Discuss the treatments or interventions that have been shown to be the most effective for your selected disorder. Why?
Cite at least five peer-reviewed sources.Peer review refers to a study that has been accepted by a standard journal using blind review by peers in the field. This means that every study should have a fair access to publication based upon quality of the study.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
Transcript
Battling eating disorders [Video file]. (2006). Retrieved November 11, 2016, from http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=18566&xtid=35200
AM I PRETTY ENOUGH TO BE NOTICED? WILL THEY LOVE ME IF I GO ON A DIET? WHY DO GIRLS NEED TO BE SKINNY? WILL MY FRECKLES GO AWAY? DO I NEED LIPOSUCTION? DO I NEED A BOOB JOB? DO YOU THINK I’M FAT? AS A YOUNG PERSON IN AMERICA THE PRESSURE TO BE THIN IS ALL AROUND US. HI, I’M JAMIE-LYNN SIGLER, AND YOU’RE ABOUT TO LEARN ABOUT THE NUMBER ONE MENTAL HEALTH KILLER IN AMERICA. TODAY, FAR TOO MANY YOUNG WOMEN AND MEN THINK THAT TAKING THE ROAD OF ANOREXIA AND BULIMIA IS A LIFESTYLE CHOICE OR A QUICK WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT. IN PART, THIS HAS TURNED ANOREXIA AND BULIMIA INTO A NATIONAL EPIDEMIC. IN FACT, APPROXIMATELY 10 MILLION WOMEN AND ONE MILLION MEN IN AMERICA SUFFER FROM EATING DISORDERS AND THE NUMBERS ARE RISING. AND, IN A DISTURBING TREND, SUPPORT GROUPS HAVE APPEARED ON THE WEB; PLACES WHERE TEENS SHARE TIPS AND OFFER SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO ONE ANOTHER IN THEIR LIFESTYLE CHOICE TO STARVE THEMSELVES. SOME EVEN SPORT BRACELETS OF CODED COLORS TO PROUDLY AND FOOLISHLY PROCLAIM THEIR DISORDER TO OTHERS IN THE KNOW. BUT THE REALITY IS IT’S A SERIOUS ILLNESS. ONE THAT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME AND IS SADLY MISUNDERSTOOD. I SHOULD KNOW. I SUFFERED FROM AN EATING DISORDER WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER. BUT I WAS ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES BECAUSE, OVER TIME, WITH THE HELP OF FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND TRAINED PROFESSIONALS, I RECOVERED. IN FACT, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS I’VE DEVOTED MYSELF TO RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT THE SERIOUSNESS OF EATING DISORDERS AND STARTED MY OWN FOUNDATION DEDICATED TO THE CAUSE. OVER THE NEXT 20 MINUTES YOU WILL HEAR THE HARROWING STORIES OF REAL LIFE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUFFERED WITH EATING DISORDERS. YOU’LL LEARN WHAT THE ILLNESS IS REALLY LIKE, HOW TO SPOT SYMPTOMS IN YOURSELF OR YOUR FRIENDS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, HOW AND WHERE TO GO GET HELP. LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO BRONWYN. WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE IS THE HARSHER REALITY OF THE GLAMOROUS PICTURES THAT TEND TO GLORIFY EATING DISORDERS. THIS IS MY HOUSE. MY ROOM’S WINDOW. THIS IS THE BASEMENT, I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE IN HERE.
