Anorexia nervosa
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Hi!
I am a reporter working for a university press located in Seoul. I am currently working on a story about the societal problems of “lookism” in Korea. I found numerous cases that many people ― especially girls ― have been obsessed with the appearances of celebrities mainly influenced by mass media such as television or the Internet. I am looking for an expert’s idea on anorexia nervosa, and I hope you can answer my following questions. First of all: Is anorexia nervosa a kind of psychosis? Second, what kind of symptoms does it present? And are there any unified and general symptoms? Is it true that the numbers of anorexia nervosa patients are increasing in South Korea, and what causes such problems? Can we say the influence of mass media is a major cause?
I would very much appreciate it if you could get back to me with even a brief answer. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Anorexia nervosa is a kind of psychiatric illness classified as a separate disorder in the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition). It is mainly characterized as a disorder in which persons refuse to eat in order to maintain a minimally normal weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, and a significant misinterpretation of their body and its shape. Anorexia nervosa can sometimes be a fatal disease whose mortality rate is about 15 percent in the absence of any proper treatment.
According to Daniel Goleman, the author of “Emotional Intelligence,” anorexia nervosa in adolescent girls is related with the difficulties of emotional control — mostly anger or rage, low self-esteem, problems in parent-child communication, and frustration by too much competition in an achievement-oriented society.
In that sense, the mass media’s prejudiced attitude toward beauty could trigger anorexia nervosa in adolescent girls, even though we cannot say it has a full responsibility. The prevalence rate of the eating disorder is likely to increase since the emotional stress and problems of modern society will keep increasing.
I hope this helps.
Dear Dr. P,
I just got your e-mail address in the web site of the Korea Times.
I have been living in Seoul for a while. A year ago I was diagnosed with schizophrenia syndrome and this is haunting me so much. I still have consciousness that there is something wrong with myself and I’ve heard someone repeatedly shout in my ears such as “stupid, idiot, foolish!” and it’s resulting in having bad social relations.
Therefore, I want to consult with you since this is disturbing me so much and very annoying from day by day. It makes me lose my temper. My whole life is ruined because of this syndrome. I lost my life and soon I will lose my job.
Please give me your advice, and I want to visit you for consultation. Hoping to hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
From anonymous,
Dear Sender,
Many schizophrenic patients don’t have an insight that they have some emotional problems and they mostly deny it. For instance, when they have any auditory hallucination, they may have serious suffering because they believe that it’s real. It is fortunate of you that you recognize your mental problems, and it will be very helpful for you to deal with these issues. It is also a good sign that you have the motivation to get professional treatment.
I am sure that you will improve effectively because many wonderful medicines for schizophrenic syndrome have been developed recently. You would be able to make good progress if you combine both medical and psychotherapy together. However, keep in mind — even if you get a good result from doctors, you still need to make sure to continue the treatment. Just like chronic diabetes or hypertension, it is important to see a doctor regularly even when you are in good condition. If people quit or skip their medication after improvement, their symptoms will recur.
Especially, if you have auditory hallucinations which step into your daily life such as “stupid, idiot foolish,“ you may be very confused and misjudged because of the auditory hallucinations and it can disturb your occupational life too. When you lose your job you can’t get professional treatment and you will be caught in a vicious cycle.
I recommend you to continue therapy until you completely overcome your psychiatric illness — Don’t give up!
Thank you.
Dr. Park Jin-seng is a psychiatrist who runs a clinic for foreigners in Seoul and operates personal therapist forums on www.lifeinkorea.com. Please submit questions for him to mdoctor@korea.com or call the hotline at 02-563-0678. Those who have their questions selected will be presented with a copy of “Finding Yourself within Love” (Korean e-Book) that he wrote.