ANOREXIA NERVOSA 1

Anorexia Nervosa
Cade Blessen
Northern Oklahoma College


















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Abstract
Anorexia Nervosa is a medical condition where one does not eat enough or at all and
becomes extremely skinny. It is an eating disorder that mostly happens to women
but can also happen to men. Many people who suffer with this disorder also suffer
from depression. People with this eating disorder normally have a distorted view of
their own body and have a chronic fear of weight gain. I know first hand the
seriousness of anorexia. My best friend who was a girl in sixth grade was diagnosed
with anorexia nervosa. When she would come to my house my parents would have
to watch her eat and report what she had to her parents when we would take her
home. I was always supportive and loving through the entire process that took
about three years of therapy. My hope is that everyone will understand the severity
of this disorder and how we can fight against it from happening to the children of
tomorrow.










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Anorexia Nervosa
Everyone wants to look like the super models and famous actors
and actresses on T.V., but not everyone can handle what they really look like. Many
people turn to alternative methods to in their mind make themselves look better.
Anorexia nervosa is one of the ways people cope with who they are. Anorexia is an
eating disorder where one has inappropriate eating habits such as not eating
enough food. The people who are diagnosed with anorexia tend to have an irrational
fear of weight gain, as well as a distorted body self-perception. Many people with
anorexia have an obsession with having a thin figure. Women are nine times more
likely to be diagnosed with anorexia then men. I think this is because of what the
media has decided what an attractive woman looks like.
Anorexia has been around sense the beginning of man, but was not
recognized as a medical condition until the late 19
th
century. Anorexia was only
really only known by the medical community until 1983 with the death of popular
singer Karen Carpenter. After her death the media started a widespread coverage of
eating disorders including anorexia. Almost 50% of people diagnosed with anorexia
also suffer from depression. There are over 23 million people diagnosed with
anorexia and anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
I believe that the media plays a huge part in the growing rate of
anorexic patients. Many of todays magazines have ways to diet and loose weight
quick pills and things of this nature. Almost every famous person you see on T.V. is
skinny. We have decided that the only women that are attractive have to be stick
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figures with big boobs and butt. I feel like this has put a lot of pressure on the young
people of the world. I know this effects girls even as young as eleven years old.
When I was in the fifth grade my best friend was a girl who loved to
play sports and she was a little on the heavy side. She would get made fun of a lot at
school and I remember more than once that I had to comfort her as we walked home
from school. I would always stand up for her when I was around and I was sent to
the principles office more then once for punching a boy that made fun of her. Over
the summer we both had camps and did not get to hang out at all. The fallowing year
on the first day of school I saw her and she looked drastically different. She was very
skinny and all the boys noticed her. Throughout the year we had lunch together
everyday, and she never would eat. At first I did not think anything of it, but after a
few weeks I asked her about it and she would tell me different things like she had a
big breakfast of she forgot her lunch in her locker. Over Christmas break we went on
a church retreat and as her and I were walking and doing out devotional together
she told me that she was anorexic. I knew what it meant but I did not fully
understand the severity of the word. I thought that it meant she did not eat much
because she did not want to be fat anymore. I had no idea it meant that he mind
would physically not let her eat to the point that it could kill her. When she would
come to my house either after school or on the weekend my parents would have to
watch her eat and report back to her parents what all she had that day. Over the
next three years she was in and out of therapy. It was a long and hard road that she
had to face but she overcame her disorder and is doing great. We are still close
friends but she is married now so I do not get to see her as much.
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My hope is that people will come to know the truth about anorexia
and how serious it really is. I hope that young girls like my friend do not have to go
through everything that she did. She was one of the lucky ones who had a loving
family and good friends who stayed by her and helped her through that difficult
time. Not everyone is so fortunate.


















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References
ANAD. (n.d.). Eating Disorders Statistics National Association of Anorexia Nervosa
and Associated Disorders. Retrieved April 3, 2014, from
http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating
disorders-statistics/?gclid=CLq047GDhr4CFUcV7AodrlUAfw

Brown, T. A., M.S., Keel, P. K., PhD., & Striegel, R. H., PhD. (2012). Feeding and eating
conditions not elsewhere classified (NEC) in DSM-5. Psychiatric Annals,
42(11), 421-425. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3928/00485713-20121105-08

Fitzpatrick, K. (2011, April 11). Anorexia Nervosa. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from
http://ud4cl8nx8h.search.serialssolutions.com