Anorexia nervosa/bulimia is really not about food at all. This condition is one that is a manifestation of something much deeper. And we are wrong to view anorexia nervosa/bulimia as a disease. While the thoughts of Mr. DiNicola are common today, the key words to his statement are "yet remain unproven". Anorexia nervosa bulimia is a condition of negativity--one that is confirmed. Though the lack of self-esteem often is cited as a condition of this disorder, the manifestation is really all about selflessness. There is no identity, no sense of self; so, we are speaking of a lack of self. So, it is this lack of self that allows anorexia nervosa/bulimia patients to resign, unconsciously, at living. They feel they should not be allowed to live. And, taking food away is the most obvious thing to prevent living. The patient feels life is not important; they hate themselves (and the mere fact that they HATE themselves). It is as though they live through others--the only way they can justify their existence. The void that exists in their life is their inability to make the world perfect for everybody. Often, anorexia nervosa/bulimia patients are misdiagnosed as suffering from depression. The depression is result of the sufferer's inability to master perfection. These eating disordered adapt themselves to situations attempting to sharpen their perfection--since their desire is to copy values externally presented by a given society. Those manifesting the illness are extremely sensitive, uncommonly aware, and worry about everyone. It is as though the patient absorbs all the problems society is filled with.
[...] And all involved must recognize this misunderstood condition is not a disease but the manifestation of something very deep. This condition of confirmed negativity allows the patient to feel selfless. There is no identity. Decisions are difficult. The sensitivity possessed by these eating disordered to the others is incredible. The desire to give of themselves to strive for perfection is overwhelming. And their attempts to sharpen their perfection to copy the external values put forth in their society bring them down. [...]
[...] DiNicola explains a weak thesis: “culture is an envelope for the emergency of anorexia nervosa . culture is a specific socio-cultural address, container or envelope for the expression of the illness” (245-246). Obviously, the preoccupation with anorexia nervosa in Western culture is overwhelming. Such is its prevalence that Brumberg (1985) remarks that use ‘anorectic' much as we have used ‘syphilitic', ‘epileptic', or ‘diabetic' to mark and individual in a particular ( DiNicola 179). Are Eating Disorders Truly Culture-Bound? Yet, so called cases of the eating disorders are found in areas not bound by the cultural theory . [...]
[...] Dolan contends that, estimation of the true rate of eating disorders in nonwhite groups within Western societies is impossible without a large epidemiological survey” Dolan makes the suggestion that the reports, themselves, might “tell us more about the culture and attitudes of the researcher than the complexities of the subjects they describe” (76). A WORLD VIEW OF EATING DISORDERS Africa Buchan and Gregory (1984) studied anorexia nervosa in a Zimbabwean, a 22- year-old woman. Having lived in England from age two, she returned to Zimbabwe at six-and-a-half years old--teased for not speaking the native language and being overweight (Dolan 71). [...]
[...] Garfinkel and Garner summed up the need to recognize that several predisposing factors exist in trying to comprehend the family's role in anorexia nervosa: “While familial characteristics that predispose to the disorder may be common in a population, it is their interaction with an individual's constitutional and psychological make-up and the cultural milieu that determine whether this predisposition will result in disease” (167). Also reported was an innappropriate preoccupation with food that was distinguished in families of the eating disorderd (176). [...]
[...] Jonas, who assumes alcohol consumption and eating behavior are “modulated by opiodergic receptors” believes it not very true that “substance abuse is only a symptom of . a concomitant affective disorder” (109). Antidepressants As a Solution Studies by Jonas contradict those of the London and Swiss researchers (Koepp et al.) because their report concluded a correlation between the “diagnosis of borderline personality and not with eating disorders” (109). They were able to prove that eating disorder patients are not different from a control group that abuse of tranquilizers.) Yet, many recent studies do document high incidences among women with eating disorders of substance abuse (Beary, Lacey, & Merry, 1986; Brisman & Seigel, 1984; Bulik, 1987a, Jones, Cheshire, & Moorhouse, 1985; Lacey & Moureli, 1986; Mitchell, Pomeroy, & Huber, 1988; Mitchell, Soll, Eckert, Pyl & Hatsukami, 1989). [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
