The movie, Sharing the Secret, presents a breath- taking portrait of bulimia nervosa and provides an remarkable presentation of some of the underlying psychological issues that can play a part in the formation of an eating disorder during the adolescence. The film also touches on the general effects that an eating disorder can have on members in the person’s family and the person’s friends. According to Dr. Joyce Almeida, Sharing the Secret is an “excellent portrait of an eating disorder in a teenager” and she would recommend it to anyone interested in working in the field of adolescence psychology on account of its accuracy in its representation of the psychological condition.
Beth Moss appears to be an average teenage girl who likes hanging …show more content…
This was not the first time Beth has felt faint. Her first known incident took place during her dance class where she felt dizzy and almost passed out while dancing. Her dance teacher noticed this mishap and Beth asked her not to tell her mother explaining to her dance teacher that it most likely her blood sugar being low. Later on in the movie, Beth’s mother notices scratches on her knuckles which are also known as Russell’s sign and are often a sign of repeated self- induced vomiting. (Tyler and Birmingham, 2001) Beth dismisses these marks as old scratches from a friend pet cat. However, despite its high correlation amongst those who suffered from purging behavior related disorders, Russell’s sign is not a reliable indicator for eating disorder since many suffers of eating disorders now use other objects rather than their hands and some forms of exercise can cause the similar markings. (Strumia, …show more content…
Beth clearly presents the three basic and important features required by the DSM-V for a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa: frequent consumption of large amounts of food, the use of purging behavior, such as vomiting, and/or fasting to control shape and weight, and, lastly, an extreme focus and concern about weight and body shape. (Cooper and Fairburn, 2009) All of this occurs without excessive weight loss which gives her the physical appearance of being healthy and of a healthy weight. Another accurate point about the disorder that the movie gets correct is Beth’s habit of not eating much in front of others. Her friends made comments about never physically seeing her eat and she is seen many times throughout the movie denying food when she is offered and claims that she has either already eaten or plans on eating later. Beth’s triggers for binge-eating are also accurately portrayed. According to DSM-V criteria, interpersonal stress, such as her parents’ divorce and her own feeling of inadequacy, is another trigger for binge-eating along with weight and body image
Beth Moss appears to be an average teenage girl who likes hanging …show more content…
This was not the first time Beth has felt faint. Her first known incident took place during her dance class where she felt dizzy and almost passed out while dancing. Her dance teacher noticed this mishap and Beth asked her not to tell her mother explaining to her dance teacher that it most likely her blood sugar being low. Later on in the movie, Beth’s mother notices scratches on her knuckles which are also known as Russell’s sign and are often a sign of repeated self- induced vomiting. (Tyler and Birmingham, 2001) Beth dismisses these marks as old scratches from a friend pet cat. However, despite its high correlation amongst those who suffered from purging behavior related disorders, Russell’s sign is not a reliable indicator for eating disorder since many suffers of eating disorders now use other objects rather than their hands and some forms of exercise can cause the similar markings. (Strumia, …show more content…
Beth clearly presents the three basic and important features required by the DSM-V for a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa: frequent consumption of large amounts of food, the use of purging behavior, such as vomiting, and/or fasting to control shape and weight, and, lastly, an extreme focus and concern about weight and body shape. (Cooper and Fairburn, 2009) All of this occurs without excessive weight loss which gives her the physical appearance of being healthy and of a healthy weight. Another accurate point about the disorder that the movie gets correct is Beth’s habit of not eating much in front of others. Her friends made comments about never physically seeing her eat and she is seen many times throughout the movie denying food when she is offered and claims that she has either already eaten or plans on eating later. Beth’s triggers for binge-eating are also accurately portrayed. According to DSM-V criteria, interpersonal stress, such as her parents’ divorce and her own feeling of inadequacy, is another trigger for binge-eating along with weight and body image