A little bit about me before I start this post. I am a senior Art Therapy major and over the past year I have found a very intriguing interest in eating disorders. This is where I want to go with my life, this is what I want to specialize in. I want to be able to help people with eating disorders the best I can by creating art.
For me to be able to help someone with an eating disorder, I have to know a little about it. Lucky for me, I have already done a presentation and have learned a lot about eating disorders. An eating disorder is defined as a range of psychological disorders characterized by abnormal or disturbed eating habits. Most eating disorder patients have the need to feel perfect.
There are a few different types of eating disorders, including; anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, compulsive eating disorder, binge eating disorder, and obesity.
Anorexia nervosa is defined as the refusal to maintain a body weight at or above the minimal normal weight for age and height, otherwise known as BMI. Anorexic patients have an extreme fear of gaining weight and/or becoming fat.
Bulimia nervosa is defined as recurrent episodes of binge eating with a sense of lack of control over that eating and compensatory behaviors to prevent weight gain. Binge eating is defined as eating in a discrete period of time, for example one hour, a larger amount of food than most people would eat in that same amount of time, under similar conditions. In response to eating all of that food, they will then most likely feel absolutely horrible about eating, which may lead to self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives, or diet pills.
Compulsive eating disorders is defined as episodes of uncontrolled eating or bingeing followed by periods of guilt and depression. This may cause a person to continue to eat even after they become uncomfortably full.
Binge eating disorder is basically the same thing as binge eating, which I have described earlier, except the patient most likely will not purge afterwards.
Finally, obesity is defined as being twenty-five percent of more over the ideal body weight for a person.
Some characteristics that one with an eating disorder might display are self-hatred, feeling of worthlessness, experienced peer pressure or pressure by the media to be thin. Have perfectionist tendencies and could have experienced sexual, emotional, or physical abuse.
Media, unfortunately, plays a major role in eating disorders. Young girls especially, feel the need to fit in and be thin. While searching, I found these images that are part of the “You Are Not a Sketch” campaign. I feel like I should include this image to showcase to the world that you don’t have to be stick thin to be perfect, you are not a sketch. 
(http://bitesizewellness.com/3-ways-to-improve-your-self-image/)
As I have explain earlier, this is the population I want to work with when I become an art therapist. So, here are some of the benefits of using art therapy with eating disorder patients. Eating disorder patients, like many other patients, initially resist treatment. They tend to mistrust people, who they feel, are trying to take their illness away from them. Art therapy has the advantage of gaining the trust of the client by using a non-threatening approach that allows for control of the physical body. Eating disorder clients often have feelings of self-hate, ineffectiveness and lack of self-worth. Art can move the eating disorder client towards trusting and expressing their own feelings and abilities. Rather than being “perfect” in their art, clients are encouraged to express genuine feelings. Art becomes a record and document of the journey and tangible evidence of any progress. Eating disorders last several year, and can even last a lifetime, artwork can illustrate, to the eating disorder client, their journey in a tangible way. Finally, Art products can remind the client of the positive relationships and support they had/have with their friends and family, art therapist and other group member.
With all of this being said, eating disorders are so unique. Not everybody suffers in the same way but they can all be helped in the same way through art therapy. I hope to one day, be that crutch the patient needs to get through this disorder.
“To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself.”- Simone De Beauvoir
Where did I get this information from?
http://www.eatingdisorderfoundation.org/EatingDisorders.htm
Art Therapy in the Treatment of Eating Disorders by Jen Burton Liang
There’s No Point Raging on Your Own by Karen Johnson & Sarah Parkinson
Kierstennnxo 
This is an important subject. I enjoyed reading the information and picture you have provided. I believe that there should be more people like you who find and interest in helping people with this condition of eating disorder. Although, I believe that the media has done better in portraying models much healthier, we still need to voice the issue. Even videos, the video and song, “All About that Bass”, by Meghan Trainor, I’m not sure if you’ve seen it, she sings on how you are beautiful the way you are. A positive message for today’s girls,young ladies, and women.
