Preview

Dying to Be Thin

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
907 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dying to Be Thin
Dying To Be Thin: Anorexia Nervosa The individual may not recognize that her weight loss or not eating at all is a problem. Anorexics may be afraid of losing control over the amount of food they eat; thus, they want to control their emotions, and reactions to their emotions. Stacy was a beautiful 16-year-old girl. At that age everyone adored her: her friends, her teachers, her parents, etc. She was on the honor roll in school. She was very athletic, being on the track team, soccer team, and the girls’ baseball team. She was also musically talented; she was on the choir and played the piano. Towards the middle of our sophomore year in high school, her friends began to notice that she was losing a lot of weight. Thinking that she was on a diet, they complimented her on her weight loss. Then they noticed that she was not only getting thin, but acting differently too. She stopped hanging out with them, because she wanted to be more by herself now. Stacy became even thinner and paler .She began to look quite sick. Her mother immediately made an appointment with the family doctor. However, it was not easy to persuade Stacy to go see the doctor. She did not believe anything was wrong with her. In fact, she was so happy with her weight loss that she planned to go on dieting. People like Stacy living with the illness often have a low self-esteem and a great need to control their surroundings and emotions. Usually, the Eating Disorder is a unique result of a group of external and internal conflicts, such as stress, anxiety, and unhappiness. Anorexia is a negative way to cope with these emotions. Anorexia Nervosa is a disorder, which is concerned with dieting, and thinness that leads to an extreme weight loss. Anorexics have an intense fear of fat, and their concern with food and weight often hides other basic mental problems. In fact, the thing that causes the mind to miss think in this way is completely unknown; there may be many reasons. Some doctors believe that the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where a person tries to keep their weight as low as possible- it is also classes as a serious mental health condition. It usually develops from anxiety about body weight and shape, and often a person has a desire to be thin or a fear of being overweight. Often people with anorexia will exercise a lot/too much, stick to an extreme diet where they don’t eat much and make themselves vomit. It commonly affects females and usually develops around the age of 16 or 17.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stick Figure Book Report

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Her parents become worried and send her to doctors. The thought of becoming anorexic is put in many young aged people because of the idea to be skinny. Anorexia is a physical and a mental condition. It’s when one thinks they need to be skinny and hurt themselves physically.…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Dyig to Be Thin

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages

    When watching the video, I realized that anorexics don’t want to eat. They don’t feel hungry; they don’t think that they are destroying themselves. When they look at themselves, they see themselves as fat and overweight. To try and fit the image of what they think they should look like becomes an obsession. This eventually leads the large percentages of weight loss. Most anorexics, it seems, ideal body weight was 15 to 20 percent below their recommended body weight (according to their age and height).…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “An estimated 8 million Americans have eating disorders.” Anorexia nervosa (anorexia) is a serious eating disorder that causes people to often drop “below 85 percent” of their body weight (Graves, “Chapter One”). Anorexia is about perception, what victims see in the mirror is someone who is “fat”. Anorexia can cause serious health problems; although, it can be cured. To understand the terrible disease anorexia one must understand what causes it, the effects it has on the mind, and the effects it has on the body.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that is commonly associated with young women. Most people would never assume that anorexia would be a problem for men, but recently, eating disorders in men have become an increasing problem. "As recently as a decade ago, clinicians believed that only 5 percent of anorexics were male. Current estimates suggest it 's closer to 20 percent and rising fast"(Penn, Nathaniel). Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by immoderate food restriction and irrational fear of gaining weight. The part of the brain that concerns those that suffer from anorexia is…

    • 2666 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mental Illness Paper

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The term "anorexia" literally means absence of appetite. Anorexia can be associated with medical conditions or medications that cause a loss of appetite. Anorexia nervosa, however, involves a psychological aversion to food that leads to a state of starvation and emaciation. In anorexia nervosa, at least 15% to as much as 60% of normal body weight is lost. ("The New York Times", 2012). The patient with anorexia nervosa has an intense fear of gaining weight, even when severely underweight. Individuals with anorexia nervosa have a distorted image of their own weight or shape and deny the serious health consequences of their low weight.…

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Body Image & The Media

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are many different types of eating disorders. One is Anorexia Nervosa, a body image disorder which is “characterized by an individual's perceptions” (Ballaro) as overweight. This causes intense shame, anxiety, and depression. It turns into self destructive behaviors such as self-starvation or obsessive exercise, and occurs mostly in women.…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dying to Be Thin

