Body Image & The Media
For many years, people have been influenced by the media, to think that a thin body is beautiful. They want to look like the people on television, movies, and in the magazines. To achieve this look, people starve themselves or binge and purge. This results in an eating disorder. Most people think that an eating disorder is someones choice; it is not, it is a mental illness. There are many different types of eating disorders. One is Anorexia Nervosa, a body image disorder which is “characterized by an individual's perceptions” (Ballaro) as overweight. This causes intense shame, anxiety, and depression. It turns into self destructive behaviors such as self-starvation or obsessive exercise, and occurs mostly in women.
Another is, Bulimia Nervosa. As in Anorexia Nervosa, people see themselves as overweight. They often feel shame and depression. They go through cycles of binging- eating a lot of food and purging- emptying the stomach through vomiting, and occurs mostly in women.
A third disorder is Muscle dysmorphia, an eating disorder that makes the person see themselves as lacking muscle. They often feel intense shame, anxiety and depression. It turns into self-destructive eating, exercise, and steroid abuse. It is
Schleich 2 sometimes called ‘reverse anorexia’.
There is a price of perfection. “When your body is deprived of food, it cannibalizes itself for energy, first burning its fat stores, then turning to muscle, and then it develops its own organs.” (Ulick) The heart can’t pump properly, patients feel weak, and have trouble keeping warm. The digestion slows down, leaving patients constipated and full. Your nails turn brittle. Your hair becomes dry, thin, and brittle because of protein deficiencies. Skin dries out and is easily bruised. Bones don’t have the right nutrients so they are weak, and can lead to risk of fractures later on. Muscles develop atrophy, lowering your strength and mass. Kidneys have a severe lack of fluids, may lead to organ
Another is, Bulimia Nervosa. As in Anorexia Nervosa, people see themselves as overweight. They often feel shame and depression. They go through cycles of binging- eating a lot of food and purging- emptying the stomach through vomiting, and occurs mostly in women.
A third disorder is Muscle dysmorphia, an eating disorder that makes the person see themselves as lacking muscle. They often feel intense shame, anxiety and depression. It turns into self-destructive eating, exercise, and steroid abuse. It is
Schleich 2 sometimes called ‘reverse anorexia’.
There is a price of perfection. “When your body is deprived of food, it cannibalizes itself for energy, first burning its fat stores, then turning to muscle, and then it develops its own organs.” (Ulick) The heart can’t pump properly, patients feel weak, and have trouble keeping warm. The digestion slows down, leaving patients constipated and full. Your nails turn brittle. Your hair becomes dry, thin, and brittle because of protein deficiencies. Skin dries out and is easily bruised. Bones don’t have the right nutrients so they are weak, and can lead to risk of fractures later on. Muscles develop atrophy, lowering your strength and mass. Kidneys have a severe lack of fluids, may lead to organ