Mental Health Discussion Forum (Eating Disorders) †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Mental Health Discussion Forum (Eating Disorders). Answer: Introduction Some assume that eating disorders are simply personal choices about lifestyle but that is not the case. According to Buss (2015) eating disorders depict psychological and mental disorder which if not monitored and managed may result in dire health consequences. Eating disorders are often accompanied by obsessions with body weight, food and shape. The self-esteem of a person with an eating disorder is significantly low and may need the intervention of a professional health officer for recovery (Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2014). Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. This essay is going to discuss eating disorders as an advocacy issue. The discussion will outline the changes I would want to see, how eating disorders are portrayed in the media and how I would take a systems advocacy approach to the issue. The change I would like to see According to the National Eating Disorders Association anorexia is the third most prevalent chronic disease after asthma and type 1 diabetes. In Australia, eating disorders affect 9% of the whole population (National Eating Disorders Collaboration, 2018). The eating disorders mentioned above (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder are the most common. The most affected group of individuals are the teens and young people. Eating disorders result from an exaggerated perception of oneself and severe mental and psychological disorders. For instance, someone who is extremely underweight may view themselves as overweight. This in turn makes them to either eat very little amount of foods or force themselves to vomit the food after ingestion. The result is further aggravation of the situation. As demonstrated by Innes, Clough and Casey (2017), the health of the affected person is significantly deteriorated and, in some cases, may lead to death. Some other disorders such as binge eating involve eating excessively large amount of foods. This leads to overweight and obesity (Brownell and Walsh, 2017). This increases the chance for developing chronic illnesses such as cancer and diabetes. As seen above, eating disorders may have dire consequences if not managed early. It is not easy to identify a person having disorder and as a result it is difficult for family members to detect the disorders. Following the immense negative impact brought about by eating disorders I would like to see some change. I would like to see some policies and legislation developed to create awareness of these disorders, their symptoms, implications and management (Watson Bulik, 2013). This way it would be easier for family members to identify a person with the disorder at an early stage and take them to seek medical and professional help. Awareness should also be increased to help people know that Medicare covers treatment for these disorders How eating disorders is portrayed in the media The media has been often criticised for showing one sided information of people in different situations. For example, the characteristics of an idea person is one who meets the needs of what the public likes. Ideal characteristics and images have been used to describe an individual should look and how one should not look. However, this description is seen as one sided since it fails to highlight to the public what people with a disorder look like. Eating habits that are seen as good are focussed on by the media through analysing how to balance different meals. This fails to explain how eating disorders look like thus helping parents to understand what an eating disorder looks like to enable the population understand the problem and control the situation. Failure to show images of people suffering from the disorder and their eating patterns on the media indicates that the media is biased and skewed in showing how people who suffer from the condition look like. Further the media displays women and the rich people as the ones that are affected by eating disorders. This makes the population to think that people with this problem are skinny and have an obsession over fashion hoping that one day they will be better. The media presents a person with anorexia nervosa as a thin and attractive lady. The consumers of this information are likely to think of the disorder as a good lifestyle practice and a way of looking good (Larsen, Buss, Wismeijer, Song and Van, 2017). The media often presents nutrition and lifestyle information as a mixture of truths, half-truths and gossip. Such information is sensitive contrary to what the media does, only facts which have been supported by scientific research should be presented to the members of the public. There is need for the media to change the perception that it creates to the public to allow people to learn how to address this problem. Through showing proper images that show different aspects of the disorder as compared to what the normal state looks like. Mehler and Andersen (2017) suggests that the public can gain much if the media can air or portray the right information that allows people to understand what eating disorders look like and put proper strategies to address them. Since the condition develops slowly, early detection is important in addressing the problem early especially in children. The media can double up advocacy by focusing on the problem to allow the public get the right information about the disorder. As Nolen and Rector (2015) suggests that the media can contribute to reduction of eating disorders by giving the right information to the public like the way other conditions like obesity are portrayed. This sensitization allows the public to understand what nee ds to be done. How I would take the system advocacy approach to the issue The change that I would like to see is the development of clear strategies for handling the condition and assisting the community to develop proper strategies for treating the problem. Several approaches can be used to treat the condition and ensure that they lead to the best outcomes. Psychotherapy, self-help, nutritional management and family approaches can be used to assist people with eating disorders overcome the problem. Further, medications through a combination of different approaches can be used to treat other related disorders in Australia. Australians who are heavily affected with the eating disorder can also seek antidepressant medication like fluoxetine which is used in treating adults experiencing bulimia. The medication is combined with psychological therapies to assist them overcome the problem. Hay, et al. (2014). The change that I would like to see is an aggressive approach by the government to address the problem. Resources need to be channelled towards institutions that work on addressing the problem for early identification and control of the problem. Through proper health education, the population needs to learn early detection mechanisms for assessing and addressing eating disorders. Through advocacy and mobilising community resources, the public will be made aware of how to address the disorder and achieve the best healthcare outcome for the population. References Brownell, K. D., Walsh, B. T. (Eds.). (2017).Eating disorders and obesity: A comprehensive handbook. Guilford Publications. Buss, D. (2015).Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. Psychology Press. Hay, P., Chinn, D., Forbes, D., Madden, S., Newton, R., Sugenor, L., Ward, W. (2014). Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of eating disorders. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 48(11), 977-1008. Innes, N. T., Clough, B. A., Casey, L. M. (2017). Assessing treatment barriers in eating disorders: A systematic review.Eating disorders,25(1), 1-21. Larsen, R. J., Buss, D. M., Wismeijer, A., Song, J., van den Berg, S. M. (2017).Personality psychology: Domains of knowledge about human nature. McGraw Hill Education. Mehler, P. S., Andersen, A. E. (2017).Eating disorders: A guide to medical care and complications. JHU Press. NationalEatingDisordersCollaboration. (2018). Eating Disorders in Australia. Retrieved from National Eating Disorders Collaboration: https://www.nedc.com.au/ Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Rector, N. A. (2015).Abnormal psychology. Boston: McGraw-Hill. Ray, W. J. (2017).Abnormal psychology. SAGE Publications. Seligman, M. E., Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive psychology: An introduction. InFlow and the foundations of positive psychology(pp. 279-298). Springer Netherlands. Watson, H. J., Bulik, C. M. (2013). Update on the treatment of anorexia nervosa: review of clinical trials, practice guidelines and emerging interventions. Psychological Medicine, 43(12), 2477-2500.