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Anorexia caused by narcissism - Agree?

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If you read the full interview it's very obvious that's not her point at all. She's saying that we have created a culture that encourages problems like anorexia as a society, not blaming individuals for it. Doesn't really come across in the selected BBC quotes.

 

Fair enough.

Perhaps though these pressures always exist, it's just that our society causes them to be expressed differently and we've actually gone as far as noticing and calling it a health issue?

 

 

Hence why I asked were things like physical self-harm and so on a similar outlet for re-taking control? Perhaps we need to look at all self-harming (of which anorexia and bulimia must be?) as a wider picture. As you say if it's about taking control then that's a good reason why we don't see eating disorders in poorer countries, but I would suggest if we looked deeper there would be a whole range of self-harm going on.

 

Yes, probably, although the pressure to be thin might not exist, I'm sure other pressures exist (like worrying about whether you can get enough food in the first place to stay alive) and these will result in other pathological behaviours as outlets.

 

---------- Post added 14-03-2016 at 10:34 ----------

 

The lady's comments make sense. The girls and woman affected live in Countries where there is no shotage of food and problems seem to be self inflicted due to looking too much in the mirror and reading too many fashion trends. My prescription is to give these silly girls and women a job on a production line in a factory or vegetable picking on a farm.

 

And that's why you don't work in mental health. :roll:

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As someone who had a close friend with Anorexia, and who witnessed its ravages and the tragic course of this terrible illness, I can confirm that Ms. Bakewell does not know what she is talking about. Her flippant comparison between the incidence of Anorexia in first and third world countries is superficial in the extreme and based on ignorance, based as it is on a confusion between correlation and causation. Anorexia is not lifestyle choice. It is by no means solely or even mainly about food. Having studied the subject in some detail as a consequence of my friend's illness, I know that sufferers tend to be desperate to get well. Unfortunately, we are still in the dark ages in relation to mental illness, so it is unlikely that a cure for this lethal illness will be found anytime soon

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As someone who had a close friend with Anorexia, and who witnessed its ravages and the tragic course of this terrible illness, I can confirm that Ms. Bakewell does not know what she is talking about. Her flippant comparison between the incidence of Anorexia in first and third world countries is superficial in the extreme and based on ignorance, based as it is on a confusion between correlation and causation. Anorexia is not lifestyle choice. It is by no means solely or even mainly about food. Having studied the subject in some detail as a consequence of my friend's illness, I know that sufferers tend to be desperate to get well. Unfortunately, we are still in the dark ages in relation to mental illness, so it is unlikely that a cure for this lethal illness will be found anytime soon

Comparing anorexia to narcissism is like comparing a self harmer to jack-ass. Ridiculous. The woman's an idiot.

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Comparing anorexia to narcissism is like comparing a self harmer to jack-ass. Ridiculous. The woman's an idiot.

 

She was saying it's societies narcissism that is the issue, not individuals. Do you still disagree? Do you not think that society's obsession with body image is having an affect? Suicides are at their highest rate in recorded history, we should be looking at what's going on and why. Eating disorders are a part of that wider discussion.

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I don't think she approached it with the view of mental illness in mind and while I do agree with what she says, I do think it was probably taken out of context.

 

I do also think that first world countries where the pressure for young people and the rise in mental illness could also be compared to third world countries and the differences could be taken further. I don't think it has a lot to do with food abundance but more about the style of life people lead.

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She was saying it's societies narcissism that is the issue, not individuals. Do you still disagree? Do you not think that society's obsession with body image is having an affect? Suicides are at their highest rate in recorded history, we should be looking at what's going on and why. Eating disorders are a part of that wider discussion.

 

Can society suffer from narcissism?

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She was saying it's societies narcissism that is the issue, not individuals. Do you still disagree? Do you not think that society's obsession with body image is having an affect? Suicides are at their highest rate in recorded history, we should be looking at what's going on and why. Eating disorders are a part of that wider discussion.

 

It's definitely affecting individuals that suffer with compulsive and obsessive tendencies, but maybe such behaviour is hard-wired into certain individuals leaving them just as susceptible to anything that triggers it.

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Anorexia, like many mental health conditions can be caused by numerous factors. I think the easiest thing in the world is to blame the individual suffering. I've heard stories of people whose anorexia was brought on by bullying, abuse, interfamilial conflict etc.

It's a complex issue, and one that doesn't lend itself to easy soundbites or dismissive comments.

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Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate for any mental illness and therefore any discussion of them should be done sensitively.

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And that's why you don't work in mental health. :roll:

There is too much overthinking about mental health. :huh: :huh: :huh:

Common sense logic beats expensive so called professional bullsh**t every day of the week. I have more sympathy for people starving in war torn and third World countries, than people who choose to starve themselves to gain sympathy.

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There is too much overthinking about mental health. :huh: :huh: :huh:

Common sense logic beats expensive so called professional bullsh**t every day of the week. I have more sympathy for people starving in war torn and third World countries, than people who choose to starve themselves to gain sympathy.

 

You can't acuse them of craving sympathy or attention any more than you can acuse a cripple for limping.

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There is too much overthinking about mental health. :huh: :huh: :huh:

Common sense logic beats expensive so called professional bullsh**t every day of the week. I have more sympathy for people starving in war torn and third World countries, than people who choose to starve themselves to gain sympathy.

 

You have absolutely no idea of what you're talking about.

 

I hope that no one you know ever suffers from a mental health problem, as with that attitude you will simply make it worse for them.

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