To the Bone: The Journey of Eating Disorder Recovery

 For this essay I am going to focus in on mostly anorexia nervosa. Ellen is a 20-year-old woman struggling with anorexia nervosa. In the midst of family problems and her own fears, she is accepted into a group home run by an unusual doctor. Through the people she meets and the journey she takes, Ellen follows a path of self-discovery and acceptance that will lead her to a surprising place she never would have thought possible. In this movie, it is very easy to see Ellen’s extreme weight loss, thin appearance, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, and hair thinning. All of these are signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa in the DSM-V. Anorexia nervosa is a serious psychological condition and potential life threatening eating disorder. However, as seen in the movie, with the right treatment, recovery is possible.

I really didn’t rule out any other diagnoses for Ellen just because anorexia nervosa was the most prominent and the movie was focused on this. One thing I did notice was Ellen’s mood patterns. At first, watching this movie I though she may be bipolar. But, I quickly ruled this out when I realized that the signs I noticed were because of malnutrition. Some signs that I noticed were feeling hopeless and sad, fatigue and loss of pleasure, and physical sluggishness. Yes, all of these can be symptoms of bipolar depression but, they overlap with anorexia. That is then I ruled this out.

Positive symptoms are thoughts, behaviors, or sensory perceptions present in a person with a mental disorder, but not present in people in the normal population. Negative symptoms are thoughts, feelings, or behaviors normally present that are absent or diminished in a person with a mental disorder. A positive symptom that Ellen showed was wanting to get help. At first, when her mom made her go to the doctor she did not want help. But then after a few appointments with the physician (Dr. Beckham), Ellen started feeling better about herself, and this is when she decided she was going to continue treatment. A negative symptom was when Ellen started getting bruises on her spine from rubbing on the ground (from doing so many sit ups every day after eating), and even after she had painful bruises she still continued to do the sit ups after eating.

Ego syntonic refers to instincts or ideas that are acceptable to the self, and that are compatible with one’s values and ways of thinking. While ego dystonic on the other hand refers to thoughts, impulses, and behaviors that are felt to be distressing, unacceptable, or inconsistent with one’s self concept. In the movie, Ellen was more dystonic than syntonic. I say this because her actions are not normal. Although they are normal for someone who is diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. I also believe that the attitudes of those living in the group home with Ellen are also dystonic.

Both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have a peak onset between the ages of 13 and 20 years. The disorder appears to have a chronic, sometimes episodic course in which periods of remission alternate with recurrences of binge/purge cycles. Chronic in medicine means lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months or more. Some patients have bulimia nervosa that persists for 30 years or more. In Ellen’s case, her disorder is chronic. She has been anorexic for more than 3 years; this is another reason her case is chronic. Ellen has a good prognosis because her mother got her help. Most cases go untreated and the patient becomes malnourished and had lots of other side effects.