Anorexia Nervosa And Bulimia Essay

1. Discuss 2 key differences between anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Be specific in your information.

One key difference between anorexia nervosa and bulimia is the desire in anorexic patients to be dangerously thin. Although patients with bulimia try to maintain their weight through compensatory behaviors, they are not as obsessed as anorexic patients in reaching a state of extreme thinness, where individuals are in the lower 85th percentile of the perceived average weight for their height.

Another key difference is that anorexic patients are internally driven; they want to appear thin, which they perceive to be synonymous with beauty, to themselves. Individuals with anorexia nervosa typically perceive themselves to be much bigger in body size than they truly are. Due to their internal dissatisfaction with their body size, they are driven to lose weight. On the other hand, patients with bulimia are externally driven. They are more concerned with others’ positive perceptions of their body. Through the performance of compensatory behaviors, patients with bulimia are concerned with maintaining their weight, so as not to reveal their …show more content…
Due to the disorder, patients may be unable to recognize their dangerous eating habits, thus leading to unwillingness to change. In such cases, the therapist may be liable to make a decision on behalf of the patients’ well-being, and may hospitalize the patients despite their resistance to hospitalization. Furthermore, patients, even after hospitalization, may continue to refuse to eat. If this persists, the therapist may have to force-feed the patients through tubes. Both of these are ethical issues as it strips the patients of their rights as autonomous individuals. In addition, these methods of treatment can produce power struggles between the therapist and patients as well as hamper patients’ trust in the