By tommorow Wednesday I need one page essay for psychology

Pro-Ana sites put forth the idea the anorexia is not a disorder but a way of life. Many of them provide tips on how to become a better anorexic and how to hide it. They also provide images of rakishly thin women (see note below) for others to use as “thinspiration.” These individuals believe it is their choice to engage in this lifestyle and that they should not be seen as abnormal.

Under this week’s module you will find 2 documents. The first is text taken from a Pro-Ana site and it describes in detail ways that you can become a better anorexic. The second is an image file containing images that are used for thinspiration.

**Please note: Females are the most prevalent with regards to eating disorders and the vast majority of Pro-Ana sites are geared towards women. However, the rate of teenage boys and men with eating disorders has been growing over the past 20 years, especially with the rise of the metro-sexual. At the same time and probably for the same reason there is a small but growing population of Pro-Ana sites specifically geared towards men.

For your primary post answer the following questions:

1. What are the benefits/pros of these sites? Explain.

You will need to list a minimum of 3.

2. What are the disadvantages/cons of these sites? Explain.

You will need to list a minimum of 3.

This is the article:How to become a better anorexic

An anorexic mind

……… Firstly, reaffirm your mission. Immortalise it. Buy a fat, blank notebook, this will become your own personal anorexic sanctuary of sorts. Write down WHY you want to lose weight. Be sure to include things like how you will feel when you’re 10lbs lighter, the glorious clothes you will fit into, an occasion that you would like to be thinner for like your sixteenth birthday, etc. Give yourself a finalgoal, and break it up into several, smaller, goalpoints. For example, if you weigh 140lbs and would like to eventually be 90lbs, list points along the way which signify a victory for you. For example, 130lbs, and then 115lbs, then 110lbs, then 100lbs, and so on. Re-read this again and again forinspiration. You will be using this notebook later to create tackytown anorexia-inspired collages and otherparaphernalia. Visualisation. Following the same strain as NLP, or Neuro Linguistic Programming, we must use the principles of association to retrain your consciousness, and sub-consciousness, to turn food into one of the greater evils of the world. (Read:the greatest evil!!) Start by associating food with disgusting things. For your first ever fast, it may be helpful to draw pictures of juicy red apples, somehow morphing into giant dead rotting pigs. Plaster these all around your house, preferably on the food itself. Never underestimate the power of images. Put pictures of fat girls on your fridge, or better yet, pictures of yourself; you’re pretty fat. Conversely, stick pictures of rakish models everywhere you can see them, for inspiration, and a bit of productiveself-loathing. Also, practise writing things like “I’m fat” over and over. You want to drill this into your brain. “I will be thin” is a good one, as well as other “I will” affirmations. These are positive statements and very conducive to big time weight loss. Now create a list of suitablepunishments either for thinking of food, or for caving in and eating food itself. A good one to try is to keep arubber band on your hand and flick your skin whenever you think of eating. Eventually you will have aswollen hand, and a shrunken body; you will have ceased thinking of food so much. Other punishments include ridiculous amounts of exercise,purging, self-mutilation, isolation, basic denial of necessary comforts such as blankets on a cold night, or shelter when it is raining.. or simply menial, disgusting tasks such as cleaning the bathroom. Remember, you need discipline. Invent pain and hassles for yourself. Trick yourself into believing your life sucks. Be mean to people so that they instigate fights, just to make you constantly on edge, or nervous, so you cant eat. After all, you’ll be light-headed and dizzy, and irritable from not eating, so you have an excuse. I used to love when dad got mad at me because it meant I was so upset I could not eat. Become an angst ridden teenager. You’ll be making yourself nauseous from worry and self hatred in no time. Find another anorexic to consort with. Whether this be in real life, or on the internet. You can swap tips and indulge in your little sordid anorexia world together, force each other to exercise, pat each other on the back when you reach goals, etc. You want to completely surround yourself with all thoughts of anorexia. Find pro-anorexia websites, or create your own. Sign up for one of the dozens of pro-anorexic mailing lists at Yahoo! and you’ll be bombarded daily with like minded individuals. Now, immerse yourself further inanorexia propaganda, read anorexia or otherwise ‘thin’ inspired literature, listen to anorexic music, watch as many triggering films as you can get your delicate little mitts on, look up to very thin hollywood stars andsupermodels. Also, visit as many of the aforementioned pro-anorexia sites as you can to get a bunch of quotes and ‘mantras’ to write in your anorexia notebook, and repeat inside your head daily. I have compiled a list of such sources of ‘thinspiration’.

