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Eating Disorders at 75% of All Women?
Marge_Innavera:
--- Quote from: injest on April 28, 2008, 09:55:32 pm ---I found the article amusing myself....
--- End quote ---
Yes, someone starving and puking themselves to death is truly hilarious.
As long as it's not you, of course. Or someone you care about, assuming that such a life form exists.
brokeplex:
--- Quote from: Marge_Innavera on April 30, 2008, 01:24:32 pm ---Thanks for your courteous answer. I probably over-reacted, as I've previously been in discussions (not on this forum) where people truly did treat the whole thing as a joke.
And I'm glad you referred to it as a mental health crisis; I'd add to that a statement that it's a mental health crisis created by contemporary society's obsession with thinness. That, plus the longstanding negative attitudes toward women's bodies that goes back a long way, has brewed up quite a potent cultural soup. There are varying theories about what in a family culture can trigger eating disorders, but there are two constants in every list I've seen: 1) a family with unrealistic expectations and persistent pressure on a kid to be "perfect" and 2) what John Bradshaw once called the "Saint Mom and Dad" syndrome; i.e., a fantasy that the family itself is perfect. Bad things happen to everyone else, but not to "us."
I strongly disagree with the recent trend toward calling an eating disorder a "disease." Most of the measurable changes in the brain and the rest of the body tend to be after the fact, suggesting that they're a consequence of the eating disorder rather than the cause of it. And the whole "disease" model tends to let both culture and family off the hook.
--- End quote ---
I agree with you that there is a societal obsession over thinness. And this clerly affects women more than men, but men are also affected by weight obsessions. I keep myself at the doctors Rx weight for me, I have to at my age I can't afford to be overweight. But, there are men who are obsessed with body building and bulk form, this can also be very dangerous to the long term health of a man.
thanks for your courteous reply. :)
optom3:
--- Quote from: Marge_Innavera on April 30, 2008, 01:24:32 pm ---Thanks for your courteous answer. I probably over-reacted, as I've previously been in discussions (not on this forum) where people truly did treat the whole thing as a joke.
And I'm glad you referred to it as a mental health crisis; I'd add to that a statement that it's a mental health crisis created by contemporary society's obsession with thinness. That, plus the longstanding negative attitudes toward women's bodies that goes back a long way, has brewed up quite a potent cultural soup. There are varying theories about what in a family culture can trigger eating disorders, but there are two constants in every list I've seen: 1) a family with unrealistic expectations and persistent pressure on a kid to be "perfect" and 2) what John Bradshaw once called the "Saint Mom and Dad" syndrome; i.e., a fantasy that the family itself is perfect. Bad things happen to everyone else, but not to "us."
I strongly disagree with the recent trend toward calling an eating disorder a "disease." Most of the measurable changes in the brain and the rest of the body tend to be after the fact, suggesting that they're a consequence of the eating disorder rather than the cause of it. And the whole "disease" model tends to let both culture and family off the hook.
--- End quote ---
Speaking as someone who was anorexic in her teens, at worst down to about 70lbs and hospitalised.I can categoricaly say that unrealistic expectations were part of the problem.My father was almost impossible to please.I came 1st in the year out of about 90 people spread over 3 classes.That was fine but ever after 2nd or 3rd which was my lowest was never good enough.It was just O.K but not 1st.
He also used to compare me with my mother,saying things like,well your very pretty,but obviously no where near as pretty as your mother was at your age.so as an insecure teenager the two combined had a terrible effect on me,not just anorexia but also cutting.I just never seemed to measure up in any aspect.My self esteem was in the minus figures.Particularly as mom had her darling, could do no wrong son.
You are also right in that to the outside world we were this perfect family.Nice hose and cars,talented bright kids.What a facade/farce.My brother finally used drugs as he could not cope with my moms perfect picture of him.He is well now thank god and has been for years,
But he lives in Japan and I live in the states,well away from our parents in the UK.
Things became further complicated by a bipolar diagnosis, and to this day,when things in my life are out of control,I will all too easily slip back into starvation mode.I use it as a reward system.Almost like look how well I can contol this.For every pound I lose I become more euphoric.
