Stress and its Consequences

     As I have been talking about stress, there is a few things that can become an outcome because of stress. Since I recently read my paper in class about eating disorders, I wanted to go into detail about eating disorders and my experience with one. They can affect ANYONE, especially women and it is extremely important to be able to recognize the symptoms and understand the consequences. To start of, Anorexia Nervosa is a pyschological illness that limits a person's intake of food. This person will barely eat and they wil ldrastically lose weight. Bulimia is also an illness in which a person binges and purges their food. They also lose a ton of weight through this way, too. I wanted to first give some of the symptoms:
Anorexia Symptoms:

• Refusing to eat and denying hunger
• An intense fear of gaining weight
• Negative or distorted self-image
• Excessively exercising
• Preoccupation with food
• Social withdrawal
• Thin appearance
• Dizziness or fainting
• Soft, downy hair present on the body (lanugo)
• Menstrual irregularities or loss of menstruation (amenorrhea)
• Abdominal pain
• Frequently being cold
• Dehydration

Bulimia Symptoms may include:

• Eating until the point of discomfort or pain, often with high-fat or sweet foods
• Self-induced vomiting
• Laxative use
• Excessively exercising
• Unhealthy focus on body shape and weight
• Having a distorted, excessively negative body image
• Going to the bathroom after eating or during meals
• Feeling that you can't control your eating behavior
• Abnormal bowel functioning
• Damaged teeth and gums
• Swollen salivary glands in the cheeks
• Sores in the throat and mouth
• Dehydration
• Irregular heartbeat
• Menstrual irregularities or loss of menstruation
• Constant dieting or fasting

     As we can see, many of these symptoms are very noticeable, so hopefully if you are experiencing this or if someone you know is going through this, don't keep it a secret. You could potentially save a life.

This is truly what I used to see in the mirror.

     After you have begun to notice the symptoms and have admitted the problem to yourself or a professional, it's time to begin a new chapter with different treatments. As I said in my paper, some great people to talk to are nutritionists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. These professionals will help you move into the right recovery process so you do not end up in a hospital bed or dead. Death is a very common outcome for eating disorders so these should NEVER be taken lightly.

     As a personal touch, I wanted to provide some basis on how I know about this experience. When I was a freshman in high school, I was 14 years old. I had a ton of friends and I thoroughly enjoyed life. One day in the cafeteria, a boy came over to my lunch table and took away my paper bag lunch. He rummaged through it and then took it, threw it in the trash and said to me, in front of the entire lunch room, you are fat and need to lose weight. Stop eating. I ran to the bathroom and sat there until one of the secretaries from the office found me. She called me sister to help me. My mom also came to take me home. From that day on, I did what he told me to do. I stopped eating. I lost 31 pounds in less than a month. I was a thin, 82 pounds as a 14 year old. I lost a lot of my life during this time. My friends thought I was too fragile. My grades began to suffer. My family was worried about me. However, for a person with an eating disorder, the more weight you lose, when you personally look in the mirror, you get a self-distored image. The mirror in your eyes actually portrays you as a heffer and gaining more and more weight. Every time I looked in the mirror, I thought I gained 10 pounds. So there I was overexercising, not eating, and become too thin for life. I exercised twice a day. After school I would run 4 miles and then I would go to volleyball practice for three hours.My skin turned yellow. I lost half of the hair on my head, yet I grew so much hair on the rest of my body because my body needed to give me some heat. I was cold all the time. It was a horrible time. One people think I regret, but in the long run, I don't. This eating disorder helped me strive to get better.
     I had just turned 15. I had been to several doctors and each diagnosed me with anorexia. I didn't believe it. I was only 15. But my parents and sister were so concerned. At track practice one day, I fainted in the locker room. The next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital bed. It was a sad day, that day. I was dehydrated and was being fed through a tube in my mouth. I was also hooked up to several different tubes to provide me different fluids as well. I'll never forget the look on my dad's face. From that day on, I knew I was not only hurting myself, but my family too. I made the decision to see a nutritionist, psychologist, and psychiatrist for a year. In this year, I gained some weight back. I made my new friends. I improved my grades. And I fell more completely in love with my family than ever. They were truly my rock through this and there was no way I would have made it out without them. I learned through this that nobody should ever influence your decision to knock off a few pounds. It should always be your idea. This time of my life was horrible, but I don't regret it. I am who I am partly because of this. I always strive for perfection because of an eating disorder, but in a healthy way. God knows no one is perfect, and I do too!
     So, there is my story, in a shortened version. Even six years later, I am still recovering. In my opinion, nobody ever truly gets over an eating disorder completely. I am still tinged by the thought of being perfect, but I know that my family and friends already love me for who I am.
     For more information on eating disorders, here is a great website. Hope I didn't tear you all up too much! Have a great week.