Anorexia and Bulimia Should Not Be Made Fun Of

 

By Pamela O'Connor

 

From the “Anna Rexia” Halloween costume in 2011 to the new controversial article “5 Reasons to Date a Girl with an Eating Disorder”, it has been shown that eating disorders are not taken as seriously as they should be. The costume itself showcases what an anorexic girl’s skeleton would look like, and was banned from stores. Unfortunately it was brought back, with the message that it would be funny to dress up as an anorexic on Halloween. Essentially, this poked fun at a serious mental disorder that can cause long term effects and sometimes even death.

Interestingly the article is attracting much more negative feedback than the costume. “5 Reasons to Date a Girl with an Eating Disorder” was posted on a website named “Return of Kings” by the author under the pseudo name Truthmosis. He/She starts the article by saying that eating disorders are luxuries designated for the white, wealthy girls. He also states that a classic eating disorder can predict a lot of traits about a woman and these traits end up being desirable to today’s American man. He also makes a side note to clear up that this article does not pertain to “fatties with no self-control”, only to girls with anorexia or bulimia, because they are considered to be the more attractive diseases.

The article then goes on to list the reasons that a man should date a girl with an eating disorder, insulting more and more women with every word. He believes that when a woman is fighting a disease such as anorexia or bulimia, she will improve her overall looks because she has become so obsessed with them. She will never be fat, and will care about her clothes and appearance in general, showing his narcissistic and superficial self in an even more obvious way. Another reason he states is that she will cost less money, meaning you can bring her to nice, expensive restaurants and only spend a minimal amount. This is because she will only order dishes such as a side salad, or whatever communal food you order, so sometimes you can even finish off her plate if you would like. This unfortunately encourages the disease, instead of trying to help the person you are dating to be happier and healthier and to value her for who she is and not only what she looks like.

                Another advantage according to Truthmosis is a girl’s low self-esteem. He considers it a good thing that she will be vulnerable and thinks too many women have a high level of confidence for no reason. He mistakenly believes these women will apologize more readily and will be modest, craving nothing more than your approval. And since this article states that eating disorders are only for the wealthy, he assumes that these girls have their own money, which will enable them to pay for things or buy you gifts. Truthmosis ends this article by saying that girls with eating disorders will also be better in bed, because according to the author, girls considered “crazy” make better partners in bed.

                Petitions have been written and people have more than shared their opinions about this outrageous article. Eating disorders, in any form, are a serious mental illnesses and affect the person as well as those around them, negatively. Nothing about their suffering is positive or fun. These diseases are not to be made fun of but are to be helped and healed. Authors like this make it harder to see the danger of these illnesses and instead turn them into a joke or dating game. It is sad that such uninformed negative opinions exist and even worse, that they give people distorted inaccurate information. Such irresponsible opinions can be taken seriously by mentally ill patients and can have a negative effect on ones struggling with this disease.

Article Source: http://www.returnofkings.com/21313/5-reasons-to-date-a-girl-with-an-eating-disorder

 

 

The Cognitive Reasons Behind Lying

           

 

 

           Lying is universally known as having a negative connotation. As children, we are continuously scolded any time we are caught lying. As we get older, we try to prevent guilt by using term such as “white lie” or “fib”. Yet, we has humans will inevitably lie throughout our lives. Why is it that we put ourselves through such a guilty and shameful process when we know it’s wrong?

            One answer could be to say that it is natural. No individual is perfect, and even if we are completely aware that something is morally wrong, we still may occasionally slip up. Another explanation backed up by psychological research, is that we are most likely to display a specific behavior when that behavior is reinforced through a variable-ratio schedule of reward. This means that an individual will never know how much reward he or she will receive with the occurrence of a particular behavior, or if there will be reward at all. So when we lie, it is to see if we will get away with it.

            If executed successfully, lying can free us from awkward situations, prevent us from hurting the feelings of others, and enhance our social status. Most of the time, the mere chance of such rewards being reaped will convince us to take the risk. This type of prioritization is shown in any species with a well developed forebrain, since these types of species often deem socialization an important aspect of survival.

