Is there a specific DSM label for this?

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surftheiop

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http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/13355

Quick summary: 600lb woman is attempting to put on 400lbs in 2 years so she can become world's fattest woman.

From the interview, I immediately thought of Dr. Yalom's (controversial?) "Fat Lady" story. In both cases patient has loving mother who overfeeds patient as child and then the mother passes away in patient's childhood. And in this case the Dad even re-married someone who put the kids on a strict diet.

The "psychoanalytic" (not sure if that's the exact term I want, but I think you know what I mean) implications of this childhood leading to obesity would seem pretty blatant to anyone.

Is this "merely" someone with a tough childhood suddenly realizing a path to become famous?

Or is this some sort of a named disorder?

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I've thought to myself, what would happen if some college students were brought to a psychiatry crisis center for doing some type of "jackass" style stunt.

If you were the psychaitrist on duty would you hold them?

Not the same thing, but it shows some parallels between this and the Octo-mom case. In all the cases, the people wanted to do something harmful in the name of gaining a type of recognition despite the harm it causes to them and others.

The real answer is we can't truly diagnose this person without interviewing her.
 
I've thought to myself, what would happen if some college students were brought to a psychiatry crisis center for doing some type of "jackass" style stunt.

If you were the psychaitrist on duty would you hold them?

Not the same thing, but it shows some parallels between this and the Octo-mom case. In all the cases, the people wanted to do something harmful in the name of gaining a type of recognition despite the harm it causes to them and others.

The real answer is we can't truly diagnose this person without interviewing her.

I actually think the college kid stunt is a really good comparison to the question I was asking. There is almost certainly some underlying reason why they would do something that harmful, but most obviously it seems that it is for fame/attention.

(For the next part I'm not referring to any specific case, just the general bolded statement you made)

The "symptom" you bolded, is that characteristic of any specific disorders (seems like could be some sort of Axis II stuff?) or is that just some sort of warped value system?
 
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I propose we call it "Warhol's Syndrome"--the pathological quest for their allotted fifteen minutes of fame. (There would also be "Warhol's-by-proxy" for Balloon Boys, Preschool beauty pageant queens, and the like...)
 
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I propose we call it "Warhol's Syndrome"--the pathological quest for their allotted fifteen minutes of fame. (There would also be "Warhol's-by-proxy" for Balloon Boys, Preschool beauty pageant queens, and the like...)

I like this very much, you should write a paper and submit it to the APA :p
 
I think another factor in these types of cases is society has put in so many buffers to help these people despite the harm they cause to themselves. This in effect leads people to believe they don't have a responsibility to care for themselves or the repurcussions it causes on others.

Take for example a diabetic who is in a situation where her medical care is always provided who poorly controls her blood sugar. She feels no pain from it, and everytime she sees the doctor, she literally expects them to service her every need, not taking into account that with her medical disorder, most of the responsibility really needs to be taken by her.

We live in a society where several see modern medical technology as the end all be all, with little recognition of self-responsibility. We are in a profession where people expect a pill to fix everything, and when we tell them that a pill will not make their child want to go to college and be an upstanding citizen, they sometimes become mad at us.

Take for example society 100 years ago. People didn't at least seem to want to have a dangerous amount of children in one birthing in the hope to set a world record, or perform jackass stunts or try to become the world's heaviest person because guess what--you died, or you couldn't otherwise afford to do something like this.

I've noticed this from the elite institutions I've been in or my friends were in. To get into those institutions, several people either were hyper-overachievers for selfish reasons (they wanted to be rich and famous) or very noble reasons (they wanted to cure a disease). With the increase in the standard of living, likewise-there will be those who choose to use that increased standard with responsibility, and those who will not. For every 1 person, who due to an increased standard of living does not have to work and chooses to use the increased free time and resoucres be a scholar, humanitarian, what have you, there are likely 10 people who choose a less noble lifestyle that society would balk at.

We live in a society, where due to increased standards of living, fewer things to make them suffer the consequences of their actions, and with things like the Guinness Book or World Records or the senationalist media that encourages this type of behavior, will have increased numbers of people who do these types of things.

Maybe the movie Idiocracy had some prophetic value.
 
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I think another factor in these types of cases is society has put in so many buffers to help these people despite the harm they cause to themselves. This in effect leads people to believe they don't have a responsibility to care for themselves or the repurcussions it causes on others.

Take for example a diabetic who is in a situation where her medical care is always provided who poorly controls her blood sugar. She feels no pain from it, and everytime she sees the doctor, she literally expects them to service her every need, not taking into account that with her medical disorder, most of the responsibility really needs to be taken by her.

We live in a society where several see modern medical technology as the end all be all, with little recognition of self-responsibility. We are in a profession where people expect a pill to fix everything, and when we tell them that a pill will not make their child want to go to college and be an upstanding citizen, they sometimes become mad at us.

Take for example society 100 years ago. People didn't at least seem to want to have a dangerous amount of children in one birthing in the hope to set a world record, or perform jackass stunts or try to become the world's heaviest person because guess what--you died, or you couldn't otherwise afford to do something like this.

