Anorexia
Living in a society in which many young girls strive to resemble the waif models that are plastered on the cover of magazines, many have suffered an on going battle with eating disorders. Anorexia means lack of appetite for food, although this is not the case with many anorexics, they are hungry, however, they learn to control their hunger pangs (Landau). Anorexia, a life-threatening eating disorder, is centered on self-starvation and has many detrimental side effects on the sufferer. Anorexia nervosa is considered the woman's disease mostly affecting girls between the ages of twelve and eighteen. Only about six percent of boys are affected. It is estimated that one-half to one percent of females in the U.S. develop anorexia and ninety percent of these cases are adolescent young women, although children as young as seven and women up into their eighties have been diagnosed (The Nation's Voice). Anorexia is not solely about self-starvation, it is about filling a need and feeling in control. It is the only way that people with anorexia can feel in control of their own lives. Anorexia begins as a simple diet to lose a few pounds and often losing five to ten
I had been victorious; no one could force me to eat. I never expressed any thoughts, feelings, or original ideas" (Landau 24-25). Anorexia goes much deeper than an eating disorder; it robs the victim of her soul, which converts her into a lifeless individual who repeats the compulsive rituals of her daily life to gain the control she feels she has lost. To relieve the guilt that she feels she throws up every last morsel that was taken in. By losing weight she feels as though she has accomplished something that no one else has been able to conquer. Margaret, a cured twenty-year-old, describes what her relationships were like while she was sick: "I was like a blank slate around other people. The improper functioning of the body may result in lower blood pressure and body temperature, a lack of sexual interest, and reduced production of thyroid hormone (Dove). Anorexia goes much deeper than self-starvation it is ultimately about her need to feel as though she has control of her life. She will also grow soft hair patches on her skin called lanugo, it is the body's defense mechanism to keep warm (Farley). An anorexic experiences physical changes such as brittle hair and nails, yellowish tint to the skin and eyes. She is a compliant friend, daughter and student. Laurie, a seventeen-year old girl, tells how she felt when she got away with purging: "But after my mother left the room, I felt a strange sense of pride surge through me. Despite their disgust of food, ninety percent of these young women binge to cover their feelings of loneliness, which develop after they have pushed away their support system (Landau). Anorexics are lonely little girls living a secret life in order to feel human. Patti, a young woman who suffered from anorexia for two years, ate nothing but two cream filled cookies a day for a seven week time period.
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