Abnormal psych paper - Essay on Binge-Eating Disorder and it\'s relation to the fictional character PDF

Preview

Summary

Essay on Binge-Eating Disorder and it's relation to the fictional character Kate Pearson from 'This is Us.'...

Description

BINGE-EATING DISORDER AND KATE PEARSON

Binge-Eating Disorder and Kate Pearson Fordham University

1

BINGE-EATING DISORDER AND KATE PEARSON

2

Eating disorders are a more recent disorder first defined in the DSM in 1980 (Kring, Johnson, Davison, & Neale, 2012). Food, weight, and looks are aspects that are extremely prevalent in our daily life (i.e. the media) and are weighed with heavy importance too. It is not shocking that in a world where many cultures have this obsession with food, there are disorders that may arise as a result (Kring et al., 2012). Unfortunately, like many other disorders, eating disorders tend to be stigmatized (Kring et al., 2012). There are 3 main eating disorders defined in the DSM-5, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. For the purpose of the paper, I will focus on binge-eating disorder and why Kate Pearson from, This Is Us, may have it. Binge-eating disorder is defined has having binge eating episodes at least one time per week for at least 3 months, where an individual reports having at least three of the following: eating a lot even when not hungry, eating in solitude due to embarrassment, eating until over full, eating the large amount of food quickly, and distress about bingeing (Kring et al., 2012). Binge-eating disorder can be distinguished from other eating disorders such as bulimia nervosa because there is a lack of compensatory behaviors (Kring et al., 2012). Individuals with binge-eating disorder tend to be obese, have low self-esteem, and have a history of dieting (Kring et al., 2012). Developing a binge-eating disorder has certain risk factors that involve, depression, childhood sexual or physical abuse, childhood obesity, attempts to lose weight in childhood, and belittling and demeaning comments concerning being overweight (Kring et al., 2012). Kate Pearson is the only daughter in a family of five in the TV show This is Us. In the show, she is depicted during childhood and in adulthood. She has always been chubby

BINGE-EATING DISORDER AND KATE PEARSON

3

and overweight as a child and this progressed to obesity in adulthood. Kate is presented in the show as someone who has constantly struggled with binge eating disorder and depression. She has had many failed crash diets. I believe Kate can be diagnosed with binge-eating disorder because she has reported cyclical binges, which is one of the symptoms of the disorder. Kate also attends a binge-eating support group where people talk about their disorders, the roots of them, and how they have relapsed and binged. There is no actual scene of Kate bingeing, however, she talks about her past frequently and her struggle with binge eating. She also reports that she eats more quickly than usual when bingeing, and that she tends to eat alone and is embarrassed by the amount of food she eats. Kate has been diagnosed with depression and it is evident that she also feels disgusted and bad about herself after the binges. She also exhibits no compensatory behavior after binges. She, however, has a history of failed dieting. Binge-eating disorder (as stated before) is associated with obesity and a history of dieting, which Kate demonstrates. The show itself starts off with Kate looking into her fridge, food covered in many labels telling her to NOT eat it. She ignores these labels and goes on. She tried working out, got no results and stopped. She went to fat camp, got no results and dropped out. Kate also has extremely low self-esteem, a characteristic associated with binge-eating disorder. This low self-esteem is so severe, it keeps her away from dating/seeing men, going out to parties with her famous brother, and traveling because she has to buy two seats instead of one. This impaired social functioning is an attribute of someone with binge-eating disorder. Kate’s dissatisfaction with her body throughout her life had caused her to be diagnosed with depression. She takes medication for it, specifically Prozac, but stopped taking it because it was making her gain weight.

BINGE-EATING DISORDER AND KATE PEARSON

4

Kate also exhibits risk factors associated with binge-eating disorder. She has always been overweight as a child and bigger than her peers. Her peers and mother have always criticized her size and the amount of food she eats since childhood as well, making her more likely to develop the disorder. As for etiology, there isn’t enough information about Kate on the show to talk about the genetic and neurobiological factors, therefore the most pertinent and applicable to Kate would be cognitive behavioral factors and sociocultural factors. When it comes to cognitive behavioral factors, is has been found that individuals with binge-eating disorders commonly binge after a stressful or negative confrontation (Kring et al., 2012). In a particular episode, Kate got into a huge fight with her boyfriend because he binged and she left his home and went and got a 12 pack of donuts and devoured all of them sitting in her car. According to the cognitive behavioral view, her binge can be seen as a method of regulating this negative and stressful encounter (Kring et al., 2012). In terms of sociocultural factors, growing up in the US, Kate has experienced a culture that emphasized thinness. As an obese woman, Kate clearly does not fit into what society deems as “beautiful” in terms of size. The cultural standard of the ideal body has gone from being “chubby” to progressively thinner (Kring et al., 2012). Since the 1970’s the ideal shape has gotten smaller and smaller, and since Kate was born in the 80’s she grew up in this era of thinness which influenced how she and other perceived herself (Kring et al., 2012). Because Kate grew up “fat” her peers have had this idea that she is lazy and has no self-control. Kate began to understand that how she looked wasn't the social norm when her own mother started commenting on how much she ate. In one instance, Kate’s appendix had burst but her mother acted as if her stomach pain