 Kellie McClain

SOURCE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-dolphin-divide/201309/why-do-we-lie

Mental Disorders and the Holidays: Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress, Alcoholism, Depression, and Eating Disorders This Holiday Season

By Kellie McClain

The holiday season is filled with joy and happiness, spent with loved family members, peaceful quality time, and all around humbleness, gratefulness, and best wishes for everyone. So it seems as displayed by the media and popular culture. However, this is not always the case, and if you feel this description is far from accurate in terms of your personal experience, you are not alone. The holidays bring about stress and mixed emotions for everyone, but can have an especially detrimental effect on those with preexisting mental illness.

This does not mean that there is no joy to be experienced by such individuals. There are strategies which they and their families can implement to provide a supportive, healthy environment without making an already difficult disorder even harder to handle. Below are several disorders which may be directly affected by the environments brought on by the holiday season, including tips to navigate your way to a healthy, happy holiday experience.

Depressive Disorders: With the exception of bipolar disorder, depressive disorders involve a non-subsiding state of depression accompanied by depressive thoughts that occur regardless of the situation. Depressive thoughts and moods are especially prominent during this time because of the high frequency of Seasonal Effective Disorder, a depressive disorder caused by changes in seasons, during the fall and winter seasons. This can pose as a large issue during the holidays because being around family members you haven’t seen in a while might bring about suppressed feelings or disappointing memories. It may put you in a mental state similar to where you were in past negative situations.

The most important things to keep in mind in these situations is to keep as best you can to your regular schedule, spend time with those who truly love and care for you, and focus on the present day rather than the past and consistently reminding yourself who you are now and how far you’ve come. This will build up resistance to potential feelings of increased depression and allow you get happiness and enjoyment out of holiday season.

Anxiety Disorders: It is not abnormal for holiday gatherings and preparation to bring an immense amount of stress on everyone involved, since this time of year brings a condensed amount of special occasions to plan and attend in a short period of time. Individuals with generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, panic disorder, or obsessive compulsive disorder may feel specifically effected by holiday related stress.

Some ways to cope with the impending feelings of stress and anxiety include planning and executing everything in moderation and to avoid having an ideal vision of the ‘perfect holiday’ because such expectations are impossible to reach. It is important to accept that there may be issues and difficult encounters within the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. For those who experience anxiety in social situations, be sure to surround yourself with those who truly care and are sensitive to your needs. Try to put as little pressure on yourself as you can with being happy and joyous throughout each holiday experience. The less pressure you are under to find enjoyment, the more likely you are to find it naturally.

Alcoholism: Holiday gatherings bring about intense temptation for those recovering from alcohol addiction and may make it especially difficult for them to stay on track with their path to recovery. If you are a recovering alcoholic who wantst to be able to avoid relapse over the holidays and still be able to spend time with family it is crucial to focus on what the holiday gatherings are truly about and why they are important to you personally. Keep your focus away from the temptation of alcohol by always staying in conversation, take part in other things you may enjoy such as helping out around the house and catching up with distant friends and family. This will help you to get the most out of your holiday experience as well as refrain from a destructive path.

Eating Disorders: For those recovering from various eating disorders, the holidays may bring a time of anxiety, depression, and relapse of the road to recovery, rather than a time of joyous family gatherings. In order to avoid straying from the road to recovery and to prevent possible conflicts, it is highly suggested to have a set plan tailored to your specific needs and concerns that you think will best help you avoid holiday related issues in regards to your disorder. You must also place strong attention to what you value most and focus highly on relationships between those with whom you are sharing the holidays. Try viewing the holiday season in a broader context in terms of what is important to you and your family, as this helps with keeping the focus away from the disorder itself.

If feelings associated with these disorders persist to an extended amount despite the implementation of the above strategies, consulting a psychologist may be helpful in the process of coping. He or she can assist with identifying the core problems you are experiencing and developing successful plans of action from a professional perspective. Keep in mind that the holidays should be seen as a time to enhance your psychological well-being and being able to overcome such intense situations will mean a large improvement with your disorder and hope for future improvement.

SOURCES - http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-without-anxiety/201212/10-tips-surviving-the-holidays

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/12/addiction-and-the-holidays/

http://blogs.psychcentral.com/weightless/2012/12/4-ways-to-navigate-the-holidays-when-you-have-an-eating-disorder/

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/eating-mindfully/201212/coping-the-stresses-the-season

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/holiday-season.aspx

Obsession; Do we live in an Obsessed Society?

