Sex, Personality, Eating, and Substance Abuse Disorders

Sex, Personality, Eating, and Substance Abuse Disorders

There are disorders for eating, sex, substance and personality. Each disorder has different traits and categories that belong within each disorder. The paper will describe the different disorders and the causes for those disorders.

Eating

Eating disorders are severe disturbances in eating behavior characterized by preoccupation with weight concerns and unhealthy efforts to control weight. There are two main categories for this disorder; they are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa is an intense fear of gaining weight, disturbed body image, refusal to maintain normal weight, and dangerous measures to lose weight. There are two sub categories restricting type anorexia nervosa, where someone drastically reduces their intake of food sometimes almost to the point of starvation. The second sub-category is binge-eating/purging type of anorexia nervosa where someone attempts to lose weight by making their self vomit after eating by laxatives, over exercising, or diuretics. No matter what category someone with this disorder has the main thing is that the person is not happy with the weight they are and always tries to lose more. This way of weight lose usually leads to other medical health problems such as stomach problems, low blood pressure, lose of bone density, lost of menstrual cycle in females, and others. Bulimia nervosa is out of control over-eating followed by unhealthy compensatory efforts, with the same efforts that anorexics use. The eating binges are usually secret followed by guilt and concern about gaining weight.

Genetically there is not strong evidence there is any relationship between eating disorders and genetics but relatives seem to have elevated rates of the disorders. Personality seems to have some relationship to eating disorders but people with certain traits such as being impulsive, having low self-esteem, and overly sensitive are traits for bulimia, and obsessive, rigid, neurotic as some for anorexia. Having one of these traits does not mean you will have an eating disorder but people with the disorders seem to have these traits. Culture has some to do with the disorder as being in a beauty pageant or in a magazine centerfold promote being thin. Family also plays a role in eating disorders by mothers telling their kids you can never be too thin, or being over involved in their children’s lives and the child takes control of the only thing they can their own body. Cognitive factors are a rigid way of thinking as in an all or nothing way and maladaptive beliefs. No one is sure if the way of thinking is a cause for the disorder or a symptom of the disorder.

Personality

Personality disorders are schizophrenic disorders which are a class of disorders marked by delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and deterioration of adaptive behavior. Sub-categories of schizophrenia are paranoid type, catatonic type, disorganized type, and undifferentiated type. Genetics is a factor in personality disorders and inherit a genetic vulnerability to the disorder. If the parents have a personality disorder there is almost a 50% chance the child will develop the disorder as well. Neurochemical factors also play a factor in the disorder by changes in one or more neurotransmitters in the brain. Another cause can be from an abnormality in the brain such as enlarged ventricles. Another cause may be linked to prenatal development with the child having a viral infection, malnutrition, or an obstetrical complication during the birth. Family can play a role in the development of the disorder by the way they react to the person with the personality disorder. Stress is also a trigger to the disorder.

Substance

Substance abuse can be caused by drugs or alcohol use that interferes