A few weeks ago I watched an episode of Dr. Phil about a 27 year old woman who weighed only 82 pounds. She was suffering from a severe case of anorexia and bulimia. Everyone in the audience knew what the show topic was. They were aware the Dr. Phil would be interviewing a sick and extremely skinny woman. Even with this knowledge the members of the audience could not help but to gasp and some even cringed at the sight of the woman when she walked on the stage.
This show sparked my interest for a research topic. What causes eating disorders? By eating disorders I do not just mean anorexia and bulimia, but also obesity. When victims of these disorders are in public, the people surrounding them point, giggle, make faces, and comments to the people next to them. Many people do not understand these disorders and most do not care to learn.
There is much more to these people than just a problem with food. The woman on the Dr. Phil show was raped at a young age and did not have a healthy relationship with her father. He blamed her for the rape and did not show any sympathy to her feelings. After that traumatic experience she began to punish herself by withholding food and starving herself. This is not unusual for people with eating disorders. They try to control their feelings with food. People struggling with obesity also try to control feelings with food, but instead of withholding the food they tend to over eat. Many people with obesity hide their feelings with food. They eat when they are sad, anxious,and celebrating. The food makes them feel better and in return they do not have to deal with their true feelings.
Along with feelings, personality traits also effect people with eating disorders. Many of these people have an addictive personality traits. They become addicted to eating or not eating. The problem elevates and they obsessed and food is all they can think about. It often tends to control their life to the point that they can not carry out normal day to day actions.
Many think that the people with these disorders are lazy or only striving for attention. I am hoping to dig deeper into this topic and find all the reason people struggle with these disorders.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Shop till you drop
When considering girls favorite ways to spend spare time, what comes to mind? No, not talking on the phone... shopping! Girls love to shop when they just got paid, have no money, want to celebrate, or having a bad day. But why? So I asked myself, "what is so great about shopping?"
But before I was able to answer why, I first thought of all the reasons why not!
When I thought about it logically, all that could come to mind is shopping is not great. Shopping is torture! When you walk into a store you are greeted by manikins wearing extra small tops and size two jeans. If you make it beyond the entrance, you are then bombarded by sales clerks. These clerks are usually working on commission and eager to make a sale by any means. Once you escape the fake smiles and simingly friendly advice of the clerks you must then decide, why am I here, and what am I here for?
When shopping, there are two things I personally hate looking for. The thought of trying on jeans and a bathing suit defines torture to a "T". Neither ever fits perfect! After you muster up the courage to go in search of a new pair of jeans, the next challenge is finding the right style and size for you. Finding the perfect jean is easier said than done. There are many different styles. Low rise, mid rise, high rise, flare, boot cut, trouser fit, and straight leg are just naming a few. After you pick the right style for you then you must find a size. There are many different methods to size. Some jeans come in inches like a size 27, and others in standard sizes like a 6. You can also find short, petite, regular, and long length jeans. Oh, but it does not end there. Depending on the brand of jean, the sizes and styles will vary.
If you think thats bad, let me elaborate on the hunt for the perfect bathing suit. Around this time of year everyone has spring break on their mind. Which means it is once again time to set out to the local mall and find a bathing suit. When spring arrives all the stores are filled with bright colored bikinis designed to fit a stick thin model (which is not me). Like jeans, bathing suits come in numerous shapes, styles, and prices. Every year the prices of bathing suits seem to increase. I find it extremely difficult to spend a hundred dollars on something as small as a swim suit. For that price the suit should make me look and feel like the model wearing it in the catalog.
But I have yet to find a bathing suit that makes me look like Cindy Crawford.
No matter what you are shopping for it is best the try on before making a purchase. The fitting room is the final obstacle when it comes to shopping. You lock yourself in a small room, walled with oversized mirrors, that I swear add on ten pounds. You are surrounded by florescent lights that seem to highlight every flaw. And to make things worse the girl in the room next to you always seems to look better wearing the same outfit. If these elements do not intimidate you and you are still satisfied with your find, you then proceed to the register. Usually finding you have picked out the most expensive thing in the store.