(SOUND OF WATER RUNNING)
(SOUND OF WATER RUNNING)
(SOUND OF WATER RUNNING) I TRULY BECAME ADDICTED TO THROWING UP BY THE TIME I WAS 13. I BELIEVE BULIMIA TO BE AN ADDICTION, BUT NOT ONLY AN ADDICTION, SOMETHING THAT IS EXTREMELY POWERFUL AND STRONG IN ITS OWN RIGHT. BULIMIA IS WHEN YOU EAT AND, AFTER YOU EAT, YOU THROW UP. BINGEING AND PURGING IS WHEN YOU EAT LARGE AMOUNTS OF FOOD AND THEN YOU THROW THEM UP. I HAVE BOTH. TODAY I’VE HAD ONE THING. IT’S 5:30 AND I’VE HAD A VENTE SKIM, NO FOAM CHAI AND I FEEL DISGUSTING. FOOD IS EVERYWHERE, AND IT’S ALSO AN ADDICTION. IT’S LIKE GOING INTO A PHARMACY IF YOU’RE A DRUG ADDICT AND HAVING ANY CHOICE OF HEROIN, COCAINE, ECSTASY THAT YOU LIKE, ONLY FOR A COUPLE OF DOLLARS. PEOPLE DON’T REALIZE THAT ABOUT BULIMICS OR ANOREXICS. IT’S NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN JUST QUIT, BECAUSE IF YOU QUIT FOOD YOU DIE. AND FOR ME, FOOD IS MY VICE; BULIMIA IS MY VICE. IT’S THE WAY I DEAL WITH THINGS. YEAH, THERE IS NOTHING GLAMOROUS ABOUT EATING DISORDERS. IT IS A LIFE-THREATENING DISEASE AND IT CAN KILL YOU AT ANY TIME. AND YOU ARE AT RISK EVERY SINGLE MINUTE THAT YOU LIVE WITH AN EATING DISORDER. AND, YOU KNOW WHAT? IF YOU COME AND INTERVIEW ME IN TWO WEEKS I MIGHT NOT BE HERE. EATING DISORDERS PUT YOU AT RISK EVERY SINGLE MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE IF YOU HAVE ONE. BRONWYN SUFFERS FROM ALL THREE MAJOR FORMS OF EATING DISORDERS. ANOREXIA – ESSENTIALLY SELF-STARVATION. THIS DISORDER INVOLVES A REFUSAL TO MAINTAIN A MINIMALLY NORMAL BODY WEIGHT. IN SEVERE CASES, ANOREXIA CAN BE LIFE THREATENING. BULIMIA – THIS INVOLVES REPEATED EPISODES OF BINGE EATING FOLLOWED BY WAYS OF TRYING TO PURGE THE BODY OF FOOD OR OF THE EXPECTED WEIGHT GAIN. PEOPLE CAN HAVE THIS CONDITION AND BE OF NORMAL WEIGHT. BINGE EATING – THIS IS CHARACTERIZED BY FREQUENT EPISODES OF OVEREATING WITHOUT PURGING. ONE OF THE REASONS EATING DISORDERS ARE REACHING EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS IS THE OBSESSION WITH BEING THIN. IMPOSSIBLY THIN ACTRESSES GRACE THE COVERS OF MAGAZINES. BUT HOW MUCH OF IT IS REAL AND HOW MUCH IS AN ILLUSION? 99% OF THE IMAGES YOU SEE IN MAGAZINES HAVE BEEN RETOUCHED. THE ILLUSION OF PERFECTION IS BECOMING HARDER TO ATTAIN SINCE THERE IS LESS AND LESS REALITY IN THE MODEL AND CELEBRITY PHOTOGRAPHS IN MAGAZINES, AND YET WOMEN AND MEN ARE STRIVING TO REACH THAT PERFECTION. BUT FOR MOST PEOPLE WHO STRUGGLE WITH EATING DISORDERS THE PROBLEMS AREN’T REALLY ABOUT FOOD. IT’S ABOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS – CULTURAL, SOCIAL, FAMILIAL FACTORS, GENETIC FACTORS, POSSIBLY EXCESSIVE SEROTONIN, AND POSSIBLY AN AUTO-IMMUNE PROCESS, THE SAME SORT OF AUTO-IMMUNE PROCESS THAT CAUSES MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS. BUT USUALLY IT STARTS WITH A LACK OF SELF-ESTEEM AND NOT BEING ABLE TO RECOGNIZE ONE’S SELF-WORTH. MEET KATE, YONA, AND HILLARY, WHO ALL STRUGGLE DAILY WITH EATING DISORDERS. THE