BINGE-EATING DISORDER AND KATE PEARSON

5

complaints were due to the fact that she ate so much chocolate right before. Also, one day at the local pool, a couple of girls had sent Kate a note with a drawing of a pig telling her that they don't want to play with her because she is embarrassed. Comments like these from society caused Kate to become extremely dissatisfied with her body, putting her at high risk for an eating disorder. Kate’s gender also plays into the fact that she has an eating disorder. Women tend to be more objectified and scrutinized for their appearance than men, and the fact that Kate does not fit this specific Western standard caused Kate to be ashamed of her body (Kring et al., 2012). When it comes to treatments for binge-eating disorder, there are no well-studied medications as effective treatment (Kring et al., 2012). In Kate’s instance, I would suggest cognitive behavior therapy as treatment for her binge-eating disorder. The fact that CBT targets binges as well as restrained eating by emphasizing self control, self monitoring, and problem solving when it comes to eating will be very effective for Kate (Kring et al., 2012). Effects of CBT has also been found to last for up to 1 year after the treatment begins and is more effective than treatment with fluoxetine (Prozac) (Kring et al., 2012). Interpersonal therapy can also benefit Kate because it has been shown to be effective for binge-eating disorder (Kring et al., 2012). A treatment that would not be recommended for Kate is a weight-loss program. This has been shown to be less effective than the other two treatments proposed because it may help weight loss but it does not hit the main source of the problem, which is binge eating (Kring et al., 2012). Failure of this treatment is exemplified in the show where Kate joins a fat-camp, which doesn't help her binge-eating disorder at all. However, she does find solace in a drumming class that allowed her to free her negative energy by pounding away her feelings of anger and

BINGE-EATING DISORDER AND KATE PEARSON

6

distress using drumsticks. I believe this drum class as well as a combination of CBT or IPT would be the best treatments for Kate’s disorder. When it comes to eating disorders in the media, the mainstream media does a bad job at accurately portraying them. In classic American sitcom shows, a character with an eating disorder is cured within a 30-minute time frame after a quick chat with a family member or friend. In reality, it is obvious that eating disorders cannot be cured that quickly. Individuals with anorexia nervosa take 6 to 7 years to recover (Kring et al., 2012). Binge-eating disorder is reported to last an average of 14.4 years, which is way more time than individuals with bulimia or anorexia report having (Kring et al., 2012). It is clear that platforms such as television and movies don’t always depict eating disorders in the most authentic manner. It is important to note that certain shows, although not incredibly thorough in their messages about eating disorders, do allow for some education. If it were not for certain shows, such as Full House, issues like eating disorders would have never been brought up in mainstream American media. In addition to media outlets such as television and movies, celebrities in the media inform the general public about issues regarding eating disorders. Many celebrities such as Demi Lovato have come out on social media platforms, such as Instagram, to talk about their eating disorders and the struggles they had to endure. Many other strong and influential female celebrities have come out to do the same. People may argue that there is a slight “gender preference” when talking about eating disorders. Although eating disorders are more common in women than in men, we should not undermine the fact that men also struggle with eating disorders (Kring et al., 2012). The media does a good job at forgetting this but male celebrities, such as Zayn Malik, have come out to the press about

BINGE-EATING DISORDER AND KATE PEARSON

7

their battle with eating disorders. In his autobiography, Zayn spoke about how he would go days without eating anything because it was the only thing he could control during a stressful time in his life (Melas, 2016). In total, eating disorders are extremely detrimental to an individual’s physical and mental health and their well-being. It is important to understand why these individuals have the eating disorder and try to find the most effective treatment for the disorder.

BINGE-EATING DISORDER AND KATE PEARSON References Kring, A. M., Johnson, S. L., Davison, G. C., & Neale, J. M. (2012). Abnormal Psychology. Wiley.

Melas, C. (2016, November 01). Zayn Malik reveals eating disorder battle while in One Direction. Retrieved April 27, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/01/entertainment/zayn-malik-eating-disorder-onedirection/

8...