Lindsay Geiser

Professor Hofler

ENGL 1001-047

11/2/17

Detesting the Mirror

Have you ever looked in the mirror and disliked what you saw? Because of what you

saw, did you decide to take action and change what you didnt like about yourself? This is what

many young girls turn to today when they are unhappy with their appearance. When they look in

the mirror, they think that they look fat or overweight, so they feel they need to do something

about it immediately. This response leads to many issues for those young girls, and is the reason

why anorexia is the third most common chronic disease among young people (NEDA). Why do

young girls in the United States turn to starving themselves in order to feel beautiful or

accepted?

Struggling with appearance and body weight is more common than many people know.

Christy, a victim of the disorder, said, I remember seeing skinny models in magazines, and

trying to do whatever I could to look as beautiful as them or at the time, what I thought was

considered beautiful. She explained how she saw others as an image of what she wanted to be,

and forced herself to do things such as self-starvation in order to reach an unattainable and

unhealthy goal. This worsened over time until she allowed others to help her and overcome her

struggle with the way she viewed herself.

 Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that is distinguished by extreme weight loss or

starvation (CED). The disorder most commonly begins during adolescence, but also can occur

in older adults. For children affected, they struggle gaining an appropriate amount of weight

while they are still growing (NEDA). They begin to form a distorted body image due to not

sustaining the appropriate weight for their age, height, and stature. This is a very quick and

easy way to diagnose the disorder. Although it can be easily identifiable for some children and

adults, people who are heavier and carry more weight can still be affected by the disorder.

Some individuals who weigh more can also have anorexia even though they may be less likely

to be diagnosed. This common misconception comes from a cultural prejudice against being

overweight or obese.

In order to be diagnosed by the disorder, three different criteria must be met. The first

one includes a restriction of energy intake, which leads to a significant amount of weight loss.

The second one includes a large fear of gaining weight and eventually becoming fat. The final

criteria that needs to be met is that there needs to be distress about the appearance of the body

and how it is shaped (CED).

There are many other indications of the anorexia disorder that begin to take control of

the lives of the people who are affected. These indications include dramatic weight loss,

excessively checking weight, frequently looking in mirrors to assess appearance, mood swings

when it comes to weight fluctuations and frequent comments about feeling fat over overweight.

On top of obsessing over the appearance, many believe that exercising almost nonstop will get

them to where they want to be on the scale. Excessive exercise becomes normal and routine

without the person knowing that it is unhealthy.

 Regarding food and eating behaviors, many people with the disorder often think about

food and preparing it (EDH). They try to avoid weight gain by setting a strict diet and refusing

to eat certain food because of it (EDH). Many deny that they are hungry, and limit food intake.

Some count the calories and calculate the amount of fat in the food that they will consume.

Although these are mostly things that are done by older people rather than younger people, the

unhealthy habits typically begin at a young age and worsen over time.

When it comes to the disorder, anorexia affects more than just a persons physical

appearance. The person affected also begins to have a change in personality and mood. The

common feeling of a person wanting everything about their body to be perfect is something

that begins to correlate to their lifestyle (Mayo Clinic). As they develop habits, they tend to

yearn for perfection at all times. Things such as body avoidance and body checking become an

issue over time. This is when the person who is affected by negative thoughts about their

appearance chooses to either completely ignore their body, or become overly obsessed with it

(Trottier). Not only is perfection an expectation, but some have symptoms of depression and

feelings of anxiety. Depression could be a co-existing disorder along with anorexia, but it

could also be the bodys response to a significant amount of weight loss over time (NEDA).

The disorder can also bring out different responses in people when they are confronted about

their weight or behaviors that relate to it. Another behavioral change that is common includes

wearing large or baggy clothing to hide weight loss.

Not only does anorexia mentally harm a person that is being affected, but it also causes

many health issues that can worsen over time. As the disorder becomes more severe, the heart

rate begins to slow and blood pressure decreases. Anemia is a common side effect that leads to

shortness of breath and an increased amount of infections (CED). The body becomes more
weak due to muscle loss and bone density begins to reduce, which results in dry, fragile bones

(CED). As the body transforms and becomes more frail, the internal body temperature begins

to drop. This is because it is hard for the body to keep itself warm due to the dramatic loss of

weight and muscle mass. Although the health issues involved with the disorder are all very

important and very dangerous, the most severe side effect includes an increased risk for suicide

(Mayo Clinic). Because he or she is already unhappy with the appearance of their body, they

may turn to the unexplainable and decide to end their feeling of hatred toward themselves.

Many studies have been conducted in order to discover more about the disorder and

why it exists. The psychiatric disorder is described in great detail in models that show and

explain anorexia on a complicated level. Psychologically, the disorder can result from

depression, anxiety, or even a personality disorder (Brytek). Not only can it result from those

factors, but it can also be a result of cultural and family background. There is evidence of how

the disorder effects young girls and adult females. Not only does it just touch on anorexia, but

the study also gives information about a related disorder known as bulimia. The two are very

similar, and are both multifactorial disorders. The source also shows a multidimensional model

of different factors contribute to the formation of eating disorders. The first model begins with

Precipitating Factors and Perpetuating Factors. From those, it branches into four other

categories, such as psychological factors, body dissatisfaction, dieting, and starvation. The model

becomes much more detailed and moves into branches of ideal internalization, familial factors

and cultural factors. Regarding familial factors, mother who is dominant and indecisive and a

father who is passive and in-effective can begin the growth of the disorder (Brytek). Overall, a

family that shows an overprotective attitude and avoids conflict at all costs can be a major

concern to those who already have body image issues (Brytek). The second model is based off of
two major factors that include Eating Pathology and Body Dissatisfaction. Body

dissatisfaction includes factors like pressure to be thin, ideal internalization, dieting, and negative

effect. Eating pathology includes strictly dieting and negative effect. This second model involves

the theoretical components and is known as Stices Dual-Pathway Model of Eating Disorders.

