Effects of Anorexia Essay Sample
There are more than 200,000 cases of Anorexia per year . “No Longer Linger” by Rae Swenson, describes Rae’s battle with anorexia. Also commonly referred to as Anorexia Nervosa. Rae just moved to a new town; she joined the cross-country team there. She soon began to feel overwhelmed, sad, and out of control, causing her to develop Anorexia as a form of control. Eventually leading her to be put on a feeding tube. She gradually started gaining weight back, but she never fully recovered. Anorexia is a body disorder that affects people physically and emotionally.
Anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by markedly reduced appetite or total aversion to food. Anorexia is a serious psychological disorder. “It is a condition that goes well beyond out-of-control dieting.” (Medical Definition of Anorexia, 2021). For example, Rae’s appetite started decreasing eventually it became a total aversion to food. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t eat anymore. I can’t make myself-- I really can’t make myself eat anymore.” Swenson, 22. She could not eat even if she wanted to at this point.
How does anorexia affect people physically? Even before extreme weight loss anorexia takes effect on the body. Some examples include dehydration, loss of energy, muscle wasting, hormonal imbalances, lightheadedness, poor temperature regulation, hair loss, loss of menstrual cycle, and extreme weight loss.” Anorexia Nervosa, Mayo Clinic staff, 2021. Many of these symptoms can be seen in Rae. Like when she had on layers of clothes so she was not cold.” I was so cold. I never warmed up. I started wearing layers; sometimes I wore three shirts. Short sleeves were out of the question.”(Swenson 41). Rae never got her period back; this was one of the biggest ways anorexia physically affected her.
Anorexia also affects people emotionally. People with this disorder may experience ” difficulties concentrating” or “Distorted self- perception.”Hunnicutt, 2021. Rae had difficulties concentrating. For example, if she ate too much for breakfast, she could not focus in class until she skipped lunch.”I was allowed to eat half of a non-fat muffin in the morning, so I could enjoy that. But, if I ate any more than that in the morning, I was down for the count. I would not be able to focus all morning. I would feel like crap and all I would be able to think about was the extra food I had eaten. If I could “fix” it by not eating lunch.”(Swenson,23). Rae had a distorted self-image too. She was driving home from work one night. “I happened to look down at my arm and the size of it startled me. It was no longer sinewy and bony; it had flesh, enough fat to pinch.” (Swenson, 85). This caused her to wear baggy shirts for two and a half years.
Anorexia affects people both physically, and emotionally, both being equally important. If the mind falls into Anorexia, the body is soon to follow. Anorexia could come to a point where a woman could lose or might never get her menstrual cycle back. Wearing baggy clothes to hide one’s body is common in people with anorexia. Part of the reason some people develop Anorexia is the media saying you are not pretty if you are not skinny.