Thinspiration

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Anorexic mantras

You must collect as many of these as possible. Write them in your anorexia notebook, memorise them, let them comfort you. Some examples are:

o “An imperfect body reflects an imperfect person.”

o “You will be temptedquite frequently, and you will have to choose whether you will enjoy yourself hugely in the 20 minutes or so that you will be consuming theexcess calories, or whether you will dislike youself cordially for 2 or 3 days for your lack of willpower.”

o “I’m not starving myself…I’m perfecting my emptiness.”

o “I can get thinner. I can cut it all off. I can wear low slung Levi’s and crop tops and long straight dresses like willowy models, and I gasp with the breathlessness of being airborne. I can fly and be free. Jesus! I never realised how easy it was!”

o “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.”

o “The greasy fry, it cannot lie, its truth is written on yourthigh,” as said byQuinn from Daria

Devour Literature, not food

Words and text are very very triggering when it comes to not eating. For one thing, it gives you a world to inhabit, your very own private, magnificent anorexia world which nobody else around you can touch, and you shall have characters to understand you. You will be so riveted that you will not need to eat. Books to check out include:

o “The Best Little Girl In The World” bySteven Levenkron

o “Wasted” by Marya Hornbacher

o “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand – not about anorexia per se, but Dominique Francon is the f*cking epitome of ethereal, insubstantial, bony grace.

o “I Am An Artichoke” by Lucy Frank

o “Starving For Attention” by Cherry Boone O’Neill

o “Hunger Scream” byIvy Ruckman

o “Diary Of An Eating Disorder” by Chelsea Smith and Beverly Runyon

o “My Sister’s Bones” by Cathi Hanauer

o “Stick Figure” by Lori Gottlieb

o “Eve’s Apple” byJonathan Rosen

Role models

You need somebody to idolise. You must research him or her to the bonesand become as close to her as possible. Become obsessed. Some suitable examples include those in the following list, who are either very skinny, or have, or have had anorexia:

o Kate Moss – nineties waif

o Angelina Jolie – skinny sexy actress, e.g. Girl, Interrupted and Gia

o Christina Ricci – actress, had anorexia

o Calista Flockhart – Ally McBeal

o Lara Flynn Boyle – glamorous and snobby, never eats

o Tracey Gold – actress who suffered from anorexia

o Karen Carpenter – musician and classic anorexic

o Portia de Rossi – actress on Ally McBeal who went through a stage ofdangerous dieting

o Geri Halliwell – formerly Ginger Spice, engaged in a ‘thin war’ with:

o Victoria Beckham – formerly Posh Spice

o Courtney Cox – actress on Friends, bony and gaunt

o Twiggy – iconoclastic model

o Jodie Kidd – impossibly thin model

o Audrey Hepburn – quintessential class, very petite

Extreme Dieting

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Now we can move on to the actual act of excessive dieting itself. First off we should establish clear limits. Make up rules you cannot deviate from. Only eat yellow foods on Monday, and brown foods on Tuesday. Or only eat every other day. Or only eat at night. Or only eat on days with the letter “u” in them. Or become a vegan. Or a fruitarian. Or follow your own version of a well known diet, such as the ever popular low carb diets, e.g., the Zone Diet, Atkin’s Diet. Use your imagination. I knew a model who swore her secret was living on sushi, candy, oranges, cigarettes, and water. Another tip to try is to only allow yourself one food a day. You will get sick of the taste and therefore eat less due to boredom. Now, compile a list of “safe foods”. Here is a fairly comprehensive list: Low Cal Jelly (or Jello, for you Americans) Celery – it is composed highly of water, it is crunchy, which is said to cause you to eat less, owing to the amount you have to chew it, it is considered acatabolic food. Carrots are also another safe vegetable (although most vegetables can be on your safe list, these are merely the safest of the safe). Salsa and mustard – dietingstaples. You can dip vegetables in them, they are fat free andlow cal, and salsa brings cravings to an abrupt halt. Spicy foods are also thought to fire up your metabolism. Vinegar – thought to thoroughly reduce your appetite. It is suggested you drink a tablespoon or two before each meal. Lemons dipped in a sugar substitute such as Splenda orNutrasweet. (note: In some anorexia circles, even fruit is no good, besides oranges, which are a 50cal food). Broth (only 5 calories per cube!!) Egg white – much neededprotein. Pickles . Lettuce – an absolute ‘nothing’ food. Cucumbers – very very low cal. and never underestimate the power of soup.

