Body image is a topic that many adolescent girls and boys struggle with in the modern society. Wherever you go, there are unrealistic and hurtful images posted in magazine, newspapers, and websites. Not only are these images inappropriate, they also give vulnerable and impressionable adolescents impractical expectations for how they should look. These images, in combination with under developed emotional regulation can lead to serious mental health issues in this population and other men and women. Most commonly, the mental illness that manifests from this combination is Bulimia Nervosa (BN).
Characterized by episodes of binging following by purging, BN is a major source of mental health concern in the adolescent female population. With all of the societal pressures put on these young women to be thin, some of these people go to extreme measures to ensure that they will be looked upon by society with favor. However, these binging and purging episodes are extremely unhealthy and can lead to numerous physiological complications. One such concern is that excessive exposure of stomach acid to the mouth causes the degradation of tooth enamel. Commonly, people that purge consistently loose their teeth and can have other heart burn related issues.
The other major area of concern for these people is the recurrence and compulsive nature of this illness. There is more than a 30% chance that BN victims will relapse six months after treatment. This may be impart to the negative reinforcement of combating this illness. Studies have shown that people with bulimic tendencies also have lower resting metabolic rates. This means that when these people try to get start to eat healthy again, they will inevitably gain weight due to their slowed metabolism. This gain in weight following treatment negatively reinforces the action of eating healthy and can cause these people to revert to old tendencies.
Overall, it is imperative that when discussing this illness we analyze the emotional, psychological, and physiological aspect of these individuals. Additionally, it is also important to recognize that some people are at a higher risk to develop this disease given their social environments and neurological dispositions, such as impulsive behavior and risk taking personality traits.
While psychologists are working on developing new treatment models to help reverse the affects of BN, I think that the best form of care is to work on preventing it from evolving. I think that we need to continue to make the public aware of these dangerous images and teach kids the importance of eating healthy, exercising, and being physically fit, not skinny. If we are able to raise public awareness and education, I think that the amount of people affect by BN will significantly decrease and we can slowly combat the rising prevalence of this disease.