FIRST REAL RECOLLECTION I HAVE OF HAVING AN EATING DISORDER WAS PROBABLY AROUND 14 OR 15. MY PARENTS WERE GETTING DIVORCED AND MY MOM GOT SICK A LITTLE WHILE AFTER THAT AND THERE WERE JUST A LOT OF THINGS THAT WERE GOING OUT OF CONTROL IN MY LIFE THAT DIDN’T FEEL VERY SAFE AND I THINK I FELT A NEED TO CONTROL SOMETHING. I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO PUT WORDS TO WHAT I WAS FEELING. I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO LET THAT OUT OR HOLD ONTO IT OR SUPPRESS IT AND SO THIS WAS SOMETHING… ALMOST LIKE A WORLD I COULD GO INTO TO ESCAPE FROM WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON IN MY WORLD. THERE’S ALWAYS SOME ELEMENT OF FOOD THAT PEOPLE THINK, IF YOU JUST DON’T EAT THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU’LL BE SET FOR LIFE. YOU’LL ALWAYS BE SVELTE, AND WHATEVER. BUT THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING, SO… WHATEVER THAT SORT OF TREND WAS, I THOUGHT, “OKAY, THIS IS WHAT IT NEEDS TO BE”. AND AS TIME WENT ON, I CUT OUT SO MANY THINGS FROM MY DIET, THERE WAS REALLY NOTHING LEFT. MY EATING DISORDER HAS BEEN WITH ME FOR AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER. I WAS THE SPECIAL GRANDCHILD. I WAS THE OLDEST, I WAS THE GIRL, I WAS ALWAYS IN DRESSES. PART OF IT IS THE PICTURE-PERFECT SUBURBAN GIRL WHO NEEDS TO BE THE PERFECTIONIST. I WAS IN PRIVATE SCHOOL MY WHOLE LIFE, I WAS A BALLERINA, SO THERE WERE ALL OF THOSE SOCIAL FACTORS WORKING, I GUESS, AGAINST ME FROM THE TIME I WAS EIGHT OR NINE YEARS OLD. I WAS AWARE OF DIETING AND AWARE THAT THE WAY I FELT ABOUT MY BODY WAS THE WAY THAT I JUDGED MY LIFE. I STILL BELIEVE THAT I WAS COMPLETELY PREDISPOSED TO THIS DISEASE. I STRUGGLED WITH DEPRESSION, I STRUGGLED WITH ANXIETY DISORDER, WITH OCD, AND ALL THOSE THINGS COMBINED ULTIMATELY CULMINATED IN THE EATING DISORDER. FOR ME, IT’S BECOME MY BEST, MOST EFFECTIVE, AND, MOST OF THE TIME, ONLY COPING MECHANISM FOR ANYTHING STRESSFUL IN MY LIFE. I PROBABLY STARTED HAVING ANORECTIC TENDENCIES TOWARD PROBABLY ABOUT THE AGE OF 12 OR 13. I’D ALWAYS BEEN A SMALL CHILD, A SMALL KID, AND I THINK AS I WAS GETTING OLDER AND DEVELOPING AND MY BODY WAS CHANGING, THAT WAS KIND OF FREAKING ME OUT. I WOULD GET VERY ANGRY ABOUT THINGS AND FEEL VERY UPSET BY THINGS PEOPLE WOULD DO AND I DIDN’T HAVE OTHER WAYS THAT I FELT I COULD COPE WITH THAT AND I THINK THAT’S HOW IT STARTED. IT’S LIKE PART OF IT’S STEMMING FROM TYPICAL FIGHTING THAT PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY’RE 13 YEARS OLD, AND JUST ESCALATING AND BEING LIKE, WELL, THE WAY I CAN GET BACK AT EVERYONE IS BY NOT EATING. AND I WOULD GET ANGRY AND THAT WAS HOW I WOULD DEAL. I BELIEVE THAT ALL EATING DISORDERS ARISE FROM SOMETHING, AND MINE I BELIEVE WAS CAUSED BY MY SEXUAL ABUSE AND THIS IS JUST THE SYMPTOMS THAT I ACT OUT UPON. ALL OF MY FEELING REALLY GROSS AND CONTAMINATED INSIDE, I WANT TO GET IT OUT OF ME SO I THROW UP. I REMEMBER A SOCIAL WORKER IN HIGH