Anna Kendrick and her Eating Disorder
By
PsychReel
In this blog post titled, “Anna Kendrick and her Eating Disorder” we will be talking about what feeding and eating disorders are, types of eating disorders, symptoms, and causes. Further, we will be talking about Anna Kendrick and her struggles with eating disorders.
Anna Kendrick and her Eating Disorder
Anna Kendrick opened up about her eating disorder-related struggles during her early adulthood, in her 20s mainly but with the right treatment and help, she has been able to come a really long way in terms of her mental well-being.
We will discuss Anna’s mental health struggles in detail in the later section of the blog, first let us jump into what eating disorders are and types of eating disorders.
What is feeding & eating disorders?
Feeding and eating disorders are characterized by eating and feeding-related behaviors which are problematic or disruption of eating in a healthy fashion, that might cause changes in absorption or consumption of food which negatively impacts psychosocial functioning or physical health.
The DSM-5 includes rumination disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder pica, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder in feeding and eating disorders.
Let us now summarize these eating disorders in brief.
Types of Eating Disorders
Anorexia Nervosa
The key markers include intense fear of weight gain, activities that might lead to weight gain, and restriction of energy intake. All these features are persistent and the individual has a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) than what is developmentally healthy for people of their age.
The main reason for these behaviors is that the individual’s perception of shape and body weight is highly distorted. Some might feel as if they are gaining weight even if they eat a little something or might feel as if they are extremely overweight. They think whatever they perceive is correct regardless of their weight.
Pica
The main identifying feature of pica is the intake and consumption of one or more non-nutritive substances which are not considered foods for a period of at least 1 month, persistently. Non-nutritive substances can include things like paper, paint, gum, cloth, ash, soap, clay, ice, etc.
Consumption of these substances are considered inappropriate developmentally and also, they are not culturally supported or ingested. Pica can also be associated and can occur along with other mental health disorders like Autism, schizophrenia, and intellectual disability disorder.
Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder
As the name indicates, the individual restricts or sometimes completely avoids the intake of food. Significant weight loss, dependence on intravenous feeding or oral supplements and interference with psychosocial functioning are the main symptoms of this disorder.
Nutritional deficiency is considerably high and can be life-threatening in infants. Adults might be dependent on supplements and can also have other physical impacts such as anemia, bradycardia, and hypothermia.
When food restriction or avoidance is based on sensory features such as extreme sensitivity to appearance, texture, color, smell, etc., then behavior during these conditions can be described as “restrictive eating,” “selective eating,” and “food neophobia”
Bulimia Nervosa
The identifying symptoms and features include repetitive episodes of binge eating, repetitive and inappropriate behaviors to compensate by self-induced vomiting and to prevent weight gain and finally the distorted perceiving of one’s body.
To put it simply, people with bulimia may binge with a loss of control over their eating and then purge, in other words, vomit, trying to get rid of the extra calories they think they may have gained.
Apart from purging behaviors, they may also take laxatives which might bring about diarrhea, weight loss supplements, etc. they seem preoccupied with the thoughts about their weight.
Rumination disorder
The rumination disorder is identified by repeated regurgitation of food items after eating or feeding. The condition should exist for a period of at least 1 month. A person suffering from this disorder regurgitates (brings up) previously swallowed or partially swallowed food, without any obvious or apparent disgust or nausea. After this, the regurgitated food is re-chewed, thrown out of the mouth, or re-swallowed. This disorder occurs in parallel with intellectual disability (ID).
Binge-eating disorder
The binge-eating disorder includes repetitive episodes of binge eating that on an average occur for at least 3 months, at least once a week. The behaviors cause extreme distress and feature rapid consumption of food, until they feel uncomfortable, eating even when they are not hungry, eating secretly because they are embarrassed about their eating, feeling disgusted, angry and guilty over their behavior.
Causes and risk factors of feeding and eating disorders
The exact reasons that may lead to the development of eating and feeding disorders are not known. There may be many causes like that of other mental illnesses, such as: Genetics and biology and/or psychological or emotional health.
However, the risk factors include family history; that is, the eating disorder is likely to occur if someone in the family is suffering or previously suffered from any eating disorders.
People who have other mental health conditions are also at the risk of developing eating disorders, especially people suffering from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Other risk factors include feelings of stress, guilt, and failure in important life events.
Anna Kendrick and her journey
Who is Anna Kendrick?
Anna Kendrick is an American actress who was Oscar-nominated. She is known for her roles in several hit movies, including the recurring support roles in the Twilight saga. She was born in Portland, Maine, where she began her acting career quite early while still in High Society.
