Anorexia?

[Quetzlsacatanango]

I can see where you're coming from, but I'm going to say that it's a big step from resentment to active self-destruction in the guise of self-improvement.

 

An observation on your Paris Hilton example: I'd say that the frat-boy types who want to bang Paris Hilton are attracted to her because she's a girlfriend and they therefore think they have a shot at it rather than because she's thin or especially pretty. It might say more about you than it does the guys, that the skinniness is what you focus on immediately. Just my $.02, I may be way off there.

-Q

[ResidentWeevil2077]

In our society, largely by the media, we are shown and told what is beautiful and what is not. I often look in the full-length mirror and wish I was thinner, and conversely I often will admit that I have some self-esteem issues.

We all have suffered from self-esteem issues at one point or another - I know I do even today. But if you want my two bits, you're perfect the way you are.

 

I think that disorders like anorexia stem in part from the way society tells us we should look (though other things can cause them as well, I know). Fortunately I have never suffered from such serious disorders, but I empathize with those who do because I know all too well that as a child crying in the girl's bathroom because someone called you a cow is not a pleasant memory.

Isn't that the case with all those who are ragged on just because they're different? Being pushed around because of that fact is mental and emotional abuse, and becomes a major source of resentment and mental/emotional instability, depending on the severity of the abuse and the individual of course. It doesn't necessarily have to be at school either - my friend Lexi in Wisconsin probably suffers more emotional and mental abuse at home because her mother is a perfectionist beyond all compare, and fails to see how wrong she is. It hurts seeing her have to suffer, but what can I do?

 

I am thankful for my mental health, though I still have some issues (as do we all, I believe), and I hope that advancements in the treatments of these disorders will continue.

I'm a psychotic anti-social freak of nature, I think I'm perfectly fine the way I am :D But everyone is a little insane right?

[jaosals42]

IMO, one of the main causes of anorexia is that people think they need to be as "thin" as the models they see on television (which are often bony-thin) in order to be considered "hot". If they are not as thin as that, then according to them they are "fat". And they will do anything, including starving themselves to get that "thin". It's just influences from the television and the magazine, and in the long run, the Media controlling people again.

[Herculine]

IMO, one of the main causes of anorexia is that people think they need to be as "thin" as the models they see on television (which are often bony-thin) in order to be considered "hot". If they are not as thin as that, then according to them they are "fat". And they will do anything, including starving themselves to get that "thin". It's just influences from the television and the magazine, and in the long run, the Media controlling people again.

 

Thank you.

 

I'm not trying to say that peers or the media are the only causes of eating disorders, merely that they can't be completely dismissed as contributing factors. Surely there are other mental and emotional proclivities already existing in some people beforehand that make them more vulnerable to them than the rest of us.

 

Case in point:

 

There was a guy we've all heard about who used to play Doom. One day he and his buddy went to school, shot many of their fellow students and then shot themselves. Soon thereafter, id software suffered due to the media discovering the shooter's fondness for one of their games. But did Doom tell those boys to go on a ballistic rampage through their school? Of course not.

 

So I'm deliberately contradicting myself here to make a point: as humans we are mentally and emotionally complex, self-aware creatures (which is largely what makes us different from animals who act only on instinct), and being so complex each and every one of us is subject to slightly different reactions to given situations. In mental disorders such as anorexia, the cause is not likely any single thing but rather a combination of many different triggers. Having said earlier that I'm by no means a psychologist, I merely elaborated on the possible causes that I know about well enough to discuss in detail.

[Herculine]

Thanks, rob_b. I guess at times I just feel obligated to champion the cause of the underdogs because I've been in their shoes.

[ResidentWeevil2077]

You're welcome Herc - being an outcast myself, I know how it feels. I always stick it out for those who are picked on by those who think they're better than everyone else. And I happen to find great pleasure in belittling those individuals who think they're better than me :D

 

You raised a good point about pre-existing tendencies to be influenced by external forces though - the reason I bring this up is because unlike the majority of people today, I've never given into peer pressure, or what the media refers to as "popular trends". I always think of "trends" as fads, and 99% of the time they are. It's just another way people disguise what they truly are - empty bone bags.

 

All in all, the media is perhaps the biggest reason why young women wish to have the "perfect" body - the pursuit of perfection is a pointless venture. No one is perfect, and until people begin to think for themselves and what THEY want for themselves, then we will continue to see toothpicks on our streets.

[Herculine]

All in all, the media is perhaps the biggest reason why young women wish to have the "perfect" body - the pursuit of perfection is a pointless venture. No one is perfect, and until people begin to think for themselves and what THEY want for themselves, then we will continue to see toothpicks on our streets.

 

Bravo! Well said!

[Quetzlsacatanango]

"Blame the media" is the path of least resistance here, and as usual, it's not the answer. It's like saying "the devil made me do it", which may sound nice and tidy and get people to all agree and shut up about it, but it completely misses the point, and it does a real disservice to people who suffer from the disease.

[Herculine]

"Blame the media" is the path of least resistance here, and as usual, it's not the answer. It's like saying "the devil made me do it", which may sound nice and tidy and get people to all agree and shut up about it, but it completely misses the point, and it does a real disservice to people who suffer from the disease.

 

So what we really need to do is say: "You're sick in the head and it's nobody's fault but your own that you hate yourself so just stop it already!"?

[ResidentWeevil2077]

"Blame the media" is the path of least resistance here, and as usual, it's not the answer. It's like saying "the devil made me do it", which may sound nice and tidy and get people to all agree and shut up about it, but it completely misses the point, and it does a real disservice to people who suffer from the disease.

 

So what we really need to do is say: "You're sick in the head and it's nobody's fault but your own that you hate yourself so just stop it already!"?

If we said that, would it actually SOLVE the problem? I highly doubt it... This is complex issue which simply cannot be tackled with a single solution. And even at that, it won't ever be eradicated completely, as there will always be someone else down the line who falls victim to the cruelties of this world.

 

The media isn't the only entity - bullies, perfectionists, influential persons/celebrities - these all affect the morale of a person who has a predisposition toward external influences. But it is the media that is the biggest contributer to the ideological engine of modern society.