Reference no: EM133846433

Question

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, "eating disorders cause 10,200 fatalities per year, or one fatality every 52 minutes." That figure is quite scary and concerning. Personally, I have not known anyone who has been diagnosed with bulimia or anorexia; however, I have heard about it at school. I'm confident that as my work progresses, I'll come across someone with an eating disorder. My heart aches for people who are afflicted with an eating issue. When you're dealing with body image issues on a regular basis, your life gets obsessed with making sure you don't gain weight. And because of this condition, your body suffers. You won't get the nutrition your body requires to stay alive. Anorexia nervosa patients also show high levels of harm avoidance, a personality characteristic marked by concern, pessimism, and shyness, and low levels of novelty seeking, a personality trait marked by impulsivity and a preference for new or unique things (Fassino et al., 2002). It is my responsibility as a healthcare worker to defend people who are unable to protect themselves. It is critical that we care for our patients in a non-biased manner when practicing. You never know what is going on in someone's life. Men account for 25% of anorexia sufferers, according to the National Eating Disorders Association. Men are also diagnosed later in life, resulting in a greater mortality rate. This makes me sad since there are many undiagnosed males out there who are not receiving therapy. As a result, it's critical that we as healthcare professionals evaluate those results and ask the questioning questions.