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Mental Illness Paper

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Mental Illness Paper
HCA/240 Health and Diseases
July 24, 2011

“Nervous loss of appetite” is what anorexia nervosa means, and based upon certain misunderstandings, this meaning hasn’t been necessarily good. Most people assume that individuals who are suffering from anorexia nervosa have just made a solid decision that they are no longer going to eat, when in reality, those who are suffering from this mental illness do not at all have a lack of appetite. Being mentally frightened of gaining weight is the main concept of anorexia nervosa. The word “weightfobia” could be used as a better expression for anorexia nervosa. According to Web4Health (2008), “In 1684, anorexia nervosa was described for the first time, but it was not until 1870 that it became identified and described with its own diagnosis.” By then, behavioral scientists and psychologists had a full understanding on anorexia nervosa, but it wasn’t until the 1970s when America began to broadcast the world about this mental illness. 1974 was the year when stories were reported about how young women began to refuse to eat anything, but nobody would go into full detail on how serious the illness was. In 1978, a psychologist named Hilde Bruch wrote a book which was based upon 70 actual cases of young women’s testimonies that related to anorexia nervosa; the book was called, “The Golden Cages.” With the new book is process, Hilde Bruch was able to confirm that this mental illness was becoming more frequent in young women that attended colleges and universities. Another related study based off clinical research also confirmed that anorexia nervosa is a mental illness that is related to the society and culture that we live in today. There are so many myths and misconceptions that relate to anorexia nervosa. It is very unfortunate that many individuals create their own thoughts and assumptions about this mental illness, when in reality, most of them are far from being true. One myth that is the most common all around the world is that only young teenage girls have anorexia nervosa. Absolutely untrue, and yes, most cases of anorexia nervosa tend to begin in the teenage years, but people of all ages suffer from this mental illness. In most cases, females tend to suffer more from anorexia nervosa, but there have been many reported cases of males dealing with this mental illness as well. Another myth that has become rather popular in today’s society is that anorexia nervosa is not curable, which is wrong! 80 percent of anorexia nervosa cases, that have been detected and treated as early as possible, have been cured. 50 percent of those cases have been cured so greatly that it led to the point where food and eating no longer were issues for those individuals. With the other 30 percent of those cases, anorexia nervosa was curable, but those individuals may have had to stay in treatment or return to treatment on a needed basis in order to control their emotions that are causing them to run back to this mental illness.
The last myth definitely relates to anorexia nervosa and what most individuals see on television, in movies, or in magazines that may fuel this mental illness as well. That last myth is that anorexia nervosa is only about trying to look good and vanity. In plenty of anorexia nervosa cases, the illness may have begun by an initial stem for a particular desire or want to look like someone popular (famous singers, models, actors, actresses) or to just look good in general by putting themselves on diets and restricting food intakes. What most people don’t understand about this particular myth is that those who try to change their bodies for specific reasons are not planning to suffer from anorexia nervosa in the future. It is only human when an individual wants to change something about his/her body; everybody has wanted to do it whether it’s losing weight or gaining weight. The question is, “How does a simple diet erupt into a full blown illness?” Distorted self-images and large amounts of insecurities are what fuel anorexia nervosa.
According to HelpGuide.org (n.d.), there are plenty of signs and symptoms, which all fall under three different categories that will help to determine if an individual is on the path of anorexia nervosa. The three categories are food and eating behavior signs and symptoms, appearance and body image signs and symptoms, and purging signs and symptoms. With the food and eating behavior signs and symptoms, the signs and symptoms include: strange and abnormal food rituals, constantly thinking about food, hiding or lying about eating, strange obsession with nutrition facts (calories, portions, fat grams), and constant dieting even though the individual is already thin. With the appearance and body image signs and symptoms, the signs and symptoms include: not accepting the fact that you’re too thin, becoming the biggest critic on your own appearance, becoming fixated with body images, constantly feeling fat or overweight, and dramatic weight loss. With the purging signs and symptoms, the signs and symptoms include: consuming laxatives, different kinds of diet pills, or diuretics in order to keep weight off, obsession with exercising, and vomiting consistently every day.
UnderstandingGenetics (2008) stated, “In a disease like anorexia, it is likely that the symptoms come from miscommunication between nerve cells. There are lots of different types of neurotransmitters but eating disorder researchers have focused on two: dopamine and serotonin.” With the serotonin neurotransmitter and the anorexia nervosa, an individual will begin to display certain images of anger, mood swings, sleeping, aggression, abnormal body temperature, and even a needed appetite. The dopamine neurotransmitter is less likely shown in individuals with anorexia nervosa. The dopamine neurotransmitter mainly focuses on learning, motivation, attention, sleeping, and moods. This particular neurotransmitter will most likely be put to work once an individual who is suffering from anorexia nervosa is in the process of being cured.
Anorexia nervosa can be a very complicated illness to diagnose due to the fact that most individuals do whatever they can to hide any signs or symptoms from a doctor. In most cases, any type of diagnosis is not made until the patient comes in with certain medical complications. When anorexia nervosa individuals finally come into contact with a health care professional, they often shut out the reality of their illness and may refuse to provide accurate information, even if they’re critically malnourished. It is quite often for health care professionals to turn to the patient’s family members, close friends, or spouses in order to retain information once a large amount of weight loss has occurred or the extent of the illness have gone too far. Health care professionals will also administer anorexia nervosa questionnaires as a part of a screening test for the illness. Once a diagnosis is made, doctors run numbers of tests in order to check for any serious medical complications of starvation and any other medical illnesses that may be fueling the anorexia nervosa. These tests include: tests for protein levels, thyroid, liver, and kidney problems, bone density and imbalances of electrolytes, a chest x-ray, complete blood count, and an electrocardiogram. Every individual who is dealing with anorexia nervosa needs treatment, no matter what. This may include seeing a primary doctor regularly and having weekly counseling sessions as well. A hospital stay is only required for those who are critically underweight or who have severe medical issues because of the mental illness. Medical treatment and nutritional counseling are the most common and best treatment options available to those who have anorexia nervosa. With the medical treatment, a doctor will treat all of the medical conditions that have been caused by the anorexia, such as depression, problems with the heart, or osteoporosis. Once that particular individual begins to show signs of him/her actually getting better, the doctor will continue to watch their weight and health. With the nutritional counseling, a professional dietician will help an individual to take the initiative step in controlling their weight in the healthiest way. A registered dietician can help an individual with gaining a great understanding on nutrition as well as developing healthy eating patterns. An individual that has anorexia nervosa must surround themselves in a positive environment if they expect treatment to be successful. Family involvement is the most important key for successful treatment due to the fact that family members can provide the much needed support and help that a particularly ill individual will definitely need. In the past, people that were suffering from anorexia nervosa really didn’t have any knowledge on the mental illness. Back then, many women just had to deal with the illness the best they could. In today’s day and age, so many clinics with professional psychiatrists and psychologists have been built around the world in order to help both women and men that suffer from anorexia nervosa. If someone has an eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa, it is very important for them to try not to resist any type of treatment. Although most people with anorexia are scared to death of gaining weight, it is best to think of weight gain as a life-saver. With the proper help and support, someone who is suffering from anorexia nervosa can learn to eat well and keep their weight at the healthiest level.

Reference List
2008). Web4health. Retrieved from http://web4health.info/en/answers/ed-anorexia-history.htm

(n.d.). Helpguide . Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anorexia_signs_symptoms_causes_treatment.htm

(2008). Understanding genetics . Retrieved from http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=248

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