I've noticed this from the elite institutions I've been in or my friends were in. To get into those institutions, several people either were hyper-overachievers for selfish reasons (they wanted to be rich and famous) or very noble reasons (they wanted to cure a disease). With the increase in the standard of living, likewise-there will be those who choose to use that increased standard with responsibility, and those who will not. For every 1 person, who due to an increased standard of living does not have to work and chooses to use the increased free time and resoucres be a scholar, humanitarian, what have you, there are likely 10 people who choose a less noble lifestyle that society would balk at.

We live in a society, where due to increased standards of living, fewer things to make them suffer the consequences of their actions, and with things like the Guinness Book or World Records or the senationalist media that encourages this type of behavior, will have increased numbers of people who do these types of things.

Maybe the movie Idiocracy had some prophetic value.

Might have predicted a certain heckling during a state of the union....

The prophecy
http://www.twitvid.com/95E85

The real deal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyTelRaoBAI
 
I think another factor in these types of cases is society has put in so many buffers to help these people despite the harm they cause to themselves. This in effect leads people to believe they don't have a responsibility to care for themselves or the repurcussions it causes on others.
...
Take for example society 100 years ago. People didn't at least seem to want to have a dangerous amount of children in one birthing in the hope to set a world record, or perform jackass stunts or try to become the world's heaviest person because guess what--you died, or you couldn't otherwise afford to do something like this.
....


No--they just proposed government-funded expeditions to find new worlds, or went over Niagara Falls in barrels.

Human stupidity is only exceeded by our lurid interest in watching it. It's hard-wired primitive behavior--like rats chewing on the dead corpse of a cagemate. The only difference is that now you can instantaneously broadcast your stupidity globally...
 
No--they just proposed government-funded expeditions to find new worlds, or went over Niagara Falls in barrels.

The Niagra falls example, true. Forgot people used to do that. Or, in the 70s, Evel Knievel. When I was a little tyke in the 70s, I actually thought Knievel knew what he was doing. I thought he had some type of training that put his risk of danger at a low level. Turns out this was not the case. Several times he badly hurt himself, but continued his daredevilism because he got lots of women and money as a result of it.

It's hard-wired primitive behavior--like rats chewing on the dead corpse of a cagemate. The only difference is that now you can instantaneously broadcast your stupidity globally...

I've heard of studies where people saw violent behavior and it caused extreme stimulation of parts of the brain on a scanner. I believe it was a PET scan, though I never saw a study on it.

I wouldn't be surprised. The Romans proved that the masses love seeing people killing each other in an arena. Roman emporers used the arena to assuage the masses and pass laws against the interests of the public, all under the opiate of seeing people killing each other.
 
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No--they just proposed government-funded expeditions to find new worlds, or went over Niagara Falls in barrels.

Human stupidity is only exceeded by our lurid interest in watching it. It's hard-wired primitive behavior--like rats chewing on the dead corpse of a cagemate. The only difference is that now you can instantaneously broadcast your stupidity globally...

Right!
Just about anytime someone begins with "in the past, people did (or didn't do)..." you can bet that he/she is about to launch into an oversimplified and inaccurate depiction of the past, assuming that somehow people were different "back then." Unless, of course, he is talking about a time before any record of human behavior - in which case the point is moo.

That's right, "moo." I said "the point is moo." That means it doesn't matter. You know, "moo;" a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter.

People (and their behavior) haven't really changed in several thousand years, only the extremity of certain circumstances. Eating contests beg people to get sick in order to win some worthless prize. Throngs watch car races (or chariot races) for the crashes. Local residents came out on Sundays after church, with a picnic basket, in order to watch Civil War battles. The lion (or alligator) tamer puts his head in the beast's mouth, and we all watch.
 
Obviously her relationships with food, love, acceptance, and validation are all quite distorted. There is a flavor of body dysmorphia, though the typical values associated with the female figure have been reversed. There is also a very clear fetish here, though probably lesser known in the general population. Obviously without a proper interview and some assessment measures, it is all loose conjecture, though an interesting topic none the less.
 
You'd probably code Eating Disorder NOS, but without significant distress or functional impairment, it probably shouldn't qualify as a psychiatric problem.

How about hyperexia nervosa? Or is it hyperorexia?
 
You'd probably code Eating Disorder NOS, but without significant distress or functional impairment, it probably shouldn't qualify as a psychiatric problem.

How about hyperexia nervosa? Or is it hyperorexia?

How about "hyper-oreo-exia?"
 
I think you'd have a hard time arguing against functional impairment.
 
Maybe it depends on her reasons for doing this. E.g., if she appreciates the risk of death / risk to her health then does that seem to be an attraction or a deterrent or does she want to persist with her goal in spite of that?

Gets me thinking of other people with goals that are detrimental to their health. World class boxers or whatever. Marathon runners. Women who desire to become some arbitrary small weight because of some goal they have set themself.

I suspect that there is some kind of desire to die. Similar to that present in those who smoke tobacco knowing the longer term results... But persisting anyway and kinda resigned to it.

How broadly do we want to cast the net of 'mental disorder'? When will people be happy? When everybody has got one?
 
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