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Eating Disorders at 75% of All Women?
Brown Eyes:
The youngest daughter in a family that's been very good friends of my family for years and years has struggled with anorexia to the point where she's been hospitalized long-term for it on one occasion. At the moment she's doing quite well. But, when she's in a bad phase of anorexia it's one of the most terrifying things to witness. At her worst point she got down to skin and bones and had to be pushed in a wheelchair because she could not walk properly anymore (and she was in her early 20s at the time). I went and visited her at the rehab hospital (which specializes in eating disorders) and it was such an eye-opening and disturbing experience.
:(
brokeplex:
--- Quote from: Marge_Innavera on April 28, 2008, 11:56:02 am ---According to MentalHelp.net at http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=11756&cn=46
The National Eating Disorders Association indicates that 5-20% of those who have untreated anorexia nervosa will not survive the disorder. The annual death rate for females between 15 and 24 years old from anorexia is 12 times higher than the annual death rate for all other causes combined. [bolding added] For those who receive treatment, the mortality rate is far lower, approximately 2-3% of these people will die from this disorder.
Real knee-slappin' material, no?
--- End quote ---
then based upon what you link, and I thank you for the link, this is much more than a simple eating disorder epidemic, it is a mental health crisis. after looking at your material I saw my "laughing" smiley as inappropriate and have deleted it. Remember that sometimes people just may not be aware of the true dimensions of a particular subject and don't mean to be insensitive to a crisis.
Kelda:
its quite scary isn't it?
injest:
--- Quote from: Marge_Innavera on April 28, 2008, 11:56:02 am ---According to MentalHelp.net at http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=11756&cn=46
The National Eating Disorders Association indicates that 5-20% of those who have untreated anorexia nervosa will not survive the disorder. The annual death rate for females between 15 and 24 years old from anorexia is 12 times higher than the annual death rate for all other causes combined. [bolding added] For those who receive treatment, the mortality rate is far lower, approximately 2-3% of these people will die from this disorder.
Real knee-slappin' material, no?
--- End quote ---
I found the article amusing myself....I think eating disorders are a BIG problem for modern women but we wont' get anywhere by labeling EVERYTHING the same....Lee wanting to eat better does not mean she has the same disease as someone with bulimia.
We need to focus on the real problems instead of trying to exaggerate a problem that has no NEED to be exagerated.
Marge_Innavera:
--- Quote from: broketrash on April 28, 2008, 12:59:28 pm ---then based upon what you link, and I thank you for the link, this is much more than a simple eating disorder epidemic, it is a mental health crisis. after looking at your material I saw my "laughing" smiley as inappropriate and have deleted it. Remember that sometimes people just may not be aware of the true dimensions of a particular subject and don't mean to be insensitive to a crisis.
--- End quote ---
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.
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