SCHOOL TELLING ME “YOU NEED TO CONTROL THIS BEFORE IT CONTROLS YOU”. YOU GET SO ISOLATED. YOU ISOLATE YOURSELF SO MUCH THAT YOU JUST LOSE TOUCH WITH THE WORLD. IT FEELS LIKE YOU’RE FALLING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. IT’S LIKE THIS THING THAT COMES OVER YOU AND YOU CANNOT FUNCTION LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN BEING WITH IT. WEIGHT LOSS FOR ME IS LIKE A DRUG. WHEN I LOSE WEIGHT AND SEE THAT REFLECTED ON A SCALE, IT’S LIKE EXPERIENCING A HIGH. EATING DISORDERS ARE NOT A WAY OF LIFE, BUT A DISEASE THAT HAS REAL MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES THAT SOMETIMES LEAD TO DEATH. PLAYING AROUND WITH AN EATING DISORDER, THERE’S NO SUCH THING. WHEN YOU MAKE THE CHOICE TO THROW UP, YOU MAKE THE CHOICE TO PUT YOUR LIFE IN JEOPARDY. I COULDN’T DRAG MYSELF OUT OF BED SOMETIMES. I COULDN’T, YOU KNOW, GET WHAT I NEEDED TO GET DONE, DONE IN THE DAY. IT IS NOT A PRETTY DISEASE. YEAH, YOU MIGHT BE THIN, BUT THERE’S SO MANY EFFECTS THAT MAKE IT JUST ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. I WOULD PUT MY HANDS THROUGH MY HAIR AND PULL OUT JUST CLUMPS OF HAIR. MY TEETH REALLY GOT BAD AND DECAYED. MY PERIODS STOPPED FOR A TIME, THEN THEY BECAME IRREGULAR. YOU KNOW, BASICALLY, YOU STOP BEING A WOMAN. YOU DEVELOP BODY HAIR THAT PREVENTS THE COLD FROM GETTING TO YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE MALNOURISHED. THE TECHNICAL TERM IS “LANUGO”, BUT IT’S VERY FINE, BABY-LIKE HAIR THAT JUST WAS ALL OVER MY STOMACH AND MY CHEST AND ARMS. YOUR SKIN IS SO DRY I HAVE TO GO TO A DERMATOLOGIST TO GET MY SKIN TAKEN CARE OF. I MEAN, IT FLAKES OFF. IT’S REALLY HARD TO FOCUS, IT’S REALLY HARD TO CONCENTRATE, IT’S REALLY HARD TO MEMORIZE THINGS. I JUST COULD NOT FOCUS ON ANYTHING. I WAS TAKING A LIMITED COURSE LOAD AND EVEN THEN COULDN’T FOCUS ON MY CLASSES. COULDN’T DO MY WORK, COULDN’T DO ANYTHING I WAS SO COMPLETELY MALNOURISHED AND DEPRESSED. I HAD BEEN CONSTIPATED FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS IN THE PAST. I’VE HAD TO GET COLONICS TO KIND OF LIKE REMEDY THAT. I’VE HAD SEVERE DIARRHEA. SOME LOSS IN BONE DENSITY, YOU KNOW, WHICH CAN LEAD TO OSTEOPOROSIS. I’M 20 YEARS OLD, I HAVE THE BONES OF A 75-YEAR OLD WOMAN, WHICH MEANS I HAVE MODERATE TO SEVERE OSTEOPENIA. LUCKILY I MISSED OSTEOPOROSIS. I EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE DISCONNECT FROM WHAT MY BODY FELT LIKE. I HAD A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH MY BLOOD PRESSURE. I’D STAND UP AND EVERYTHING WOULD GET BLACK. NO CLOTHES FIT YOU. YOU CAN’T SIT ON ANY SURFACE WITHOUT FEELING UNCOMFORTABLE. IT BECOMES AN EVERYDAY EXPERIENCE. I MEAN, YOU FEEL LIKE YOU’RE 90 YEARS OLD. I’M THE EXACT SAME HEIGHT THAT I WAS IN THE 7TH GRADE, SO I DID NOT HIT A GROWTH SPURT MOST LIKELY BECAUSE I WAS EXTREMELY MALNOURISHED. AFTER A WHILE IT BECOMES NORMAL TO BE LOSING HAIR AND YOU THINK WELL, I’M A GIRL. GIRLS SHED HAIR. AND IT BECOMES NORMAL TO