She was awarded a Theater World Award for her performance and she also played a supporting role in a New York City opera production of A Little Night Music, a musical play by Stephen Sondheim.
Eventually, she started acting in movies and gained applause as a film actress. She has also appeared a few times on television in many guest roles.
Anna Kendrick is also a singer and she sang a cover of the then popular song Cups for the soundtrack of the film Pitch Perfect. She appears in its music video as well. The song was a big hit, peaking at No 2 in the US Adult Top 40 and No 6 in the US Billboard 100.
Kendrick never considered herself a fitness enthusiast, however, she is a fan of Yoga and is also crazy about it. She practices mindfulness to keep her mind sound. She is also into lifting weights, martial training and feat training.
Anna’s eating disorder
During her early 20s, Kendrick admitted that she was suffering from an eating disorder and said that those days were as hard as it could get. She said that the pressure of being perfect, having to be able to do it all haunted her like many other actors of her age.
She was able to get past it with proper help and motivation and today, she accepts herself completely and says that ‘size does not matter, strength does.’
At present she says that she either works out for at least one hour or does not at all. She also utilizes the area where she lives and goes on frequent hikes. After she turned 30, she started eating more healthy and made it a point to include a lot of vegetables in her diet.
Treatment and management of eating disorder
Treatment of eating and feeding disorders generally involves trying to solve the problem using multiple approaches. Typically it consists of General Physicians, mental health professionals, and dietitians — ones’ with experience in treating feeding and eating disorders.
The treatment of course is different and depends on the specificity of the eating disorder. But in summary, treatment plans typically include nutritional education, psychotherapy, and medication. In situations where your life is in immediate danger, you may need to be hospitalized.
If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.
Family-based therapy (FBT)
Family based therapy is a treatment based on solid research, particularly for children and adolescents with eating disorders. The family is involved to make sure that the child or other family member is eating properly as recommended and maintaining a healthy weight. This approach is especially useful as most of the eating disorders develop during adolescence where young teenagers have to deal with the pressure of perceived perfection around them.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
CBT is widely used in the treatment of eating disorders, particularly bulimia and binge eating disorders.
People learn how to manage and improve their habits and mood, they develop problem-solving skills, and explore alternate ways to deal with situations which they find stressful. It has a lot to do with converting the negative beliefs they hold about themselves into positive thoughts and actions.
People suffering from eating disorder benefit from CBT as it also helps in addressing the unrealistic image of self, personal standards of beauty, pressure to look a certain way, etc.
Medications
At present, there are no drugs that can cure an eating disorder. However, certain types of medications can help a person control the urge to purge or binge, or manage their over-preoccupying thoughts concerning food and nutrition.
Medications such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications can help with symptoms of depression or anxiety that often accompany feeding and eating disorders.
Conclusion
We discussed eating disorders in detail with all about the types of various symptoms associated with them. We also went through Anna Kendrick’s life and how she has worked through her eating disorder and is happy in her life.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs): Anna Kendrick and her Eating Disorder
What is Anna Kendrick’s best-ranked movie?
50/50 released in 2011 is one of the best movies in which she acted. Apart from this, a few other movies which have a good rating are ‘Up in the Air’, ‘a simple favor’, ‘drinking buddies’, ‘rocket science’ etc.
What counts as an eating disorder?
An eating disorder is a serious mental illness included in DSM-5 and ICD-11, characterized by eating, exercise, and body weight or shapes becoming an unhealthy preoccupation of someone’s life.
What are the three warning signs of anorexia?
There are many signs of anorexia, some of which are being underweight and not eating enough, being obsessed with the thoughts of and being terrified of gaining weight, irregularities in the menstrual cycle, dehydration, dizziness, etc.
What are 4 types of eating?
The four types of eating are Fuel, Fun, Fog, and Storm. For more information go to; https://cleananddelicious.com/the-four-types-of-eating/
What is Bigorexia disorder?
Bigorexia is defined as a body dysmorphic disorder that triggers a preoccupation with the idea that your body is not muscular enough or is too small.
How do I stop obsessing over food?
Food is a basic necessity in order for us to survive. Acknowledge that. Remember that eating too much or too little does no good and having a balanced diet is important. Keep a check on how much you are eating. Eat smaller quantities.
References
Abraham, S., & Llewellyn-Jones, D. (1984). Eating disorders: The facts. New York: OxfordUniversity Press.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).