Safe foods are merely foods that are safe to eat if you are craving foods outside your set meals. They are extremely low cal, or no cal. As for your actual daily intake of food, most wannabe anorexics tend to stick within the500 – 1000 calorie range depending on how much exercise they do. Never be shy when it comes to considering taking certain drugs to reduce or diminish appetite.

Day To Day

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Now we move on to the ever important area of ritual and habits, tips & tricks, to get down to a science. Graze constantly throughout the day so that your metabolism never gets the chance to rest and become sluggish. Eating 100 calories five times a day is better than eating one meal consisting of 500 calories. Fool your metabolism by constantly changing the number of calories you consume daily. This will prevent your body going into starvation mode, meaning that lesser amounts of calories will make you gain weight. For instance, eat 500 calories on Monday, 100 on Tuesday, 800 on Wednesday, no calories on Thursday, and 400 calories on Friday. Get a full night’s sleep, at least eight hours. Although staying up late does make you burn more calories, don’t becomesleep-deprived or your metabolism will become sleepy. Your appetite will even increase by 15%. Record everything you eat in your anorexia notebook. This serves to motivate you, as well as to be aware of all the extra calories you may not be aware you are consuming. It may also let you identify emotional or environmental triggers, such as boredom or sadness. Take vitamin pills frequently so your body doesn’t crave nutrients, causing binges. Diet coke and other diet sodas cause that bubbly, full feeling in your stomach, for about 1 calorie per glass. Brush your teeth and tongue all the time. The feeling in your mouth will ease cravings and additionally, food will taste yukky with toothpaste, so whats the point of eating it? Drink water like a fish. Drink a glass of water, or a diet soda, every hour on the hour. Drink water every time you have the urge to snack. Ice water is better because your body will burn more calories to heat it up. Drink water with meals to prevent overeating. Bear in mind that often we mistake thirst for hunger. Caffeine will speed up your metabolism. Have two or three servings a day, in the form of black sugarless coffee, or caffeine pills, or guarana. If stacked with ephedra andaspirin, a synergistic effect will occur that imitates the effects ofspeed or other amphetamines. Do be aware that this practice can be rather dangerous. Exercise. Not only will you burn off the calories you consume when you do eat, but it will increase your metabolism for some time afterwards. As well, the consequential muscle masswill increase the calories you burn at rest. It also suppresses appetite. Try running, or buy yourself a skipping rope. Stand up and move about constantly. Compulsively fidget. It does add up to an estimated extra 500 calories burned a day. Twitch your leg while studying, for example. Also, sit up straight – you’ll burn more calories. Have a very busy and activeschedule. It will burn more calories than sitting in your room thinking about not eating, and make sure you don’t have enough time to binge. Find a something other than food to satisfy your oral fixation. Choices include things like smoking, chewing gum, water, iced tea, sugarless mints, and diet coke. Put a small coin in a jar every time you resist a craving, or exercise when majorly exhausted, etc. This will motivate you, build up confidence in your starving abilities, and keep track of your successes. As well as give you extra cash to splurge on some fantastical treat when you reach your first major weight loss goal. The type of music you listen to while you eat affects how much and how quickly you consume. The faster the music, the more you eat. Try to listen to nice slow music when you eat. Eat sweets and the foods you crave early on in the day. This will give you more time to burn them off and it will eliminate cravings later. Eat while in the front of themirror naked. You will be completely repulsed, and repelled from the food. This is a good thing. Feel your hunger..don’t try to suppress it. If you’re hungry that means you’re losing weight; you WANT to be hungry. If you’re not then you’re not doing it right. In time you will get a wonderful high off of being hungry and thoroughly enjoy the sensation. Hunger is not your enemy! The sooner this is understood, the sooner you will reach your goals. Did you know that there are 2 pounds of dead skin on you right now!!?! Thats right! 2 POUNDS! …if you’re underweight or in starvation mode your body does not “shed” its skin the way it should. It holds on to it. Use an exfoliatorfor your face, and a loofah brush or scrub for your body. Make a stack of magazines that weighs the amount you want to lose. As you lose, take off the appropriate amount of magazines. Seeing the weight like that may help you realise what a difference it will make when it is all off.

