FInal Response of Wasted

This book went way beyond the death of my Market Place of Ideas project. I spoke a lot about the issue of control and how that may cause eating disorders. I also talked about how it can be caused by social pressures. I also discussed how common eating disorders are in athletes who feel that the dimensions of their body, their weight, and appearance are main factors in their performance or will give them their competitive edge. In this book I learned that it could be anything in the world. It is a mystery what sets it off exactly. It could be any of those things, but those aren't the only reasons for it. Of course, environment and family background play a large roll as well. Sometimes it is just a part of someone that could have been set off by default. Eating disorders are not only a prominent issue, but they are truly an addiction. Many people today are suffering from them and even dying from them. Many times they are accompanied by other disorders or drug usages which make them even more dangerous. Eating disorders may not be brushed off as insecurities or immaturity. It is an issue much deeper that requires extensive therapy in order to heal.

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At the end of the book Marya is 23. She is still is fascinated by the idea of death. She still feels an emptiness that can't seem to be filled. She still puts on a plastic smile. She still is very intense. AT the end of the book, she was eating and surviving. She had learned to understand herself and the emptiness inside her instead of fear that emptiness. It still is with her everywhere she goes. There are times where it is better than others. She is now able to look into the mirror with confidence at times without critiquing herself and seeing only her flaws. She fights the voice in her head on a daily basis that shouts her imperfections. Everywhere she goes and everything she eats is a battle inside her. She knew in time it would become easier for her to live.

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While back in a unit she faced many challenges. She thought everyone there was crazy. It didn't take her long to see that she is one of them and they are not lunatics. Her roommate, Joan, tired to connect with her but at first she was very closed off. Joan said, "They are going to make you eat eventually you know?" (191). Other people tried to comfort Marya and told Joan to mind her own business. Marya would stare at things and immediately think about the exact amount of calories in them. She had a panic attack and wanted to return to the hospital because she would prefer the food there. She was complaining the food at the rehab was "dripping with fat." She was refusing to eat anything and truly feared it. She felt as long as she had her eating disorder, she still had herself. She secretly had her laxatives so she felt some comfort. Those sadly, were her security blanket.

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Her intention during some of her relapses was not to lose weight. One time it was all internal. It was an exploration of the extent of hunger. Other times she would eat all that she could and be very unhealthy, but then throw it up. She would act completely normal and hide her throwing up. She had used to be closely monitored by everyone, but now she had freedom. She played it off like she had made a full recovery and did not have to seek help every two weeks. This scares me. She is clearly a good actor if she can make everyone believe she has recovered. No one even suspected her she was acting so well. She is very sneaky. She would throw up after school when no one was home. She would binge eat, then purge. People were fooled into thinking she was comfortable enough to eat unhealthy at times. All the warning signs I learned about while doing my project were there though. Eating disorders are addictions and do not go away over night.

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Eating disorders are addictions. This book was written to show that many people's notions about eating disorders aren't exactly the truth. It is brushed off as much less than it is. Many times  as immaturity, madness, or a normal adolescent issue. It may in some cases be partly due to these things, but it is never just that. These are life and death situations. Little therapy and a pill will not just take it away. It is much deeper than that. Hornbacher writes about her experience hoping to prevent others to choose the same route that she did. She says that she would do anything to keep them from it. People need to learn to love their bodies and be comfortable with who they are. Eating disorders haunt people and they must be treated with extreme care. "You would rather be a human than a human's thin shell" (Hornbacher). Eating disorders affect every day life. It can change your beliefs and what you do and how you do it every day. She said the "mirror phase" of her adolescent days dominated her life. Body and image was all that crossed her mind. Everyone worries about what they look like at one point or another, but for her it became an addiction and obsession.

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"Eating disorders linger so long undetected, eroding the body in silence, and then they strike. The secret is out. You're dying" (2). Marya Hornbacher has been battling eating disorders since the age of nine. She was bulimic at this age and became anorexic at age fifteen. In the past thirteen years her weight ranged from 52-135 pounds. It was a continuous cycle of improving and plummeting. She had countless hours of therapies and spent years going in and out of rehabs. She was also institutionalized. She has so many different disorders now that her eating disorder does not even fit a category. While reading through her files she saw that she was called a "chronic and hopeless case." She believes they are wrong and she has slightly improved. Yet, she does not deny that she has an eating disorder and some major issues. She does not blame her eating disorder on anything. She feels people should not being wondering whether it is neurotic, but what exactly was it that flipped the switch and why are so many people struggling with eating disorders.

Pressures

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfBCkG27O0I

Mary-Kate Olsen struggled with an eating disorder three years ago. As a celebrity many feel that she has the perfect life. She was loved as a child and just as much as a teen. She is rich and has it all. That is not always the case. Fame and wealth does not mean happiness. It is not everything to most celebrities. Poeple don't know what they are talking about especially when they are not celebrities. It cannot be easy being followed and trying to be perfect all the time.  Obviously, she was not happy with herself if she had a mental disease. The press is constantly following her when she has an issue. It just doesn't seem fair. This video upset me because it kept asking questions like "is this beauty?" They were saying she was so beautiful and how she looks is not beauty. Yes, they said she's not on her own and others are going through it, but they should be encouraging and trying to help. I even feel they should be leaving her alone because they are only making her problems worse by publicizing them. I'm sure media to begin with was part of what caused her problem in the first place. Many people feel that being skinny is what makes someone beautiful, but that is not true. Beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes. I am so glad Mary-Kate Olson is good and healthy now.