treating nothing other then the sense that disease controls the person, and not the other way around. Because current medical and hospital treatment is terribly outdated and torturous to the victims of anorexia, the medical community needs to revolutionize not only the treatment of its victims, but also the education of the general public.

The diagnostic criteria for anorexia by the official DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) is “…refusal to maintain body weight?? Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat even if underweight.” The DSM IV also specifies two types, the Restricting type and the Binge eating/purging (self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas.) type. The

Restrictive type “has not regularly engaged in binge eating or purging behavior.” The Binge eating/purging type “the person has regularly engaged in binge eating or purging behavior. Although the second type is close to Bulimia, it is a much more rare occurrence that the Anorexic Binge eating/purging type will be involved in that practice. Most people in this world do not even know what anorexia is, and it is generally accepted that those who have it starve themselves in order to achieve a perfect body. It is also stereotyped that those who are anorexic are selfish, greedy, vain, and obsessed with looking good. All those listed and well-known stereotypical views of an anorexic are such a far cry from the truth. It is quite discouraging to think that many common people acknowledge these as facts.

Anorexia is a very deep, private and emotional coping mechanism, which totally engulfs its victim into a world that is almost impossible to enter. Usually an anorexic will lose 15% of their former body weight in a very short period of time, and at some peaks can be as low as 60% of the expected weight for their age and height. Anorexia often mischievously entraps some people you would least suspect. An anorexic friend of mine is about 5′ 5″ tall, and weights about 70 pounds, she is not at all the image that most people have of an anorexic. She is stunningly beautiful, has a wit and intelligence that is difficult to match let alone surpass. She is also very energetic, playful, helpful and one of the best friends a person could possibly hope to have. She is a joy to be around. When you get to know her, when you really get to know who she is, she permits you to get a glimpse of what she really feels like, what she has to live with everyday of her life. She is sixteen, and has been anorexic for the past 5 years of her life, and has been hospitalized just as many times. The past 5 years have had their ups and downs, but anorexia has always been a part of them. I think if not for her loving and endlessly devoted father and brothers, I would have never met her, because she would never have lived that long. Even today, she tries, she tries so very hard to escape from her cell. If it were only possible for you to hear her voice, the sadness when she cries of how much she wants to let go of anorexia, to forever forget the pain it has caused her, it would make even the strongest man in the world weep. It is not from pity that one would sob, but rather from knowingly not being able to do anything about what has encased her soul. She is quite possibly the most mentally strong person I have ever met. There are approximately eight million people out there like her, who suffer from this disease, which cannot be cured with a magic wand or medication. It is this friend I talk about that represents a growing number of people who suffer, yet are frustratingly helpless.

Anorexia is not a new disorder; it can be traced back as far as the 13th century. It was seen quite often with religious women who were actually canonized as being saints for their fasting practices. (DATA FROM BELL, 1985, DAVIS &BELL, 1985, ZERBE, 1995) These women were often referred to as “holy anorexics”. The cultures that contained these young women valued spiritual health, fasting, and self-denial. Holy anorexia made those women highly valued in status in both church and society. When the definition of holiness was altered with the changing values in the world, so eventually was the incidence of holy anorexia. It was not until the late 20th century that anorexia rapidly claimed more people. In the late 1800’s, women who were a little bit pudgy were considered to be of fine stock, because they did not have to work. They were considered the wealthiest. As a result, they were fed well and delicately. Women also covered most of their bodies with skirts lower than the ankle. This changed in the early 1900’s when fashion styles changed and skirts instead became a little bit higher. Legs were being shown off, and the stress on thinness became more and more common. As time developed women were forced to become thinner and thinner, and skirts got higher and higher. Thinness was key to success until the time of Marilyn Monroe, who possessed a somewhat voluptuous figure. This gave young and older women alike a breath of fresh air. They no longer had to be that thin. This dramatically changed as the years rolled by, and finally the famous model “Twiggy” came onto the fashion scene. Her impossibly small waistline and incredibly thin body shocked the country. Everywhere girls across the country tried to immitate this model and things like purging and self-starvation started to run rampant. The 1980’s saw the social epidemic of anorexia, and since then it has multiplied to the point in 1999 when we have over eight million people with eating disorders, 5% of whom are men. That is close to 2% of the population, eradication of that much of the population seems like a huge problem and in fact, that is what is happening. There are more people with anorexia then there are with AIDS. Even in China, a county of catastrophic famines, “where a little extra padding was considered as a sign of good health,” we now see startlingly high numbers of anorexics and bulimics, and the numbers are going straight up.

