Eating Disorders In Teenage Girls

During the adolescent period, the concept of “thinspiration” and “fitspiration” seems to surround teenage girls. These concepts to be thin and fit can be seen in the media, in clothing ads, and on television shows, leading girls to over exercise and develop eating disorders. It is no surprise that teenage girls are constantly faced with a moral, emotional, and physical conundrum. During this stage of their lives, teenage girls are quick to follow their emotions, as they do not always think of the consequences of their actions beforehand. Not only can eating disorders affect their physical and emotional health, but it can also affect their mental health as well. Teenage girls tend to follow trendsetters in their lives. Take the clothing line
Mood disorders are more common in the binge/purge subtype than in the restrictive subtype. About half of anorexia patients have comorbid anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia” (ANAD, 2017). This is where the disorder affecting the mental health aspects of their lives comes into play. Eating disorders can make depression and anxiety worse. Depression may lead to eating disorders, but there’s also evidence that eating disorders can result in depression. Depression while dealing with an eating disorder has its own unique features, according to Ira M. Sacker, MD. Ira M. Sacker is an eating disorders specialist at Langone Medical Center at New York University and author of the book Regaining Your Self: Understanding and Conquering the Eating Disorder Identity.“People who develop eating disorders feel as people that they’re not good enough,” Ira M. Sacker says. “They become obsessed with perfectionism. That perfectionism begins to focus on what they eat. But underlying it is depression and anxiety. Often, these patients have suffered a lot of emotional trauma” (Sacker,
According to Webmd.com, there are two different approaches to treat the disorders. The first approach is to be prescribed an antidepressant, or mood stabilizer, to reduce the risk of relapse once a steady and healthy weight is achieved. An example of an antidepressant would be Prozac. Most antidepressants work by changing the balance of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. In people with depression, these chemicals are not used properly by the brain. “For a binge eating disorder, two medications might be prescribed by doctors -- antidepressants and an anticonvulsant drug called Topamax (Topiramate). They are known to reduce bingeing, either alone or in combination, but the research on these drugs suggest that over time many patients relapse” (WebMD,