xics also expect family members to do well in everything but rarely give positive feedback, which in turn leaves the anorexics without a sense of "personal pride or pleasure" (Rumney, 3). Because families of anorexics value possessions and appearances rather than actual persons, the anorexic usually lacks her own identity. She thinks that the control she exerts over her body gives her a sense of self.
As anorexia develops, the personality and behavior of the anorexic undergo changes. She no longer has a full range of feelings. She often becomes depressed and, in the later stages of the illness, is hostile, manipulative and agitated. She denies sexual feelings and has a decreased libido. Very often the menstrual periods of anorexics cease as well. When too much weight has been lost, anorexia can become fatal (Rumney, 4). Usually before this point, the family of the anorexic will take action and bring the problem to medical attention. REgardless of the fact that their starvation is life-threatening, anorexics resist therapy. They feel helpless and fear that, if they take even one bite of food, they will lose control, or at least what little control they have left.
In our culture, food is an important factor, but the messages we receive about it are contradictory. Food is seen as a sign of loving and nurturing, but it is also portrayed as a bad thing. A person in our society today must look a certain way, thin. Eating too much food or the wrong food prevents a person from having a desirable, thin body. This second message persuades women to diet. Family and friends may help this decision along by teasing or commenting about a woman's shape or her weight. The decision to diet in itself is not bad unless it becomes obse
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