The causes of anorexia are can go many different ways, “Multifaceted physical and mental health problems and their development usually have a number of different contributing and perpetuating factors,” as stated by organizations around the world dedicated to eating disorders. These factors could be any, or a combination of physical, emotional or sexual trauma, cultural emphasis or preoccupation with body image ideals, peer influences, loss and grief, starvation, brain chemistry, purging behaviors, physiological effects of dieting, relationships, stress, coping styles. It is this list that is generally understood universally as the possible causes of all eating disorders, and they apply directly to anorexia. Society plays a role without a doubt, constant pressures surrounding every young person today is unbearable to many, and to consistent push for knowledge, social acceptance, success, behavior modification, popularity, athletics and creativity make this time exciting as well as extremely difficult to live in. Out of all eating disorders, anorexia is the most terminal with as much as 20% dying. A young woman with anorexia is 12 times more likely to die than other women her age without anorexia. Canadian children in grade three and four say they’d rather lose a parent, get cancer, or live through nuclear war than be fat. The causes are many, and the solutions almost the exact opposite.

The anorexic mind set involves many key factors. The inability to perceive oneself as equal or better than anything close to human, always subhuman. Although this is not always true, in most cases it is. The anorexic suffers in such a way that makes them believe that they are not worthy of anything or anyone. Some feel they are a burden to society and that they are the root of problems of those surrounding them. Vanity is a very small factor in the life of an anorexic. Some even try to make themselves look bad, such as dressing inappropriately or applying too much make up or none at all, to avoid uncomfortable confrontations with others. Eating in public is also a threatening and scary event for any anorexic. You could even say that this is a form of anxiety disorder, where the person is unable to accept the judgement of those around them. An anorexic also at times is not able to cope with a situation in a “logical” manner; often arguments about food can take place between parents and the sufferer. Dinner tables can become battlegrounds, and emotional struggle is always evident. To understand anorexia you must understand the person falling under its spell, it is not the fault of the person that they act that way, but the anorexia taking place of all the persons functioning. Strict daily schedules are commonly made.

The “negative-mind,” a phrase coined by Peggy Claude-Pierre, is a term used to describe the anorexic mind, fighting against the “actual mind,” what the person is actually thinking and wants. The negative mind can become so powerful that the actual mind is minute in comparison. The person becomes totally under control of the negative mind. This can also be called Confirmed Negativity Condition, also a phrase coined by Mrs. Claude-Pierre. Self-hatred and other such things characterize CNC. Self-degradation and self-hurtful behavior are some things the negative mind influences. This is one theory for why the anorexic is reluctant and privately keeps from telling others about what they are going through. Anorexics also tend to be perfectionists, although not always, this is also a stereotype. It is the need for order in their lives that drive perfectionism. Depression also results from anorexia with the lack of social activity and self-imposed exclusion of friends and family. By doing that an anorexic can create a safe, non-judgmental island for them alone. Anorexics appear depressed and detached from everything and everyone around them. While that is true in most cases, some also seem to be very socially involved, popular, happy, smart, well off and “all together,” but still they live in a private world of torment and anguish, which is not at all pleasant. I believe that the anorexic is the epitome of a caring, strong willed individual, but the inability for the anorexic to resist acceptance of responsibility for certain issues, turns these admirable characteristics into a near death illness.

