Anorexia Nervosa Essay -- Disease/Disorders

Anorexia Nervosa Anorexia Nervosa, AN, is an eating disorder that affects mostly females in their teenage years. The number of people that suffer from this disorder has increase in the recent decades making it a disorder that causes more deaths compare to any other psychological disorder. AN can have an effect on someone’s social life as well as physically and psychologically. It’s a disorder that can be treated with proper treatment, but identifying the symptoms is the first step. According to the present clinical literature, anorexia nervosa entails refusal to uphold health weight range as well as body image distortion. The most common symptoms of AN that can be identified include fear of gaining weight or/and becoming fat; refusing to maintain a healthy weight according to the height and age; failing to make anticipated weight growths at times of physical development and growth; loss of the menstrual cycle in females. (DSM –IV-TR,2000). Anorexia nervosa is portrayed by relentless hunt of thinness, emaciation, deep fear of gaining weight and distortion of body image. People with anorexia initially start dieting in order to lose weight which over time, the weight loss develops into a sign of control and mastery. The force to become slim is in reality secondary to concerns regarding control or/and fears involving one’s body. An individual carries on the cycle of limited eating, frequently accompanied by behaviors like overuse of diet pills, excessive exercising and laxatives to achieve weight loss. Eventually the body is driven to a point near starvation. There is obviously a strong connection between body image and eating disorders. With the media constantly feeding the idea of what the perfect body should be ... ... References American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. Birmingham, C. L., & Treasure, J. (2010). Medical management of eating disorders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Boyd, M. (2005). Psychiatric nursing: Contemporary practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. DeAngelis, T. (2002). Promising treatments for anorexia and bulimia. Monitor on Psychology, 33, 38. Dziegielewski, S. F. (2010). DSM-IV-TR in action. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Gay, K. (2003). Eating Disorders- Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers Inc. Lock, J. (2001). Treatment manual for anorexia nervosa: A family-based approach. New York: Guilford Press. http://www.medicinenet.com/anorexia_nervosa/article.htm â€Æ'