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the documentary, Dying to be Thin, dancers and regular people are asked about the pressure to be thin. This video has taught me that in our society being extremely skinny is considered beautiful. Not everyone is meant to be a size 2. It all depends on what your body type is. Everyone is beautiful no matter what size they wear. The word beautiful does not require the word skinny.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anorexia In America Essay

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As I said before, anorexia is a triggered mental illness.This eating disorder has various contributing factors. One of the factors is being unhappy with your body. If you're dissatisfied with your body, then you will most likely attempt to change it. Aspiring to change your body leads us to the next factor which is dieting, failing, and then dieting again. It’s a cycle that goes on and on, for a very long period of time. Other factors that can trigger anorexia include reading a teen fashion magazine, being chubby as a child, and the desire to look like a model. As you can see anorexia isn’t triggered by only one single factor, it’s triggered by multiple ones. Recently a scientific study was made and came to the conclusion that 1 in 200 women in America struggle with anorexia. The study also found out that 10-15% of people that struggle with anorexia are males. As you can…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Eating disorders- Anorexia nervosa is a serious mental health condition. It is an eating disorder in which sufferers keep their body weight as low as possible. People with anorexia usually do this by restricting the amount of food they eat, making themselves vomit and exercising excessively.…

    • 1360 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Eating Disorders

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Anorexia nervosa is found mostly in teenaged females. Individuals have an obsession to keep a certain body weight. “Sometimes it may start off as dieting, but it easily gets out of control” (WebMD.com, 2011). The individual may have a fear of extreme weight gain, being considered fat, or judgment on their body image. Many who suffer from anorexia lose their menstrual cycle, gain fuzzy hair, and have irregular body temperatures. Since the individual is not eating and most likely exercising to keep the “ideal image”, their body may suffer from dehydration, osteoporosis, electrolyte imbalances, kidney damage, heart problems, or even death. Emotional support, dietitian, and a counselor can treat anorexia. If the weight drop is too severe, hospitalization may become necessary. Early recognition of anorexia is the best way to recovery for a suffering patient (WebMD.com, 2011).…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eating Dissorders

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Anorexia is an intense fear of getting fat, even if underweight. Some of the symptoms of anorexia are frequently complaining of being cold, eating only certain foods, suddenly becoming a vegetarian, insisting on preparing one’s own food, or all together avoiding food. This is the cause of malnutrition.Their bodies are also experiencing a chemical disturbance. They may develop facial and body hair, suddenly behave differently, have a hard time making decisions and/or think irrationally. Often they are hospitalized due to dehydration, malnutrition, or kidney and heart problems. Anorexia is the most common mental-health condition.…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Eating Disorders

    • 2036 Words
    • 6 Pages

    There are a few different types of Eating Disorders. They range from starving oneself to overindulging to the point of extreme pain. Anorexia nervosa is when a person would rather starve although they are hungry. People diagnosed with Anorexia have a “severe weight loss-a minimum of 15% below normal body weight” (Wexler 6). Many anorexics create certain eating habits fit for their personal liking. According to Wexler they, “refuse to eat with other people, and exercise strenuously to burn calories and prevent weight gain” (Wexler 6). Sufferers believe themselves to be fat, even though they are underweight. Anorexia usually starts when someone who may have a little extra meat to their appearance or even has a normal weight begins dieting for weight loss. Once preferred weight is reached they “redouble their efforts to lose more weight, and dieting becomes an obsession that may eclipse other interests” (Wexler 7).…

    • 2036 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Among various kinds of side effects of excessive dieting, some people are suffering from anorexia. Nicole Richie is one of the victims of anorexia and many doctors are warning that she is at risk of ruining her health. She still says, though, she is in good shape. Is she really healthy? How can she recover from anorexia? Several questions like these can be raised from observing her experience. The three following articles from each of a web page, a book and a journal will answer to these questions by providing how anorexia affects people¡¯s body and which ways are used when treating anorexia.…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    ANOREXIA

    • 842 Words
    • 3 Pages

    About 10-15% of girls afflicted with anorexia will die as a result of Anorexia Nervosa (Robbins 31). Anorexia nervosa is a potentially life-threatening eating disorder. A person with anorexia nervosa, often just called "anorexia," although the meaning is different, has an unclear body image and an exaggerated fear of becoming overweight or obese, so an intentional effort is made to lose weight (“What is anorexia”). The difference between the two terms is the seriousness, anorexia simply means a loss in appetite, and anorexia nervosa indicates a serious mental illness. Anorexia nervosa affects an increasingly large number of people, especially young women in today’s society.…

    • 842 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays