Posts Tagged ‘Problem’

Battling an Eating Disorder: When Bulimia Becomes a True American Idol Sized Problem

In a People Magazine article, American Idol contestant, Katherine McPhee disclosed that she has secretly suffered from bulimia for the past five years. It was her success in television’s American Idol competition that inspired her to come forward and get help to recover from her life-threatening eating disorder. Katherine, a vocalist who at her worst point was self-inducing vomiting up to seven times a day, claimed that she realized her bulimic behaviors were “equivalent to taking a sledgehammer to her throat” and brought herself to treatment.

Glamorizing Eating Disorder Illnesses? Or Becoming an Invaluable Role Model?

Some may think when celebrities like Katherine come forward with such problems it only “glamorizes” the illness and encourages dysfunction in impressionable young people. In reality, some impressionable youngsters may respond by engaging in self-destructive experimentation, but for the most part, the responses of people like Katherine McPhee provide invaluable role modeling for fans.

Though statistics show that 1 percent of young females in this country suffer with bulimia, the numbers most likely do not reflect the enormity of the problem, as bulimia is among the most frequently missed diagnoses, and only a minority of people with eating disorders, especially with bulimia nervosa, are treated in mental healthcare. A problem cannot be solved until it is defined. In coming forward as she has, McPhee has displayed the courage and intention to achieve her dreams, to become proactive in making her life as healthy, gratified and fulfilled as it can be. Despite the widely held misconception that “once eating disordered, always eating disordered,” eating disorders are fully curable in 80 percent of cases where recognized early and treated effectively. In her forthright and courageous stand, this American Idol contestant has become a true American idol.

Uncovering the Secrets of Bulimia Nervosa and Anorexia Nervosa: The Most Lethal Mental Health Disorders

The most lethal of all the metal health disorders, bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa are extremely hard to recognize. Highly secretive diseases, they rarely show up in doctors’ offices during physical or functional assessments; even laboratory tests do not show evidence of eating disorders until they are in their most advanced stages. By their nature counterintuitive, eating disorders typically give victims a pseudo-sense of power and control, creating the illusion of feeling and becoming “better than ever.” In actual fact, certain stages of recovery feel more precarious and painful than does the disease itself. Making matters even more confusing, many of the symptoms of these lethal disorders lay somewhere along the continuum of normal human behaviors. Who doesn’t overeat, under-eat or engage in emotional or social eating at times?

Eating disorders, which essentially represent an abuse of food in an effort to resolve emotional problems, transcend a dysfunctional relationship with food to represent the tip of a physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioral and social iceberg, with early signs of clinical eating disorders typically evident in diverse life spheres.

8 signs that parents and families may see at home, around the dinner table, in the family bathroom, or the child’s bedroom:

• Erratic eating, eating too much or too little, too frequently or too seldom.

• Dieting and other restrictive eating behaviors (in some instances vegetarianism or skipping meals) that can result in extreme hunger and gorging, irregular menstrual periods.

• Fear of putting on weight, with an all-encompassing preoccupation with food and eating that can account for as much as 80 percent of an individual’s thoughts

• Hiding food, and feeling shame and guilt after eating it. The refusal to eat in the company of others.

• Depressive moods

• Various forms of purging, including self-induced vomiting, excessive exercising, laxative, diuretic, or Ipecac abuse

• Disappearances into the bathroom during or following meals

• Impulsive, immoderate and out of control behaviors beyond the realm of eating, that might include shop lifting, promiscuity, cutting, engaging in chaotic relationships, abuse of substances such as drugs, alcohol, nicotine, diet pills, etc.

There is nothing passive about eating disorders. Always on the move, they are either getting better or you can be certain they are getting worse. Eating disorder recovery can be a long-term process, requiring input from a diverse team of professionals including physicians, psychotherapists, family therapists, nutritionists, psycho pharmacologists and school counselors. The course of recovery will be as variable, must be as comprehensive, and in many ways will feel as convoluted as the course of disease, typically combining outpatient and inpatient treatment milieus and diverse treatment modes. Victims of eating disorders, as young as age 5 or as old as 60, male or female, individuals alone or living within the context of a supportive or not so supportive family system need help to recognize, accept and conquer these diseases…to become capable of reclaiming their lives, proactively, with steadfast commitment… to fight the good fight for life and life quality.

Eating Disorders: A MAN’S Problem?

Eating disorders can be one of the most harmful and troubling things that occur in a person’s lifetime. The combination of the stress that they feel and oftentimes depression that leads to them, coupled with the harmful effects that eating disorders create in a person’s physical life, make him a true nightmare indeed. For most of the time that eating disorders have been a condition that people have been aware of, it has been associated almost primarily with women.

In their search for beauty and attractiveness, eating disorders are a somewhat common experience in many women’s lives. The media’s constant portrayal of “skinny is beautiful” leads many women to starve themselves in the hopes that they will be thought of in this way as well. As of late, however, the increasing trend of men becoming victims of eating disorders has been recognized as well.

In this age of beauty and fitness based on the eyes of movies, TV, and magazines, men are becoming increasingly stricken with the pressures and stress of being thin and in shape. It is becoming more and more common for men to suffer with eating disorders and because of it still being a relative rarity, many people never take notice that someone they know is actually suffering.

Once eating disorders get to later stages, it can be incredibly hard to treat the patient. Their psyche becomes completely consumed by the eating disorder and the types of activities involved including intense exercise and dieting and they can see their weight plummet to dangerously low levels. Because men are so rarely stricken with the disorder, those around them tend to ignore the symptoms until often it is too late. It might be that someone that they know begins exercising much more than usual or even skipping meals in an effort to lose weight and get in shape. Even if this person begins to take on the appearance of someone who was too thin, it is not unusual for those around him to either not notice or simply disregard the possibility that an eating disorder exists. This is making it extremely difficult to treat the ever increasing number of men who are suffering from harmful eating disorders.

It is vitally important that if you ever suspect someone that you know might have an eating disorder, whether or not they are man or woman, you should seek the advice of a health professional immediately. It is oftentimes a mistake to confront the person personally because they themselves may not think they have a problem or if they do, they may be extremely negative toward you because of your accusations. Once someone pushes away from you, it can be extremely hard to regain their trust in order to help them to the best of your ability. Eating disorders are incredibly harmful and can often lead to death in the worse case scenarios. Don’t assume that just because someone is a man that they are immune from these life threatening, horrifying conditions.

Sleep Disorder, the Common Form of Breathing Problem While Sleeping

The most common type of the sleep disorder is called as the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. The Sleep disorder means termination of the breath. It is characterized through repetitive episodes of higher airway barrier that take place during the sleep, usually related with the reduction in the blood oxygen saturation. Within the other expressions, the airways become obstructed on several probable sites. The higher airway could be obstructed by the excess tissue inside the airway, bulky tonsils, and a large tongue and typically include the airway muscles comforting as well as collapsing when asleep. An additional site of impediment may be the nasal passageway. Occasionally the configuration of the jaw and the airway could be an aspect in the sleep disorder. The common symptoms of sleep disorder are excessive daytime sleepiness. Sometimes the patient might be ignorant of this symptom—generally the bed associate is particularly aware of this. The sleep disorder also causes trouble in proper breathing while sleeping. There are much of the associated features that may include: morning headaches, loud snoring, a dry mouth upon awakening, unreflecting sleep, high blood pressure, chest retraction throughout sleep in little children, overweight, depression, irritability, difficulty concentrating, change in personality, excessive perspiring during sleep, reduced libido, heartburn, frequent nocturnal urination, insomnia, nocturnal snorting, gasping, choking, restless sleep, confusion upon awakening, and rapid weight gain. Well one should also know how serious the sleep disorder is in humans. It is a potentially critical condition that requires instant checkup attention. The risk of undiagnosed disruptive sleep disorder includes strokes, heart attacks, impotence, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat and heart disease. In calculation, the obstructive sleep disorder causes daytime sleepiness that may result in lost productivity, accidents and interpersonal association problems. The harshness of the symptom might be moderate, mild or severe.
The sleep test, known as polysomnography is frequently done to diagnose the sleep disorder. There are two kinds of polysomnograms. The overnight polysomnography test involves the monitoring of the brain waves, eye movement, muscle tension, respiration, oxygen stage in the blood plus audio monitoring. The second type of polysomnography check is the home monitoring test. The Sleep Technologist keeps one up to every electrode as well as instructs one on how to proof ones sleep with the computerized polysomnograph which one takes home plus returns up in the morning. These were painless tests which are generally covered by the insurance. A number of people contain facial deformities which may cause the sleep disorder. It simply might be that their jawbone is minor than it should be otherwise they might have a smaller aperture at the reverse of the throat. Fixing a deviate septum might help to open up the nasal passages. Remove of the tonsils and polyps or adenoids might help also. The Children are more likely to contain their adenoids and tonsils removed.