 

By Pamela O'Connor

 

Recently, we have begun to see the word obsession more and more. Obsession is used in simple sentences describing how we feel about food, shoes, or even people. It is has become overly used and replaced the word “like” entirely. No one can simply “like” something anymore; we must be obsessed with and think of it all the time, that is, until the next obsession comes along. We see celebrities talk about their obsessions, see postings of it on Facebook, hash tags on Instagram and start to feed into being obsessed with new trends or new people.

                One of the main reasons we obsess over things is our constant competitive need to be better than anyone else. When someone shows a liking for something, he or she must be obsessed with it. When this happens, this can make us feel that we not only love it more, but that we loved it first, and therefore, feel we have won in competing with others. This gives us an ego boost and makes us want to obsess even more. There is always something new, something that we want first and don’t want others to have. We are obsessed with having that designer bag, or looking like a certain celebrity so badly we become obsessed with changing everything about ourselves to resemble that person.

                Just the word obsession itself has leaked heavily into our culture and it is hard to resist. Headlines indicating how much we are obsessed with technology, tragedies, and current events further our obsession to be obsessed. Magazines show an obsession of beautiful women and expensive clothing, telling us we should be just as obsessed as they are. With so much to be obsessed about, there is no way to compare two objects. Everything is an obsession and, therefore, everything should be considered to be worthy of that much attention, even things that aren’t as perfect as we think.

                The frequency with what we use this word results in its losing the meaning and power that it used to hold. Obsession should be used to describe extreme love or desire, and originally it was meant to describe an actual mental disorder. But clearly that has changed. This word has gone from having a serious and almost always negative connotation to being used to describe how we feel about materialistic objects and relatively meaningless things. However, there are more than enough ways to describe our liking towards things in our lives, and finding new words to express that would greatly decrease our obsession with being obsessed.

What contributes to SAD-ness: A look into Seasonal Affective Disorder

http://mentalhealthtreatment.net/media/Seasonal-Affective-Disorder2.jpg

Walking out of work at 5pm into complete darkness is deflating. Where did the day go? This pitch darkness that swallows up the early evenings this time of the year may have neurobiological effects with clinical implications. Shortening of days and decreased sunlight occur in the September to November period and prolong until March and April. During this span, some individuals react negatively to these changes, feeling some form of depression, hopelessness, or lack of motivation. This effect is labeled Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

Humans need sunlight more than they think. As evidenced by the prevalence of this depressive disorder, being deprived of the sun or natural light can lead to a rise in melatonin levels and a fall in serotonin levels. 

Melatonin is known as the hormone that makes us drowsy and puts us to sleep at the right times according to our circadian rhythms. Our rhythm kicks in when we see darkness towards the end of a long day, but this rhythm is thrown off when this darkness comes a few hours earlier and there is still more left in the day. Melatonin can, therefore, increase more than usual during this time of year because of the increased darkness and shift in our rhythm. This makes us more sleepy and tired during the late afternoon and evenings.

The neurotransmitter serotonin is also linked to this disorder due to its mood stabilizing properties. It is proposed that serotonin decreases with a decrease in natural sunlight, resulting in more fluctuating moods during this time of darkness. Being surrounded by more and more darkness can certainly be a downer, so much so that it can chemically alter one's mood to a point of dysfunction.


http://www.lawyerswithdepression.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/seasonal-affective-disorder-2.jpg

As for who is commonly inflicted, SAD is found to be very prevalent in northern hemispheric territories. To be expected, the shorter days hit the northern hemisphere the hardest come fall. The dwindling sunlight hurts those above the equator with more intense SAD risk factors.

Solutions for treating or preventing this mood disorder are fairly unique. While psychoactive medication, in the form of anti-depressants, may alleviate the biological maladies, light therapy can be used to improve an individual's light exposure. Although it is not natural light, the use of a light box can emit bright rays and expose an individual to a brighter room or atmosphere, effectively addressing his or her troubles with the dominating natural darkness. Also, for less severe cases, a winter time vacation to an appropriate, perhaps tropical, location can provide a much needed break from the harsh seasonal changes. 

-Ryan Scanlon

Works Used:

http://whatispsychology.net/seasonal-affective-disorder-statistics-and-facts/

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/natural-standard/201201/feeling-sad-season