HAVE BROKEN NAILS BECAUSE LONG NAILS BREAK. AND IT FEELS NORMAL TO HAVE DRY SKIN BECAUSE LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE DRY SKIN. BUT NOW THAT I DON’T HAVE CERTAIN SYMPTOMS, I’M LOOKING BACK AND THINKING IT’S NOT NORMAL TO BE SITTING ON THE BUS AND LOSING THE SENSE OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND SHOWING UP AT WHEREVER YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE. EVERYTHING THAT COULD GO WRONG IN YOUR BODY DOES GO WRONG. EATING DISORDERS ARE SPREADING TO OTHER GROUPS, CULTURES, AND COUNTRIES, BUT IT’S STILL A SILENT DISEASE. MEET HANNAH AND MICHAEL, TWO PEOPLE YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED ALSO SUFFER FROM EATING DISORDERS. I WOULD SAY TO MEN WITH EATING DISORDERS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT BE ASHAMED AT ALL BECAUSE DISORDERS AREN’T GENDER SPECIFIC. THEY AFFECT EVERYONE AND THERE ARE PLENTY – PLENTY, PLENTY OF GUYS OUT THERE WHO SUFFER FROM THIS. DURING HIGH SCHOOL I DECIDED THAT I REALLY WANTED TO GET, LIKE, SIX-PACK ABS. IT JUST BECAME THIS OBSESSION WITH MY MID-SECTION AND EVERY TIME I LOOKED IN THE MIRROR, THAT’S ALL I WOULD SEE AND THE ONLY THING I KNEW TO DO FOR IT WAS TO RESTRICT CALORIES. FROM BEING SO AWARE OF CALORIES I STARTED THINKING ABOUT EVERYTHING I ATE AND IT GOT TO THE POINT AT ONE POINT THAT I BECAME ANOREXIC. YET IN HIGH SCHOOL WHEN I WAS GOING THROUGH ALL THIS, THE PEOPLE AROUND ME NEVER CALLED ME ANOREXIC, NEVER REALLY THOUGHT OF IT AS A PROBLEM AND I’M CONVINCED THAT’S BECAUSE I’M A GUY AND IT’S JUST NOT TALKED ABOUT FOR GUYS. THERE’S THIS DOUBLE STANDARD WHERE IF A GIRL IS BEING REALLY STRICT ABOUT HER DIET AND CONSTANTLY GOING TO THE GYM, WELL, THEN SHE’S THOUGHT OF AS HAVING AN EATING DISORDER. IF A GUY DOES THE SAME THING IT’S THOUGHT THAT HE’S JUST BEING, YOU KNOW, HE’S WATCHING HIS.. YOU KNOW, HE’S BEING A MAN, GOING TO THE GYM; HE’S TAKING CARE OF HIMSELF. I GO AROUND PERFORMING A SOLO PERFORMANCE ABOUT MALE BODY IMAGE AND BODY ISSUES. ONE GUY I INTERVIEWED, HIS MOTHER DIDN’T WANT ME SPEAKING TO HIM BECAUSE PRIVACY WAS HER MAIN ISSUE. IT’S NOBODY’S BUSINESS, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE. AND THEN SHE SAID “IF THIS GETS OUT ABOUT MY SON, IF WOMEN FIND OUT, MY SON WILL NEVER MARRY BECAUSE NO WOMAN COULD LOVE HIM AFTER LEARNING HE HAD AN EATING DISORDER.” THIS IS REAL FOR MEN. THEY GO THROUGH THE SAME PRESSURES AS WOMEN THESE DAYS. I’VE BEEN DEALING WITH BULIMIA FOR FOUR YEARS. I, UM, FIRST GOT SICK MY FIRST YEAR OF COLLEGE. I FELT LIKE IT WAS OUT OF CONTROL THE FIRST TIME I STARTED THROWING UP. I KNEW IT WAS ABNORMAL, I KNEW IT WAS STRANGE. IT WASN’T SOMETHING THAT I NORMALLY DO. I WAS REALLY ASHAMED OF IT AND EMBARRASSED AND SPENT SO MUCH TIME TRYING TO HIDE IT FROM MY ROOMMATES. I THINK THEY KNEW BUT THEY DIDN’T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. MY PARENTS EXPRESSED A LOT OF CONCERN OVER WHAT I WAS DOING, HOW MUCH WEIGHT I’D LOST, AND