Research Essay Example: Eating Disorder

Majorly under-eating or overeating can kill. An eating disorder is a life-threatening mental illness that kills. There are many different types of eating disorders that range from eating little to nothing to eating everything in sight to even eating inedible things like rocks and sand. Some people think that eating disorders are not very serious and that they should just “eat” but it is not that easy, because not only is an eating disorder a physical illness but it is a very serious mental illness. There are many causes of eating disorders and numerous effects of eating disorders on your mind and body.

The causes of eating disorders come from many different reasons and may even come from someone's mother. For instance, on “National Association of Mental Illness” states, “Most experts now believe that eating disorders are caused by people attempting to cope with overwhelming feelings and painful emotions by controlling food.” (“Eating Disorders”). This quote means that eating disorders do not just come from wanting to be skinny but have countless things that cause eating disorders, for instance when a mother is constantly calling her teenage daughter fat and always bringing up her weight this could cause the daughter to feel insecure and discouraged about herself all the time. As time goes on she could start eating less and less and start working out more and more, which is a sign of Anorexia. For example, Muhlheim writes  “In general, most experts agree that eating disorders are complicated illnesses that stem not from a single cause but a complex interaction of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. There are many different pathways to the development of an eating disorder.” (Muhlheim.) This shows how there is not only one cause of eating disorders and there are many factors that play into an eating disorder developing whether it's from social media or even a weight loss journey going too far.

There are many dangerous and life-threatening effects of eating disorders on the body. For instance in “Issue 59 I The Starved Brain – Can What We Eat Determine How We Think?” It states, “Less energy, reduced heart muscle mass, lower heart rate, and blood pressure, headaches, decreased hormone levels, sensitivity to noise and light, a feeling of being cold all the time, loss of strength and greater fatigue and hair loss and dry skin.”(“Research & Resources.”) These are some of the physical effects of eating disorders and they are life-threatening. One of the most serious effects of an eating disorder is dizziness and fainting, in particular, K-pop idols tend to faint a lot while practicing for performances because they do not eat enough food because they tend to have eating disorders because of how common it is and how they do not want to be called “fat” by fake fans. Another very damaging effect of eating disorders, specifically bulimia that is not discussed enough is dental damage. When a person has bulimia they eat large amounts of food followed by excessive purging (throwing up). Doing this for long amounts of time can cause a lot of future stomachs and dental problems. For example here are some of the many dangerous effects of excessively throwing up on your stomach and mouth, “Erosion of teeth from repeated stomach acid making contact with teeth, cavities, tooth sensitivity, swelling and soreness of the mouth, stomach ulcers, tears in the lining of the stomach, constipation.” (“Bulimia Nervosa: Signs & Symptoms, Complications & Treatment.”) This indicates just some of the many effects of eating disorders on the body and this is important because all these symptoms combined could cause your teeth to fall out.

How eating disorders affect the mind, is a very sensitive topic that is not talked about enough. Doctors and specialists have proven that eating disorders are mental disorders over physical disorders because it is all in their heads. For instance, one of the few effects of the brain is “Depression, anxiety, disordered thought patterns, distorted self-perceptions, difficulties concentrating,  guilt and isolation, urge to engage in dysfunctional behaviors” (Hunnicutt) Not only are these very irritating symptoms to live with, but they all also affect your brain so it is hard to treat all these symptoms. Another example of how eating disorders affect the brain is when someone with anorexia has a voice in their head, almost like a hallucination telling them, “Do not eat that. Is it worth it? How long will it take to burn this off?” For example, from a first person's point of view of an eating disorder, they say, “So as you can see, I became very rigid with my thinking.” (“My Eating Disorder Story.” 00:04:22-00:04:25). People may think this is a normal thing when the brain is not able to think on its own because it is always hearing a voice talking about food. This can cause further learning disabilities like ADHD and Dyslexia. Therefore, all these effects of eating disorders are not worth it because they are very hard to live with and are life-threatening.

In conclusion, there are many causes of eating disorders and numerous effects on your mind and body. Eating disorders can develop from many different aspects whether it is developed from someone's environment or just a weight loss journey that went wrong. Once someone has an eating disorder it is very hard to get out of it because of all these chronic, life-threatening effects like depression, anxiety, stomach problems, hair loss, extreme weight loss, and many more. So before telling someone with an eating disorder to just get over it and go eat, think about everything that may have caused it and everything they are going through because of it.