The anorexic may have had more responsibility when they were too young for it, such as taking care of a parent, or essentially being the parent. Taking on the parent role as the support for their family, this develops tragically later in life, usually when they realize they cannot fix the worlds problems, and take it upon themselves to hold the blame. Often not believing they deserve to live, or that they should die because they failed. This is believed to be another of the many possible causes for anorexia.

For an the anorexic it is very difficult to explain to others what they are going through, and when they do try to get treatment they are often told lies, hurtful lies. Countless times the doctor finds something to blame, may it be that the child is selfish, eager for attention, or that their parents are to blame in ways of abuse, sexual or otherwise, or bad parenting. But those problems are the minority of causes, yet psychologists still use these theories to understand the anorexic. Anorexia is not something that you can learn about from a book, or from a friend or from stories, to truly understand it, you must live it. The closest thing you can come to it without actually having it, is being compassionate to the victim, at least try to help them. Many doctors are crude, rude, mean and just plain jerks to some people who suffer from anorexia. It is the hurtful and degrading media images flooding our lives that influence some if not much of this. Marianne Apostolides best puts it in the book Inner Hunger. She describes her entire experience of anorexia to bulimia, from the beginnings to the final recovery. It is a horrifying and heartbreaking portrayal of what goes on “behind the scenes,” in the life of an anorexic. She explains the day to day struggles, the multiple unsuccessful attempts at recovery because either the treatment was not putting her needs first or because the treatment was too uncomfortable.

Hospitalization techniques must be modified by creating more personalized treatment. A clinic, which represents this kind of treatment, is the Montreax Clinic. It was opened in 1988 by Peggy Claude-Pierre author of highly revered book The Secret Language of Eating Disorders. In 1988 it began its outpatient practice specializing in eating disorders. The Montreax Clinic started its residential inpatient program in 1993. Mrs. Claude-Pierre has developed methods, which are friendly and powerful. She has had personal experience with her two formerly anorexic daughters and has helped both of them, one after another to recover.

She found that there are five stages to recovery, she refers to it as the Montreax Life Wellness Scale. In has all the stages she listed and described what has been the most successful approach to eating disorders to date. The first, the Acute Stage is Infancy, this is the stage of total dependency. The second, the Emergent Stage, is equivalent to the development of a young child. It is one of investigativeness and limit testing. The third stage, The Reality Stage, is the adolescent phase of treatment. It is a time when the pendulum swings from dependency to a false courage and the new identity begins to coalesce. During this stage, the patient moves into partial care. The fourth, the Interactive Stage, is equivalent to young adulthood, the beginning of maturity and objectivity. It is a time of moderation. She becomes an outpatient. In the fifth and final stage, the Environmental Integration Stage, the patient returns to her home environment but makes three to four assessment return trips within twelve months and has a five-year follow-up. These assessments determine the patient’s ability to reintegrate and adapt to adult life. Using this method has been found to be extremely successful and unique. Recently though the Montreax Clinic has come under fire and, had its licensed revoked. It was said that the clinic practiced force feeding methods, variations of abuse and “unorthodox” treatment to its patients. The witnesses to the alleged faults in the Clinic were null. There were 5 out of 400 former employees who had complaints, not one former patient or parent had anything negative to say at all about the clinic. Despite efforts by those connected with the clinic in one way or another, the investigative team still closed the clinic. The results of a further inquiry are inconclusive as of now. Peggy Claude-Pierre?s method has been found to be the most supportive, helpful and successful method ever implemented and the patients usually come back to do service for the clinic because they are so happy from their recovery process, they wish to spread the joy.

Careful and gentle strides must be taken in order to get this rising disorder out into the public in a positive and well-articulated manner. Anorexia and all eating disorders alike may be something that will never be cured, but we have to start somewhere, and we must start now. I saw once in a movie that it?s better to end a paper with a quote that you feel sums up everything you are trying to say, I feel this one says it best. “More are killed by word of mouth than by the sword.”

- Leonardo Da Vinci

Bibliography

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