Don't get me wrong I love to shop. I just have never thought about why I enjoy it. The process of trying on outfit after outfit finding that none of them fit correctly is not much of a confidence booster. But apart from all the negative aspects of shopping, the process can be alot of fun. There is nothing I enjoy more then going to the mall with my girl friends with a new pay check in my pocket. Shopping in a way is the new and improved game of dress-up. Even if you do not have a new crisp paycheck in your pocket it is still fun to go and try on all the things you can't buy. And from personal experience when you don't have much money is the time when you find the best things. Shopping is like a game, if you can make it past the manikins, sales clerks, fitting rooms, and prices tags you can usually find just what you were looking for. There is something extremely rewarding about overcoming the obstacles of shopping and leaving with a purchase.
But before I was able to answer why, I first thought of all the reasons why not!
When I thought about it logically, all that could come to mind is shopping is not great. Shopping is torture! When you walk into a store you are greeted by manikins wearing extra small tops and size two jeans. If you make it beyond the entrance, you are then bombarded by sales clerks. These clerks are usually working on commission and eager to make a sale by any means. Once you escape the fake smiles and simingly friendly advice of the clerks you must then decide, why am I here, and what am I here for?
When shopping, there are two things I personally hate looking for. The thought of trying on jeans and a bathing suit defines torture to a "T". Neither ever fits perfect! After you muster up the courage to go in search of a new pair of jeans, the next challenge is finding the right style and size for you. Finding the perfect jean is easier said than done. There are many different styles. Low rise, mid rise, high rise, flare, boot cut, trouser fit, and straight leg are just naming a few. After you pick the right style for you then you must find a size. There are many different methods to size. Some jeans come in inches like a size 27, and others in standard sizes like a 6. You can also find short, petite, regular, and long length jeans. Oh, but it does not end there. Depending on the brand of jean, the sizes and styles will vary.
If you think thats bad, let me elaborate on the hunt for the perfect bathing suit. Around this time of year everyone has spring break on their mind. Which means it is once again time to set out to the local mall and find a bathing suit. When spring arrives all the stores are filled with bright colored bikinis designed to fit a stick thin model (which is not me). Like jeans, bathing suits come in numerous shapes, styles, and prices. Every year the prices of bathing suits seem to increase. I find it extremely difficult to spend a hundred dollars on something as small as a swim suit. For that price the suit should make me look and feel like the model wearing it in the catalog.
But I have yet to find a bathing suit that makes me look like Cindy Crawford.
No matter what you are shopping for it is best the try on before making a purchase. The fitting room is the final obstacle when it comes to shopping. You lock yourself in a small room, walled with oversized mirrors, that I swear add on ten pounds. You are surrounded by florescent lights that seem to highlight every flaw. And to make things worse the girl in the room next to you always seems to look better wearing the same outfit. If these elements do not intimidate you and you are still satisfied with your find, you then proceed to the register. Usually finding you have picked out the most expensive thing in the store.
Don't get me wrong I love to shop. I just have never thought about why I enjoy it. The process of trying on outfit after outfit finding that none of them fit correctly is not much of a confidence booster. But apart from all the negative aspects of shopping, the process can be alot of fun. There is nothing I enjoy more then going to the mall with my girl friends with a new pay check in my pocket. Shopping in a way is the new and improved game of dress-up. Even if you do not have a new crisp paycheck in your pocket it is still fun to go and try on all the things you can't buy. And from personal experience when you don't have much money is the time when you find the best things. Shopping is like a game, if you can make it past the manikins, sales clerks, fitting rooms, and prices tags you can usually find just what you were looking for. There is something extremely rewarding about overcoming the obstacles of shopping and leaving with a purchase.
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