Anorexia Nervosa by Vaishnavi Ganti

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder where patients have an extreme fear of gaining weight and will go to extreme measures of starvation in order to avoid gaining weight, and this takes a grave toll on the patient's body and can result in severe illness or sometimes death, and this disorder most commonly affects women that are in their adolescent years. On top of having adverse effects on one's physical health this disorder can also pose a challenge to one's emotional and mental health. It can lead to self isolation or depression which can again further trigger the disorder. There is not one specific cause that this eating disorder stems from, and is more commonly a result of genetics, one's family and social influence, a chemical imbalance in the brain, or a combination of these factors. Familial and social influence as well as exposure to the media can play a very critical role in this eating disorder, as these influences can hold the authority to potentially encourage this behavior.

Over time, the media has set a standard of beauty that often considers people with very slim and fit figures to be attractive, and these are the types of bodies that are commonly displayed through the different types of media that we consume, such as movies and shows, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, etc.. The mass consumption of this media has slowly led to higher dissatisfaction in one's own body, and has pushed people to start losing weight in order to meet this standard of beauty. Reportedly, around 44% of adolescent girls believed that they were overweight and 60% of women were actively trying to lose weight. (Eddy et al.) These statistics display a potential toxic mindset that could in turn lead to a path of disordered eating. On top of that, comments encouraging one's weight loss could also further trigger one to keep up certain habits. Anorexia can pose various different challenges and has an approximate 62.8 % recovery rate. (John Hopkins Medicine) Rehabilitation Centers are one method for helping patients recover, as it can provide an environment where medical aid is provided and can be a place where patients are guided through the recovery process. Psychodynamic therapy can also prove to be beneficial as it can help patients talk out and work through such struggles.

Works Cited:

Eddy, Kamryn T., et al. “Recovery from Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa at

22-Year Follow-Up.” The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, vol. 78, no. 02, 20 Dec. 2016, pp. 184–189, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7883487/, https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.15m10393

Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Anorexia Nervosa.” Www.hopkinsmedicine.org, 31 Jan. 2023, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/eating-disorders/anorexia-n ervosa#:~:text=Anorexia%20nervosa%20is%20an%20eating.