Anorexia Nervosa
...ity. On the other hand, many people believe that anorexia nervosa is a culture bound syndrome. This disease occurs most frequently in Western cultures where it is popular belief that thinness equates to beauty and happiness. Ethics Ethics deals with matters of obligation. There are standards, codes and values in every culture and personality. Ethics also in involved very deeply with moral choices. In this case, the moral choices are made by the nurse and supporting medical staff. Ethics play a very important role in the detection and treatment of anorexia nervosa. As a nurse, I will have an obligation to do everything in my power to help a patient who could possibly have this disorder. But, it’s also important to remember that one must treat someone in an ethical manner. On the Internet, there are many pro-anorexic websites that encourage this type of behavior. It is everyone’s responsibility to rid the Internet of dangerous sites as these. Also, in a health care setting it is important to realize the ethics behind treating an eating disorder. Research has shown that eating disorders are psychological disorders in the brain. It is not just a behavior that can be reversed. It takes extensive counseling and therapy to successfully recover from a disorder such as this. When looking at this disease, one would think that there is one logical treatment, and that is getting the person to eat. It must be very frustrating to a nurse who cares so much for a patient, and the only way they can think of to treat is to attach the person to a feeding tube. But this disease goes much deeper than just food. Opera Winfrey aired a show titled Girls Who Don’t Eat, it was about girls who were terrified of getting fat, and how previous treatments had failed. Dr. Ira Sacker, a psychologist present on the show, has been treating eating disorders for 25 years. He believes that the biggest misconception parents have is that the eating disorder is about food. What it's really about, he says, is an individual having a difficult time looking at herself and really seeing herself. Dr. Sacker tries to do with his patients is to shift their focus away from their body image, and towards something they have a passion about. The real issue is self-esteem, according to Dr. Sacker. Health care providers especially need to understand that giving a child reinforcement about their body is not the answer. Once you reinforce their body image, they don't hear it as positive or negative. The answer lies in shifting the child's focus away from their body image to something they really love. So, it would be unethical and pointless to force the patient to eat. Even though the solution seems so obvious, these people are suffering with an agony deep within their personalities. They do not understand what is best for them, and a nurse would look at the hospitals policy on treatment, and then research further in order to find a successful and ethical treatment. Personal I have never been affected personally by anorexia nervosa. But, I do know what it feels like to live in a culture driven by appearances body image. Every magazine, music video, Hollywood movie, television series has women who are tall and very skinny. I travel to downtown Richmond every day, and I never have seen an average everyday women look like that. And yet deep down inside I wish I could look like the women on television. As a junior in high school, I began to diet, just to loose a few pounds because I did not like the way I looked at all. Eventually my body image began to take over my life. I would count calories, and feel guilty if I ate something “fattening”. This unhealthy behavior escalated slightly my senior year of high school. I had a boy friend for the first time, and I did not want him to be embarrassed by my weight (5’6 135 lbs.). I don’t know why I felt so fat, and to this day I don’t think I ever will understand why. I just hated looking in the mirror, and trying on cloths that did not fit. I began throwing up from time to time, and occasionally skipping meals. I never binged and purged, and I never went an entire day with out eating. But what I was doing was still very unhealthy. It wasn’t until half way though my freshman year of college I realized that I was being very selfish and making very stupid choices. My passion was helping people, and so I decided to become a nurse. And how hypocritical would I be if I was treating my body like this while studying to heal the bodies of my patients. So, I changed my eating habits and more importantly I changed my outlook on myself. I began to exercise daily and follow the food pyramid strictly. I am now a healthy weight of 130lbs and I have never felt better about myself. This self-opinion took some effort though. I looked at the positive aspects of my life, my amazing family, good grades, and wonderful friends. I made a commitment to myself that I would devote my knowledge and care to other girls who were in the same situation. I would like to be a psychiatric nurse, and work with adolescent teenagers who need someone to tell them that they are perfect. Aesthetics The only way to treat an eating disorder is through action. The treatment designed must be creative and have a style that corresponds successfully with the patient. Aesthetics is a type of intuitive knowledge; it basically combines all of ...