THEY BASICALLY TOLD ME THEY WEREN’T GOING TO SEND ME BACK TO SCHOOL AND I HAD TO GO INTO TREATMENT. TURNED OUT TO BE ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS, WELL, THE HARDEST THING I’VE EVER HAD TO WORK ON IN MY LIFE, REALLY. AND IT PRETTY MUCH KICKED MY BUTT PRETTY GOOD FOR FOUR YEARS. I WAS IN AND OUT OF DIFFERENT TREATMENT CENTERS. I NEVER GOT TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL BECAUSE I NEVER GOT WELL ENOUGH TO GO BACK. I SPENT ALL MY TIME GOING IN AND OUT OF TREATMENT AND THE BULIMIA ALWAYS GOT OUT OF CONTROL AGAIN AND I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK INTO TREATMENT. AND THAT’S KIND OF BEEN THE STORY OF MY LIFE SINCE I LEFT – JUST KIND OF GETTING WELL BUT NOT BEING ABLE TO HOLD ONTO WELLNESS LONG ENOUGH TO DO ANYTHING WORTH MENTIONING. PEOPLE THAT ARE THINKING THIS ILLNESS ISN’T A SERIOUS ONE HAVE NEVER LIVED THROUGH IT. IT’S IMPOSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE TO SAY IT’S NOT A REAL ILLNESS ANY MORE THAN CANCER OR DIABETES ISN’T A REAL ILLNESS. UNLESS YOU’VE BEEN THERE AND YOU’VE HAD TO LIVE WITH IT OR IF YOU’RE THE LOVED ONE OR A FAMILY MEMBER WHO’S HAD TO SEE WHAT IT DOES, YOU KNOW, AND HAD TO LIVE THROUGH ALL OF THE DIFFICULTIES AND MISERIES, REALLY, OF THIS REALLY DEBILITATING ILLNESS, YOU CAN’T JUST SAY “WELL, JUST SNAP OUT OF IT” ANY MORE THAN YOU CAN JUST SNAP OUT OF ANY OTHER KIND OF ILLNESS. IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT IF YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER WHO IS SICK TO LEARN HOW TO TALK TO THEM, TO GET THEM HELP WITHOUT PUSHING THEM AWAY. FOR EMILY, IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO CONFRONT HER FRIEND, YONA. BUT IN THE END, IT HELPED SAVE HER LIFE. HEY, HOW ARE YOU? LONG TIME, NO SEE. COME IN. YONA AND I ALWAYS HAD A GREAT TIME TOGETHER. OUR RELATIONSHIP WAS BASED ON A LOT OF PERSONAL JOKES AND HUMOR AND I COULD ALWAYS GUARANTEE A LAUGH FROM HER. SOMEWHERE RIGHT WHEN SHE HAD PROBLEMS WITH DEPRESSION, SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE OF HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEN ESPECIALLY AS HER EATING DISORDER BECAME MORE ACUTE, THERE WAS A CHANGE IN HER PERSONALITY. IT WAS MUCH HARDER FOR HER TO FIND THINGS TO LAUGH AT. SHE BECAME MUCH MORE CYNICAL. AND ESPECIALLY ONCE WE LEFT FOR COLLEGE, MOST OF OUR CONVERSATIONS ON THE PHONE REVOLVED AROUND HER EATING DISORDER OR JUST SELF-DEPRECATING COMMENTS ABOUT HERSELF AND ABOUT HER SITUATION; HOW SHE FELT LIKE SHE WAS GOING CRAZY. THE WAYS IN WHICH FOOD OR CONCERNS ABOUT FOOD OR PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE HER EAT HAD DOMINATED HER LIFE TO THE POINT WHERE THERE REALLY WASN’T THAT SAME LEVEL OF COMMUNICATION THAT WE’D ALWAYS HAD. IT HAD BEEN REPLACED BY AN EATING DISORDER. I THINK I WISH I’D SAID SOMETHING EARLIER, BUT I DON’T THINK I COULD HAVE. I DON’T THINK IT WOULD HAVE NECESSARILY HELPED. I THINK FOR A WHILE, YONA, WHO HAS ALWAYS BEEN