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I believe this is a good blog. I can relate to this blog because one of my family member suffered from this for many years. I think it started when she was teenager seeing the photos of people that were “skinny”. She wanted to look like them. She thought she was fat, and she was no such thing. At one point she was bulimic, she would eat and eat then felt horrible and vomited. At some point after doing this for a while she was not abled to keep anything down anymore and would vomit were ever she was eating. This is a very scary thing and sometimes people don’t pick up on what you are doing. Eating and running to the bathroom. Many families don’t want to hear anything about this, some people think it will just stop. When people are suffering from this I really like your idea of art therapy and I wish they would have offered this to her as a teenager. I like the idea that you can express your self through your own work. Expressing your self through art is beautiful. I feel that some people forget about art therapy and I don’t think some people understand the affects it could have on a person. Great topic !
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Great coverage and explanations of each of the eating disorders. I think it’s awesome that you want to go to work in this area and help these people out. Eating disorders are such a tough thing, and are more prominent than we think, in my opinion anyway. I wonder what effects art therapy has on the brain to help with eating disorders.
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Did you know like females who have eating disorders, males also have a distorted sense of body image. Believe it or not It’s not common to think a guy can have and eating disorder but they do.For some, their symptoms are similar to those seen in females. Others may have muscle dysmorphia, a type of disorder marked by an extreme concern with becoming more muscular. Unlike girls with eating disorders, who mostly want to lose weight, some boys with muscle dysmorphia see themselves as smaller than they really are and want to gain weight or bulk up. Men and boys are more likely to use steroids or other dangerous drugs to increase muscle mass.Although males with eating disorders exhibit the same signs and symptoms as females, they are less likely to be diagnosed with what is often considered a female disorder. More research is needed to understand the unique features of these disorders among males. I have a male friend with this disorder and his been fighting with this disorder for a while and its thought he has made some progress but it takes a while.I like how you have the compassion and the sympathy to want to help other people and eating disorder its a serious thing and not everyone can accomplish a cure completely it’s good to know art therapy can help. for more information on dysmorphia if interested go to: http://www.webmd.com/…/mental-health-body-dysmorphic-disorder
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Eating disorders are scary, and i’m glad someone did a blog on them. I know a lot of people, sadly, who have some type of eating disorder, and always have to look up information to see what exactly the disorder is. This helped me to understand a lot of what i already knew, but couldn’t quite grasp.
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Eating disorders are insidious diseases. They affect both body and mind and cloud the person’s ability to address their situation with anything approaching logic. People suffering from these disorders defy reasoning, emotional pleas from loved ones, and even the threat of death if carried too far. We studied these disorders in another class and the effects can be devastating. I applaud anyone with the fortitude to take on these disorders and wish you well.
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I felt as though I really had to comment on this blog because although I might not have been proud before, I am now okay with saying that I have had an eating disorder since I was 14, I am now 22. I went through periods where I would not eat for weeks, and when I did, even if it was just a cracker, I would self induce vomiting. Eating disorders are definitely a disorder people put more thought into now. It is true that people would think it is something the person could just wake up and be over it, like as though it is just a phase especially for teenagers. However, it isn’t, once someone is officially has an eating disorder it never goes away, it can only get better and the person might have more control and convince themselves that its okay to eat and its okay to not vomit it back out, but its always like a little ghost in the back of their mind. Getting the person to believe its okay is the hard part. The reason why someone becomes bulimic is because of the guilt i think, at least that is why I did. Way before that food was put in front of them the person is already thinking about what they had to eat that day, what can they eat, and if they do eat they can always just get rid of it. I don’t necessarily agree with it being mostly about the media, I feel as though people want to say its the media just because models are skinny. I think its mostly triggered by depression and a traumatizing emotional event. An eating disorder lets the person feel as if they have control over something in their life, and that one thing is there body. But as soon as you put one foot in its hard to turn back and some just don’t. Art will definitely be a new interesting way to help girls and guys with eating disorders. I think it will be a big help for you to talk to several people who have actually had an eating disorder so you can have a better understanding of it. Websites never really give the whole story in my opinion and its important to get in the inside scoop from a real person.
