Analysis Of The Golden Cage

The Golden Cage: The Enigma of Anorexia Nervosa by Bruch gives an insight of the development of anorexia nervosa that affects primarily adolescent and preadolescent girls. Bruch, the author of the book, uses case studies to display what factors can lead an individual to anorexia nervosa and its symptoms and treatment. According to the book, anorexia nervosa is a complex disorder that is difficult to understand. Because every experience is unique, it takes the careful examination of the life of a patient to discover the mystery of what caused the disease. The author emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and, at the same time, offers guidance based on case studies to detect the danger signs. The stories in the
Chapter 1, The Hunger Disease, talks about Alma, a formerly sweet, obedient, considerate girl that with the disease became demanding, obstinate, irritable and arrogant. A sweet girl became arrogant in the search for self-acceptance. Being thin gave Alma a sense of pride and power. Individuals with the disease demand a lot from themselves to feel valued, which then affects their psychological health. In like manner, anorexia nervosa affects the life of the family around those with the disease. Alma’s mother talks about how she feels when she sees her daughter hurting herself. She states the disease affected the whole family. They were “living in an atmosphere of constant fear and tension” (Burch, 2001). More evidence suggests that anorexia nervosa is one of the most emotionally destructive illnesses that not only affects the patient but also the entire family when one of its members suffers from the disease (Schwartz, 2011). In special, parents experience guilt since they think they did something wrong that caused their child to have the disease (Schwartz,
They based their worth on what other people said about them instead of what they think they are. I think that this is because of all the advertisement that we have now a day in the television, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more. Social media presents young people an image that is almost impossible to reach. Then, these adolescents are unable to differentiate between the reality and the perceived reality of celebrities. They end up with a negative body image about themselves that leads them to feel unvalued and nor accepted by society. As a result, young people suffer an intense desire to achieve a standard that is impossible to reach (Center for Change,