A VERY SELF-SUFFICIENT PERSON, THOUGHT THAT SHE COULD MAYBE SOLVE IT HERSELF, THAT IT WAS SOMETHING SHE COULD WORK OUT IN HER HEAD OR WITH HER DOCTOR, THAT SHE DIDN’T NEED SOMETHING AS SERIOUS AS ENTERING A HOSPITAL. SO I GUESS I WAS INCLINED TO BELIEVE THAT AND THEN ALSO I THOUGHT THAT SHE NEEDED TO BELIEVE THAT FOR A LITTLE WHILE, BUT LIKE I SAID, IT KIND OF REACHED HER BREAKING POINT; FOR HER BUT ALSO FOR ME. I THINK I REALIZED IT JUST WASN’T POSSIBLE. THERE’S A RISK THAT YOU’RE GOING TO WORRY THAT YOUR FRIEND IS GOING TO HATE YOU IF YOU STAND UP AND SAY, “HEY, YOU LOOK TERRIBLE” OR “YOU HAVE A PROBLEM” OR WHAT I DID WHICH WAS, AT A CERTAIN POINT, JUST SAY “I CAN’T LISTEN TO THIS ANYMORE”. AND I SAID “YOU HAVE TO GO INTO THE HOSPITAL OR ELSE YOU’RE GOING TO DIE AND I CAN’T HELP YOU, I CAN’T TALK TO YOU BECAUSE THAT’S NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING”. AND THAT WAS HARD; I REMEMBER CRYING PRETTY HARD AFTER THAT CONVERSATION. BUT I THINK WHAT YOU HAVE TO REALLY UNDERSTAND IS THAT IF YOU LOVE YOUR FRIEND AND THEY’RE AT A POINT WHERE THEY’RE REALLY HURTING THEMSELVES, YOU SHOULD TAKE THE RISK. I WAS ANGRY AT THE TIME, BUT IT WAS VERY, IN RETROSPECT, THE MOST HELPFUL THING THAT I’D HEARD FROM MY PEERS. BY NOW YOU CAN SEE HOW SERIOUS THIS ILLNESS REALLY IS. FOR THIS REASON, IT’S IMPORTANT TO SPOT THE SIGNS OF EATING DISORDERS AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. SOME OF THE SIGNS ARE: SOME OF THE SIGNS ARE: SOME OF THE SIGNS ARE: SOME OF THE SIGNS ARE: IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT EVEN THOUGH THIS DISEASE IS VERY DIFFICULT TO CONTROL, THERE IS A WAY TO GET HELP. I DID, AND SO CAN YOU. AND THE FIRST STEP IS FOR YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE. I WOULD HOPE THAT, EVEN IF YOU FEEL AT YOUR MOST DESPERATE, YOU KNOW THAT IN THAT MOMENT THERE IS A CHOICE. EVEN IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE IT WITH ANY PIECE OF YOUR BODY, IT’S SOMETHING THAT IS A TRUTH, AND I UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS TO FEEL COMPLETELY OUT OF YOURSELF, COMPLETELY UNTRUSTFUL OF ANYTHING, ANYONE, EVEN YOUR OWN MIND, BECAUSE ONCE YOU HAVE THE AWARENESS THAT THERE IS SOMETHING SICK GOING ON, IT’S SO HORRIFYING. IT’S SO FRIGHTENING. BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS YOU CAN COME BACK FROM IT. YOU CAN MAKE A CHOICE IN THAT MOMENT. AND I THINK THAT’S WHAT I WOULD SAY TO ANYONE WHO FELT THAT DESPERATION. IT’S A BATTLE. IT’S GOING TO GO ON FOR A WHILE, BUT IT’S NOT SOMETHING THAT IS A DEATH SENTENCE. