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__Overview__
Eating Disorders Throughout a person’s life, they have probably heard about eating disorders. But, does everybody really know what they are? An eating disorder is a potential life-threatening condition that causes a person to have abnormal eating habits (Dictionary par 1). The most common types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. A person may think that it is just some skinny-obsessed person trying to lose weight, but an eating disorder is a mental illness. Triggers for developing an eating disorder range from stress to life-changing events. Believe it or not, it affects more people than a person may think.

Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia is a complex eating disorder with three key features. They are refusal to maintain a healthy body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image (“Anorexia” par 2). Some warning signs of anorexia include refusing to eat, extreme, unexplained weight loss, low self-esteem, intense fear of gaining weight, and always feeling cold. A main problem with anorexics is that because they are not eating, their bodies are not getting the essential nutrients they need. This is called [|malnutrition]  and it can cause serious damage to the body. Other symptoms that may arise with anorexia are weak and brittle nails and the growth of tiny hairs all over the body, but you may also lose your hair. Although, these are common symptoms, they only show up depending on the severity of the case. If it goes far enough, a person may need to be hospitalized and forced-fed.

Bulimia Nervosa
While anorexia is the refusal to eat, bulimia is almost opposite. Bulimics are people who binge two or three times a week for an extended period of time and then purge afterwards. Binging is the act of eating large amounts of food at a short amount of time. Purging can be done either using laxatives, diuretics, or self-induced vomiting (Goldsmith par 7). Unlike anorexia, bulimia can be hard to detect in people because they barely ever have a change in their weight. They are also very sneaky with how they do their binges. They often plan them out so that no one will figure out what they are doing. Some of the symptoms that come with bulimia are chapped fingers, buying unusually large amounts of food, complaints about throat or stomach hurting, and bloodshot eyes. Like anorexia, the symptoms that show up depend on how severe the case is. This can also lead to hospitalization.

Medications and Informing Yourself
 Although there are no known medications to treat anorexia and bulimia as a whole, an antidepressant can help tremendously. Because one of the biggest symptoms of an eating disorder is depression, antidepressants can reduce the activity of the disorder. Prozac (fluoxetine) is the only [|FDA]  approved medication that can help with eating disorders. Even though this is an antidepressant, it has shown to help patients even if they are not depressed (Mayo Clinic Staff. "Treatments and Drugs." Bulimia par 5). With this condition, it is important be informed on everything. This includes the symptoms, the warning signs, the triggers, and the possible treatments. By a patient informs their self, they can be more prepared for when they need help. Also, a person withan eating disorder can be aware of the total effect it has on them and what they can do to heal.


 * Therapies **

For a person who has suffered an eating disorder, once they adapt to healthier eating habits, most of their medical problems have a good chance of going away (Faiad par 20). A good way to get these habits are through therapy. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Therapies can be argued to be the best method of treatment for eating disorders. Because these are mental illnesses, the brain must be treated. Most people with an eating disorder have low self-esteem and think self-defeating thoughts which lead them to striving to change what they look like. So, different therapies can help reverse the self-defeating thoughts into positive, accepting ones. The different types of therapy that a patient could choose from are counseling, group therapy (support groups), and family therapy. Choosing counseling would be a good choice for someone who is living alone or old enough to be living alone because there is no family problems that that person is living with. Since they are their own stressor, a therapist can teach them how to deal with the stress in a healthier matter. Family therapy would be good for a person not yet graduated from high school because by living with their family, they could be a trigger for the disorder. Studies show that stress is closely related to the development of an eating disorder. These stresses can be from their self, their peers, or their family. With family therapy, the patient can work out problems with the family members and the family as a whole can find out a way to work together in the process of treatment. Group therapy could be a good medium between family and one on one counseling. I would recommend group therapy to someone who does not realize that they are not alone in this fight against eating disorders. By going, they can relate to people who can share their stories instead of talking to people who “don’t understand what they are going through.” There are also different therapy hospitals who are specialized in treating eating disorders and one of them is the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Remuda Ranch] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Hospital.

__<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Refrences __
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Anorexia Nervosa: Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment." [|Helpguide.org]. Web. 9 May 2012. <[]>.

<span class="wiki_link_ext" style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dictionary.com <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. [|Ask.com]. Web. 10 May 2012. <[]>.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Goldsmith, Toby D. "Bulimia: Binging and Purging." Psych Central. Web. 9 May 2012. <[]>.

Faiad, Andrea. "Dying to be thin: eating disorders are ugly. Here's why." // Current Health 2, a Weekl //// y Reader publication // Nov. 2006: 20+. // Opposing Viewpoints In Context //. Web. 19 Mar. 2012.<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA154079263&v=2.1&u=pl7053&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w>.

Mayo Clinic Staff. "Treatments and Drugs." // Bulimia Nervosa: Treatments and Drugs - MayoClinic.com //. MayoClinic, 3 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/bulimia/DS00607/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs>.

Photograph. Natural Holistic Health. Wordpress.com, 20 Sept. 2010. Web. 3 Apr. 2012. < @http://www.natural-holistic-health.com/reasons-for-family-therapy-in-anorexia/anorexia-y-bulimia/ >.

Photograph. Why Antidepressants Don't Live Up to the Hype - TIME. TIME Magazine, 6 May 2009. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1895672,00.html>.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__External Links__
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|National Eating Disorders Association] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Eating Disorders Game - Play Fun Trivia Quiz] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Nedic - National Eating Disorder Information Centre] <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[|Psychology Today]