Anorexia Nervosa -- Approach needs teamwork.
www.thefreelibrary.com/Anorexia+nervosa--approach+needs+teamwork.-a0158959534
Author: Geers, Monica Publication:Subconsciously Speaking Date: May 1,
2006 Words: 1718
Anorexia Nervosa is one of the two common eating disorders of adolescence, the
other is bulimia nervosa. Anorexia is a life threatening behavioral process in
which the individual holds a false image of self as being too big, no matter how
small. The majority of anorexics are female. Self imposed dietary restrictions,
which are sometimes augmented with intense workouts, can result in slow death
through starvation or sudden death through heart attack due to electrolyte
imbalances resulting from lack of proper nutrition. Taken to its extreme,
anorexics look like death camp inhabitants when they die. Medical supervision is
critical as there is a real threat of death. Hospitalization and force feeding
only treat the symptoms, comprehensive care requires interdisciplinary teamwork.
Physically, this "disease" of adolescence occurs as everything is getting
bigger. The individual is actively transiting the changes of puberty and sexual
organs are growing to their adult proportions. Psychosexually, the child is
leaving a latent stage and entering the adult world of sexuality. Growing adult
appetites and desires create changes in the individual, and in the family
relations. Ideally, parents and children adapt and accommodate through mutual
respect, but a maturing young woman may get the message that she is "taking up
too much room" when she asks for what she wants and needs, particularly if those
longings are in contrast to the value systems of her family. A young person may
find that the morals and values of her family do not support her unique
expression of self, while external messages of what it means to be young, cool,
and beautiful also urge her to be something different from what she innately is.
The inability to discern what is realistic from the impossible or unhealthy
results in confusion, even self hatred. In an environment that fails to support
the full development of a grown woman, anorexics can prevent or reverse the
development of hips and breasts, and even stop the menstrual cycle. It may be
that the only thing over which an anorexic an•o•rex•ic feels she has any sense
of control is her capacity to shut down her appetites.
Psychosocially, anorexia appears to emerge at the time of identity formation.
Clashes in values between generations and cultures emerge as the child passes
through the questions of identity, "Who am I? What do I want to do with my life?
What is expected of me by my family, my friends, my culture?" An intelligent
young woman has noticed that she can be what ever she wants, a blonde, redhead,
or brunette, but her chances of becoming the president of the United States are
less than that of her male peers. A woman is rarely going to earn as much as her
male peers, and will be disproportionately responsible for the family, child,
elder and sick care without pay. A patriarchal woman is often more valued for
her looks and reproductive capacity than for her other creative, unique
abilities. In Marilyn Monroe's world, beauty meant weighing between 145 and 165
pounds and wearing between a size 12 and 16. Today, the average model wears a
size 4 or smaller. The internalization of an impossible beauty standard feeds
beauty industry profits, while promoting a no win situation for the target of
beauty consumers who cannot live up to impossible or unrealistic externally
imposed ideals. Be aware that anorexia demonstrates an individual's tremendous
capacity for self discipline and deferred gratification, qualities and values
used by all successful people to achieve their goals. These capacities can be
reframed and harnessed to serve the individual in more healthful ways.
There are many mixed messages young women are exposed to growing up in consumer
society with a patriarchal bias. When a woman asks for what she really wants,
that can be really big. A girl may be struggling with fear of adult
responsibilities, and seek to reject her emerging sexuality. Mass media urges
young women to spend money, but the modern beauty standard requires the average
girl to deny herself basic sustenance. The average, healthy adolescent cannot
meet the unrealistic beauty myth of modern Western culture without severely
restricting her diet, use of laxatives, and the binging/purging cycle known as
bulimia nervosa. Be sure to ask about your client's dental health, the purging
of bulimia can destroy tooth enamel. Continue to Page 2
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