Critical Observation Paper

Critical Observation Paper Overeating is a problem that affects several people today. Overeating is an eating disorder that causes pain and humiliation to the people who are afflicted by this disease. The general public has come to accept bulimia and anorexia as a condition that cannot be helped by the person who has it. However, overeating is still considered to be a weakness by the general population. This makes it even harder for the person who suffers with this to get the help that they need. My niece, Jennifer Elswick, is one such person. She is a beautiful woman who struggles with this condition on a daily basis. Jennifer is the mother of four beautiful children. She became a mother at a young age. Jennifer also struggles with depression
and low self-esteem. Jennifer feels like she is stuck in a vicious cycle of doom because all of her conditions are intertwined.
In order for Jennifer to begin to fix these problems, she must find the strength to face all of them at the same time, because each one on its own is enough to bring her down and cause her to fail. Jennifer’s problems began when she was a teenager. She made some bad choices in her life. Jennifer discovered that she was pregnant when she was only sixteen years old. She did not think that she could handle being a mother at such a young age, so you opted for an abortion. This devastated her and she still struggles with the guilt of choosing this way out. Jennifer again found herself pregnant about six months later. Knowing how the first abortion affected her, she decided to carry this pregnancy to term and raise the baby. The father chose not to be involved in the pregnancy or with Jennifer. Jennifer’s father would no longer speak to her. Still with the support of her
mother, Jennifer carried and delivered the baby. Soon she discovered the pressures of motherhood. She began to feel as though no other man would want her because she had a baby. Thus, the beginning of the depression was upon her. Jennifer stayed home with the baby and was no longer an active teenager. She began to gain weight. She tried working things out with the baby’s father. This living arraignment did not work. She moved back home with her mother and father. Several years later, she met a young man who swept her off her feet. He showed her some attention and love. Jennifer began to feel happy again. She allowed herself to become pregnant yet again. Soon after becoming pregnant, Jennifer’s boyfriend began cheating on her. He started calling her names, which lead to further low self-esteem, depression and overeating. This also was the beginning of a life cycle that would repeat itself, with the same man, over the next six or seven years. Each time Jennifer would become further depressed, over eat and gain even lower self-esteem. Food has become her comfort, her friend. Jennifer is now very over weight from the excessive over eating.
She is on medication for her depression. However, she still suffers from low self-esteem, which causes her to overeat. If she does not get some professional help to deal with her problems, she will face even more problems caused by over eating. This condition could cause her to have high blood pressure, heart trouble, diabetes, breathing problems and many other health
conditions. Psychology can be used to treat her condition. By using the learned behavior approach, Jennifer could learn to start eating healthy. By eating healthy, Jennifer would be able to see that the weight would come off. As the weight begins to come off, her self-esteem will begin to rise. Once her self-esteem begins to rise, her depression will be less severe. With psychological help, Jennifer would learn this new behavior after repeating it day after day. She would be able to undo the learned behavior that lead to this condition. Because Jennifer is my niece, I cannot help her. It would be unethical for me to do so. She would feel more as if I was interfering in her life, than trying to help her. She would become resentful and would probably lose more self-esteem. If this author were to confront her, she would feel as though her fears were being confirmed, rather than realizing that I was only trying to help her. Her self-esteem would be worse, she would over eat more to comfort herself and would fall further into depression. Instead, this author is faced with knowing that she has a problem and that it can be fixed. This author knows that she can get the help that she needs, just around the corner. This author is faced with the fact that if she tries to help, she could possibly make matters worse. Therefore, this author has resolved to sit by her side, be there for support and lead her to help when she is ready.