Anorexia Nervosa Essay -- essays research papers

Anorexia Nervosa A lot of people including men not just women often dream about having the perfect body. Some may work hard for it and others may think they cannot achieve that dream. In our society, we seem to make body image appear to be almost one of the most important things. Young girls less then thirteen years of age can start to see themselves as being "fat" even if they are thin. In fashion magazines for instance, you will hardly ever see pictures of overweight or slightly overweight people. They are filled with runway models who are so skinny it looks as if they are sick with a disease or are cracked out on drugs. How can people think that looking that way is attractive? It's so disgustingly gross to see models like that when they look emaciated at times. They call themselves "models." Who would want to model themselves after someone who looked like that? Although, it is sad to say that some people actually go as far as starving themselves to look like what they thin k is perfect. Anorexia nervosa is an illness that most commonly happens with teenage girls. At times even teenage boys and adults can struggle with anorexia. Anorexia causes people to be obsessed with food and being thin. Often at times, people with anorexia have emotional problems and use food and weight to try to deal with their problems with a sense of control. "Ninety percent of all anorexics are women" (The National Women's Health Information Center Pg. 1 of 4). There is no exact cause of anorexia. For some, they feel that they are not happy and think that being thin Butler 2 would make them a lot happier and successful. Anorexia can sometimes come from problems in relationships or bad experiences from early childhood. People with anorexia are perfectionists. They need everything to be perfect in their lives and if not, then they blame themselves if their lives are not perfect. Along with having anorexia, there are many problems caused b... ...ients. There are also support groups that anorexics go to so they can discuss their fears and help each other recover from their illness. People with anorexia need full on support from their friends and family as well. Friends and family need to show love for the person with the illness. A lot of times, people with anorexia will beg and lie so they don't have to eat. They feel if they will give up the control they have from gaining weight. Friends and family need to be strong when dealing with a person who is suffering from anorexia. They cannot let the person talk them into believing there is nothing wrong or let the person convince them that they don't need to eat for the time being. Family and friends need to be there for that person and shouldn't get angry at them. Being anorexic is an illness and needs professional help because it cannot be controlled by willpower. Word count: 917