The only difference now is,I seem to have finally found meds which help. I would also hate to be any part in any of my kids ending up like this.Iam so careful to try and not have too unrealistic expectations of them.We never say diet in our house.If any of them feel they are not maybe as slim as they would like.It does happen sometimes.We just go on a more healthy eating plan.
I never say it is to lose weight,instead tell them we need more of certain food groups for tennis,gymnastics,wrestling whatever.So far they all have healthy body images.
I continually praise them and tell them how handsome,pretty etc they are.
If they get a bad grade (oldest son excepted) they are harder on themselves than I am.
But eating disorders should never be scoffeD at. Mine has afflicted me for 35 years to some degree or another.It is not a disease.It is a complex mental ealth issue,sometimes in isolationa and at sometimes in tandem with other things.It is a bit like alcoholism.You are never cured,you just learn to live,cope and control it for most of the time.
delalluvia:
--- Quote from: optom3 on April 30, 2008, 02:48:33 pm ---But eating disorders should never be scoffeD at. Mine has afflicted me for 35 years to some degree or another.It is not a disease.It is a complex mental ealth issue,sometimes in isolation and at sometimes in tandem with other things.It is a bit like alcoholism.You are never cured,you just learn to live,cope and control it for most of the time.
--- End quote ---
I agree. Eating disorders I believe are psychological disorders that get combined with a feedback system the person creates within their own bodies. Optom mentioned the 'euphoria' she felt with each lb lost. Obviously the rest of us may enjoy losing a lb here and there, but euphoria hardly describes the feeling most of us get. So her extreme reaction has a lot more involved than just losing a lb.
And just as a quick aside not to take away from the discussion, I just read this the other day and it's made me do a lot of thinking recently on the particular subject of alcoholism because I hadn't heard this before:
American Medical Association
In 1980, the American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs (now the Council on Science and Public Health) noted that "alcoholism is in and of itself a disabling and handicapping condition". Between 1980 and 1991, medical organizations, including the AMA, worked together to establish policies regarding their positions on the disease theory. These policies were developed in 1987 in part due to the fact that third-party reimbursement for treatment was difficult or impossible unless alcoholism were categorized as a disease. The policies of the AMA, formed through consensus of the federation of state and specialty medical societies within their House of Delegates, state, in part:
"The AMA endorses the proposition that drug dependencies, including alcoholism, are diseases and that their treatment is a legitimate part of medical practice."
In 1991, The AMA further endorsed the dual classification of alcoholism by the International Classification of Diseases under both psychiatric and medical sections.
[edit] US Supreme Court
In a 1988 US Supreme Court decision on whether alcohol dependence is a condition for which the US Veterans Administration should provide benefits, Justice Byron R. White's statement echoed the District of Columbia Circuit's finding that there exists "a substantial body of medical literature that even contests the proposition that alcoholism is a disease, much less that it is a disease for which the victim bears no responsibility".[17] He also wrote:
"Indeed, even among many who consider alcoholism a "disease" to which its victims are genetically predisposed, the consumption of alcohol is not regarded as wholly involuntary."
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease...f%20alcoholism
What is described in the underlined part above is the medical community coming together to categorize alcoholism as a disease in order for people to receive benefits.
injest:
--- Quote from: Marge_Innavera on April 30, 2008, 01:27:38 pm ---Yes, someone starving and puking themselves to death is truly hilarious.
As long as it's not you, of course. Or someone you care about, assuming that such a life form exists.
--- End quote ---
so.....finding a badly written article amusing is equal to not caring about any life form?? I am not talking about Anorexia or Bulimia...I am talking about the ARTICLE...and how the statistics are presented...it is absurd to lump a woman that "THINKS" about what she is going to eat with someone with a serious eating disorder.
MY point was that if you are presenting statistics (about ANYTHING) then normal shouldn't be the lower number...if it is then your study is invalid as presented (IMO)
but you can be upset if you want to...It is always more fun to think the worst isnt' it?
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