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE. LIKE MANY RECOVERING ANOREXICS AND BULIMICS, BRONWYN RELAPSED AND WAS ADMITTED INTO A RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITY IN TUCSON CALLED MIRASOL. THERE SHE GOT THE HELP SHE NEEDED AND ALLOWED OUR CAMERAS INTO THIS VERY PRIVATE EXPERIENCE. WE’RE AT MIRASOL WHICH IS A NEW TREATMENT FACILITY OUTSIDE OF TUCSON, ARIZONA, AND I GOT HERE BECAUSE I FINALLY… I FINALLY DECIDED THAT I WANTED HELP. FOR A MONTH BEFORE I CAME TO MIRASOL I HAD TO GAIN WEIGHT. I HAD TO BECOME PHYSICALLY STABLE ENOUGH TO COME OUT HERE AND THAT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT FOR ME, IT WAS A CONSTANT STRUGGLE. SO I WAS IN THAT IN-BETWEEN STAGE OF DO I WANT TO GET BETTER OR DO I NOT WANT TO GET BETTER, AND THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TO DO IN ORDER TO GET BETTER. SO IT WAS A REALLY DESPERATE AND HOPELESS TIME. IT’S HARD TO KIND OF DECONSTRUCT THE WALLS THAT I’D BEEN BUILDING FOR ALMOST TEN YEARS OF EATING DISORDER BEHAVIOR. AND IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IN 60 DAYS. BUT IT’S AMAZING WHAT WORK CAN HAPPEN IF YOU JUST SURRENDER IN 60 DAYS AND I THINK I’M FOCUSING MORE ON THE POSITIVE THAN THE NEGATIVE. I THINK THE BIGGEST PIECE AND THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE IS MY WORK WITH MY PRIMARY THERAPIST. HYPNOSIS AND EMDR AND DEEP TRAUMA WORK, AND GOING BACK TO WHEN THE TRAUMA STARTED AS A LITTLE ONE AND REALLY GOING THROUGH IT. I’VE HAD TO ACTUALLY FEEL MY EMOTIONS AND NOT RELY ON A CRUTCH, MY EATING DISORDER, TO PULL ME OUT OR HELP ME TO ESCAPE FROM THOSE EMOTIONS, SO IT’S BEEN REALLY HARD. AND ME JUST IN MY DIAPER AND NOT ANY CLOTHES ON, AND HE’S USUALLY NAKED IN THE DREAM, SO… BUT GOING THROUGH IT IS A HECK OF A LOT EASIER BECAUSE I CAN ACTUALLY SEE THAT THERE’S LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL ALMOST IN THE SENSE THAT EVERY TIME I RELEASE SOMETHING FROM A SESSION WITH BECCA OR DOING EMDR OR TRAUMA WORK, I FEEL THAT MUCH CLOSER TO MY AUTHENTIC SELF AND THE PERSON I WAS BEFORE THE ABUSE STARTED HAPPENING. THE GREATEST MYTHS ABOUT EATING DISORDERS IS, ONE, THAT THEY’RE EASY TO OVERCOME. “WHY DON’T YOU JUST EAT?” OR “WHY DON’T YOU JUST STOP THROWING UP?” AND THAT THEY CAN MAKE THIS BEHAVIORAL CHANGE AND JUST BE BETTER. YOU REALLY HAVE TO ADDRESS THE EMOTIONAL REASONS THAT A PERSON HAS AN EATING DISORDER, OTHERWISE THEY WILL REALLY NOT STAY IN RECOVERY. I BELIEVE THAT IN ORDER FOR AN ILLNESS TO BE CURED YOU NEED TO GO THROUGH IT AND REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT YOURSELF AND IF YOU’RE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO DO THAT, THEN YOU CONTINUE PERPETUATING THE DISORDER AND YOU BECOME SICKER, YOU KNOW, SO… IT’S HARD AND IT’S NOT EASY, BUT IN THE END IT GIVES YOU YOUR LIFE. I CAN NOW SAY “I WANT KIDS AND DANG IT, I’M GONNA HAVE THEM AND I’M NOT GOING TO BE THIS EATING DISORDERED WOMAN”. I DON’T WANT TO DO THAT ANYMORE. I’M 19, I HAVE MY WHOLE LIFE TO LIVE, SO, YOU KNOW… I HOPE THIS PROGRAM HAS HELPED YOU UNDERSTAND HOW SERIOUS AND DEADLY EATING DISORDERS ARE. SOME MISGUIDED WEBSITES AND SUPPORT GROUPS SAY SELF-STARVATION IS JUST ANOTHER LIFESTYLE CHOICE. MAKE YOUR LIFESTYLE CHOICE ABOUT LIVING LIFE THE HEALTHY WAY. I’M JAMIE-LYNN SIGLER, THANKS FOR WATCHING. * * *
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