The clear representations give multiple explanations as to why anorexia and other eating

disorders begin to sprout. As a whole, the models and research explain body image problems and

how they are issues that arise from other problems in a persons life.

To ensure the research collected can be backed up, surveys and testing are done to

promote credibility. A source gave out a questionnaire to 20 female adolescents who had a

diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. After gathering 10 girls with bulimia and 10 girls with anorexia

nervosa, a control group of 115 girls were also gathered. Using the Offer Self-Image

Questionnaire, also known as OSIQ, several factors regarding the girls age, height, weight and

duration of the illness were recorded. This test is shown to be very reliable, especially for

adolescent girls. The results showed that all of the girls showed very different attitudes about

their body and self-esteem. Although they showed different responses, they all displayed

disturbances in mood, social relationships, and had issues regarding impulse control. This is a

major sign when it comes to eating disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa (Erkolahti).

The journal also explained how the syndrome worked and how the body becomes emaciated over

time without the female noticing its severity. By the end of the test, it was concluded that the

two disorders, bulimia and anorexia, should be treated and responded to differently. They were

not as closely related as originally believed, which is an explanation for why the girls with

different disorders did not react the same (Erkolahti). The statistics gathered in this journal of

pediatrics showed many different things. Some girls handled their body image better than others,
even though they were all diagnosed with the illness. This could easily support the research

question because all of the girls were affected in some way, but handled it differently. It was

proven by the statistics that the older the females were, the more critical they were with how they

appeared in the mirror.

There are many things that can be the root of why eating disorders, such as anorexia,

occur. Bullying is a very common problem in the lives of children. Because it is so common,

research and studies have been done to figure out exactly how it affected children in the long run.

An analysis that was based on a study of whether or not childhood bullying increases the risk of

developing eating disorders was conducted. Bullying is known to predict eating disorder

symptoms, such as binge eating, vomiting, and not eating at all. To fully support this,

participants who were involved in the study were between the ages of nine and twenty-five, and

they were asked in interview sessions if they were involved in bullying. If so, they were asked

how they were involved, and if they had been teased or bullied multiple times or bullied in the

last three months directly before their interview. This was later connected to symptoms of

anorexia nervosa and bulimia. This study found that children who were victims of bullying at a

young age were at risk of developing eating disorders.

The analysis involving children and generally younger people who experienced bullying

when they were younger provides reasoning for why people develop eating disorders. Bullying

increases poor perceptions of how one feels about his or her body due to the constant negative

attention they get about their weight and appearance (Copeland). It can also lead to emotional

problems and be the reason for low self-esteem. Although the problem can arise in both girls and

boys, the senseless act of bullying has a greater effect on girls than boys (Copeland). Even

though there was a more noticeable effect in girls, it was usually boys who participated in the
actual bullying and teasing. Not only were the victims proven to have formed unhealthy eating

disorders due to bullying, but the bullies themselves were also proven to have had problems with

eating disorders. This is correlation between the actual bully came from their feelings of

insecurity and low self-esteem that gave them a desire to humiliate others in the first place

(Copeland). Because they were made to feel inferior and self-conscious at a young age, they had

issues relating to those events later on in life. It was proven that victims of bullying were at the

most risk of forming unhealthy habits.

 Works Cited

Anorexia Nervosa. Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23

Aug. 2017

Anorexia Nervosa. The Center for Eating Disorders, Sheppard Pratt Health System

Anorexia: Overview and Statistics. National Eating Disorders Association, National Eating

Disorder Association

Brytek-Matera, Anna and Kamila Czepczor. "Models of Eating Disorders: A Theoretical

Investigation of Abnormal Eating Patterns and Body Image Disturbance." Archives of

Psychiatry & Psychotherapy, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 19-21, Jan. 2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017

Copeland, William E., "Does Childhood Bullying Predict Eating Disorder Symptoms? A

Prospective, Longitudinal Analysis." International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol. 48,

no. 8, pp. 1141-1148, Dec. 2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017

Ekern, Jacquelyn. About Anorexia: Signs, Symptoms, Causes & Articles For Treatment

Help. Eating Disorder Hope, 1 May 2017

Erkolahti, Ritva K., et al. "Self-Image of Anorexic and Bulimic Female Adolescents." Nordic

Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 447-450, Nov. 2002. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017

Geiser, Lindsay. Personal Interview. 28 October 2017.

Trottier, Kathryn, "Adjunctive Graded Body Image Exposure for Eating Disorders: A

Randomized Controlled Initial Trial in Clinical Practice." International Journal of Eating

Disorders, vol. 48, no. 5, pp.494-503, July 2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2017