When you’re feeling weak..

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Here are some things which will help when your willpower is very feeble, to ward off the urge to eat, or worse, binge! Pinch your thigh and see how you don’t need food, because you should be eating your own flesh all away from the inside first, before you are deserving of actual legitimate sustenance. Go to the library. You can research dieting or whatever, or you can read the classics, or some of the aforementioned listerature. Or you can do homework, or write letters, but the beauty of it is, since no food or drink is allowed, you’ll have no choice but to abstain from a meal. Buy some baby teething gel and rub it on your tongue, to numbyour tastebuds. If you’re even considering eating, just hold your breath and count to 100. Chances are that you’ll convince youself not to eat whatever it is you’re craving in that time. The scent of coffee has been proven to lessen ones appetite. Chew the food but don’tswallow it. Spit it in the bin. If you’re feeling dangerous, plan out the next few hours so that you’re occupied for every single minute. Write a list of things to do for every 15 minutes. eg. exercise, surf the internet, email your friends, clean a room, read a book. If you’re feeling brave enough to face the kitchen, go there and throw out any potential binge foods. If you must, pour bleach/disinfectant/dishwashing detergent on the food, and then throw it away! (Anorexics are known for retrieving food from bins, or stealing food from strange places). Pinch your ear! Apply pressure to the front of the ear, one at a time. The front of the ear is apparently a pressure point, in the area that controls hunger. Let perfume replace chocolate. Every time you have a craving, or pass a bakery, sniff someChanel no. 5. Apply it to a tissue and carry it with you. Smell has a powerful effect on appetite. Clean something. Cleaning something dirty can make you lose your appetite. The toilet, the litter box, under the kitchen sink, scrubbing out the garbage bin, anything grimy or smelly. The mess, along with the smell of the cleaner, can put you off food for a while. Become a teenage artist. Writeanorexic poetry, tragic little verses about bones and stomachs and evil evil capsicums. Anorexics are ever so creative. Collect pictures of skinny girls. Stick them all in your notebook. Draw pictures of painful bony girls with tear stained faces and their head in their hands (their spines sticking out). This will take up most of your time.

Hiding it

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Anorexia is supposed to be a private and tortured place, dontcha know. Deny it at all costs. Pretend you have not noticed the pounds dropping off you. Don’t be suspicious. Here are some relevant tips: Spend time making yourself look healthy. Drink lots of water and apply a fake tan. Wearmakeup so that you have some colour, and keep your hair looking nice and shiny, take vitamins. Smile. Whenever you do decide to eat, do it in the company of others. That way they can’t say they never see you touch food. On your way out, heat up a slice of pizza or prepare a snack to ‘eat on the run’. Of course, you will dispose of the food at your first convenience. Leave a dirty plate lying around every so often for your parents to yell at you about. Drink out of opaque cups, and spit your food into it whilst preteding to drink. They’ll never know. Eat really slowly because if everybody else is on their third slice of pizza, they’ll assume you are too, even if you’re still finishing your first. Sign out of hotmail and clear the history before you get off of the Internet. This will eliminateAutofill being ever so helpful while your Mum is researchingaardvarks, and coming up withwww.anorexicsanonymous.comfor her. In short, don’t leave traces lying around for others to fi