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I had an eating disorder too during my teen years and because of it I have developed other medical conditions. I’m not saying the media is the only reason people have eating disorders. I am saying it plays a major role. Many people suffer for different reasons. Luckily I have overcome it but I still have moments where I just don’t want to eat because I do not want to gain a pound. because of art, I have found a way to help get my mind off of this stuff. Everyone is different in the way they overcome this disease and I just think art is a way to help. I have done a lot of research on this and read a lot of published journals of people who have worked with this population. Yes, I may not have worked one on one with anyone with an eating disorder, that is why I want to go into this field so I can gain that experience.
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This blog is very interesting to me. My sister had an eating disorder for some time of her life. During that time she just constantly considered herself to be fat and over weight. She is finally better and is taking better care of her body. But I feel as though so many people do not take this subject seriously. I am so glad that there are people out there like you that want to help others. Great pictures used as well!
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Last spring I did my Communication’s Senior Project on different Mental Heath Illnesses. Three of them being Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Disorder. I am glad you wrote your blog about this topic because it is important for people to be aware and understand a little more about it. I would have liked to see some statistics of the prevalence rate for these disorders as well as possibly some of the physical symptoms that come along with these disorders. That being said, I like how you were able to relate this topic to your future career and explain why you are studying it. I believe strongly in the effect of art helping patients recover and giving them a positive outlet for their emotions.
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This is becoming somewhat of an epidemic and I am glad someone did a post on it. As with a lot of disorders, anxiety plays a big part in eating disorders as well. Although I have not personally dealt with it, I have been surrounded with it throughout most of me teenage years. I think it is very important for people to keep an eye out for behaviors that may stem from this. For example, someone always saying that they are full or running to the bathroom right after eating. It is better to be safe than sorry. I love the picture that you used with the models saying that are not a sketch. It is unfortunate that society puts so much emphasis on “skinny”. Although full figures are a bit more accepted in today’s world than 10 years ago, it is still seen as a stigma. Great post all around! Check out this article for signs that someone has an eating disorder.
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20665980,00.html
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Thank you for bringing awareness to this topic. Many people think that eating disorders are a choice, something that people do because they want to be skinny. However, it is much more complex than that. It is a psychological disorder requiring a great deal of therapy to overcome. Also, it is very interesting to learn that you want to use your art therapy to help those with eating disorders. I was unaware that art therapy could be used in this way.
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Great topic to post about. Many people, not only girls but guys as well, struggle with eating disorders everyday. I do think the media plays a role, but mainly when people are children, and not so much as adults. The media is showing images of what the ideal person should be, and if you don’t look that way, that may cause a person excessive amounts of anxiety and depression. If these images are driven into our minds at such a young age, people may not realize how much it actually affects them in their later years, because it has become so normal to them to compare themselves to their peers, people around them, and people in the media. Another reason that people can develop the eating disorder is because of anxiety in general. If a person has anxiety, or feel that they can’t control anything in their life, they may turn to food. The need to control this anxiety and depression can come out in the battle with food, because the person feels that they can lower their depression and anxiety with the control. Anxiety is worrying about the future or the unknown, so if there is some kind of structure or control, the anxiety may be relieved. By controlling something such as food intake, a person may feel that their anxiety has decreased because they are controlling something. Art therapy is a great way to treat eating disorders because, as you said, it can also be therapeutic to the patient and they may come to terms with the real reasons that they are experiencing the eating disorder or the need to continue the eating disorder. Body image can play a role in why a person has an eating disorder, but i believe that anxiety or depression can actually raise the risk for it because the disorder can give them something to control.
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