Can you help me understand this Psychology question?

FORUM

For this week’s discussion assignment, respond to the following: What is the primary distinguishing feature between Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa? Review the research findings on societal and familial factors which can contribute to the manifestation and maintenance of these disorders.

Remember that all posts are graded for substance and thoughtful consideration of the discussion topic. Your post must also end with a “Question to the Class” – something related to the topic that you found thought-provoking and about which you’d like to know more and have further dialog.

APA FORMAT FOR TEXTBOOK

Maddux, J. E., & Winstead, B. A. (Eds.). (2015). Psychopathology : Foundations for a contemporary understanding. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

#1

Hello Class and Professor

This is an interesting subject! I have a family member that will sometimes regurgitate food, but not for the purpose to stay a certain size or look a certain way, but because of the guilt of eating too much of something that they were not supposed to eat, because they are diabetic. I guess this could be called binge eating. I am surprised to learn that males can suffer from eating disorders as well.

Bulimia Nervosa is not only an eating disorder, but it is also a severe mental health disorder with biological influences. From my understanding, bulimia nervosa is caused by a genetic predisposition and can be influence by environmental and/or psychosocial factors. According to studies, levels of serotonin and dopamine may and can contribute to the cause and maintenance of the disorder. The features of bulimia nervosa are the fascination and negative outlook of the way one looks, body size, binge eating, fasting, the heavy usage of laxatives and/or diuretics in efforts to rid the body of unwanted calories. Consequently, bulimia can be lethal and at the least, do damage to the body.

When it comes to Anorexia Nervosa it is considered the most lethal psychiatric disorder. This disorder causes an individual to starve themselves to a very lower than expected body weight, fear of weight gain, and disturbance in body image. There is the presence of binge eating and some health issues such as ulcers, insomnia, fatigue, unhealthy hair, low blood pressure, dry and yellowing of the skin, stomach pains and even damaged and rotting of the teeth and gums.

In linking both disorders, it shows that both have a fear of gaining weight and presents behaviors to prevent themselves from doing so. One key factor in helping this individual with the diagnosis is offering therapy that helps to deal with the thoughts they may have about the way that they may perceive the way they appear. Targeting the chemical imbalances and the triggers is a good place to start treatment. I have a few questions for the class. How much does the blame go to society for the pressure to look thin to the point where it can kill you? With the wave of surgeries, (Brazilian butt lift, and fat transfer) do you feel that bulimia and anorexia is as big as a problem now as opposed to the past?

Zee

#2

Very interesting topic this week. Always interesting to learn about different disorders. I haven’t experienced an eating disorder myself, but I do know one person who has had an eating disorder. This person had binge eating disorder. It controlled mostly know, but this person goes into episodes throughout the year. Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder that is characterized by low body weight. Individuals with anorexia have a fear of gaining weight. Many individuals self-induce vomiting or just simply don’t eat. This can cause said individual to have major fatigue, physical appearance of looking frail, thin, and pale. Some individuals can experience dizziness and/or hair loss due to their bodies not getting enough nutrients. Many individuals lie about their eating and wish to not eat in front of people. People with anorexia nervosa get it from genetics, psychological and/or environmental. Bulimia Nervosa is similar, but it’s more of an emotional eating disorder. Individuals with bulimia binge eat large amounts of food to satisfy their hunger needs, but not gain any weight, and then self-induce vomit so that they don’t actually consume any of the food they just ingested. I think society has a huge role when dealing with eating disorder, especially in adolescence and young adult. Society tells people they need to look certain ways to be beautiful, so eating disorders spark. Not just with females, but males, too.

My question for the class is… do you feel as though eating disorders are psychological or more of an emotional thing for an individual? -Meghan

#3

Hello Class,

Anorexia Nervosa is a very serious eating disorder and is one of the most common mental health disorders that lead to death. The body undergoes serious damage due to a lack of nutrients to a point that the body goes into organ failure. Heart failure is common in those suffering from this disorder as a low heart rate prevalent and the heart is a muscle. Typical symptoms include a extremely low body mass index, brittle hair an nails, hair loss, depression, poor body image, fatigue, and even social anxiety. At times, a person may feel that they see themselves as overweight but this is not always the case. In certain circumstances, a person may feel that they are too thin but during meals cannot force themselves to eat food rich with calories.

Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder that can potentially be life threatening. People that suffer from Bulimia Nervosa typically consume an unnatural amount of food followed by a period of purging or regurgitating that food. People suffering from this may force themselves to vomit or utilize laxatives in order to facilitate weight loss. These methods can be extremely damaging to the body. The esophagus, teeth, and gums can be compromised if forced to vomit irregularly. The same can be said about the digestive tract when utilizing an excessive amount of laxative. Similarly to Anorexia Nervosa, people suffering from this disorder may feel that they do not have a desirable body image and utilize extreme measures to control their weight. Unlike Anorexia Nervosa, sufferers will often maintain a normal body weight or can be slightly overweight.

I have someone close in my life that has an issue eating almost anything. He commonly goes a day or so without eating and when he does eat, he consumes a large amount of food which leaves him in pain. Growing up, he was extremely picky about his food and developed an issue where he would vomit when trying something new. On multiple occasions he has tried things that looks good to him but cannot stomach it. This issue makes him very unhappy but is too embarrassed to embrace that he has an issue or to seek medical help. My question for the class is, what do you think this disorder is? He drinks an insane amount of water as he does not like any other liquids and he works out on occasion because he desires to look appealing. He is a normal body weight or slightly overweight. He does have issues with going to the bathroom at times but he does not force himself to vomit.

-Nick

CURRENT EVENT #2

Assignment will involve the selection a current event from the news and applying it to a concept or subject from your readings in the course textbook, Psychopathology: Foundations for a Contemporary Understanding, 4th edition (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). Papers must be a minimum of 5 pages in length. Your submission should be double-spaced with 1 inch margins on all sides of each page and should be free of spelling and grammar errors. It must include source crediting of any materials used in APA format, including source citations in the body of your paper and in a Reference list attached to the end. Easy to follow guides to APA formatting can be found on the tutorial section of the APUS Online Library.

Students may select any subject from the textbook, as long as they are able to (a) thoroughly describe the selected concept and (b) make a sound case for why it relates to the selected current event.

Students may select any relevant current event from the news, citing the description of the event from an internet news source.

The paper will include three major components:

1. Selection and description of the current event
2. Selection and description of the textbook concept
3. Integration and synthesis of the textbook concept with the selected current event

Your paper will be submitted as an attachment though the classroom Assignments page. When your paper is attached it is automatically submitted to Turnitin.com.