“It’s about the art; it’s not about who makes the art,” says Mateo. He wants people to fantasize about who the artist is and create their own mental image of their appearance.

“It kills the whole magic,” says Mateo. “You just want to keep them wondering who the person is ‘cause it doesn’t matter about race or ethnicity.”

Mateo was once addicted to the graffiti art lifestyle.

“The adrenaline you get when you go out mobbing illegally, it’s just something you can’t describe, but you have to do it in order to feel good,” he says.

He was going out three or four times a week until four or five in the morning. Now, he only paints walls legally which he says is not as exciting, but still addicting because he can be more creative.

“The more walls you get, the better you feel about yourself, and the more you want to do,” Mateo says.

In all his years as an artist, Mateo says tattooing is his biggest accomplishment.

“Some people, it takes them years to learn what I learned in one year, so it was a big accomplishment to me,” he says.

Mateo says for him, tattooing is a bigger addiction because, “your work will be on them until the day they die.”

Mateo feels that learning spray-can control and how to use colors helped him transfer certain techniques to tattooing.

“I learned how to blend because I know how to blend with a can so I know my colors and what colors to use,” he says.

Mateo has only been tattooing for a year, but he already has his own chair at Black Rose tattoo shop in Venice, Calif. on the boardwalk.

Mateo could not care less about being known by his face, just as long as his work is known. He does not want a fancy car or clothes. All he wants to do is support his family without a struggle. Mateo also works closely with local street wear company Coup Street. He and creative director Jared Shapiro have collaborated on various T-shirt designs and event graphics. You can check out his work on Facebook at Itscalledart or on Instagram @DannyMateo.

George had a job in advertising that paid well. They had two kids, belonged to two country clubs, took trips and remodeled their house.

One New Year’s Eve night, the couple was preparing to go out when her son accidentally broke a dish. Laura began to scream and rant uncontrollably at her son.

“It just triggered me, right there in front of the babysitter,” she says. “I screamed so much I hurt my throat, and it was just an accident.”

The most recent Gallup poll states that drinking has caused trouble in 30 percent of families. Addiction, without treatment and recovery, can and will literally tear families apart and destroy strongly bonded friendships, according to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

Laura’s therapist suggested Al-Anon, a support group for families and friends of people who are addicted to alcohol.

“I didn’t associate my issues with drinking,” says Laura. “I thought if I could just go to Al-Anon I could get some answers, and figure out how not to scream at my kids.”

When Laura’s therapist asked her what was going on at home in regards to drinking and drug use, she lied.

“I played up how much my husband drank, and told her I only drank on weekends and holidays,” says Laura.

Alcoholics and addicts often are in a state of denial about their drinking or drug use, according to the text of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Laura grew up with both parents being alcoholic. Her father traveled a lot and was hardly ever home.

“But when he came home, he was like Santa Claus, Superman,” says Laura. “He was a fun drunk.”

When Laura was around 8, she became aware of her mother’s drinking.

“With my mom, I never knew what I would get,” says Laura. “I could never please her and there was no predicting her mood.”

Laura’s mother’s moods would go to extremes when she would throw china “frizbee-style,” at the drop of a hat.

Laura was affected by her parent’s alcoholism. She became a people pleaser and tried to do whatever was asked of her.

When Laura and George met, they enjoyed each other’s company partly because “we liked to drink and [use] drugs,” says Laura.

At 27, Laura married George, had two kids, and quit her job because her drinking and kids left her feeling “scattered.”

But when it came time to return to work because of piling bills, Laura found she did not have the necessary skills to earn a living.

“I felt frightened,” says Laura.

This resulted in the family downsizing and the kids going from private to public school.

“The kids didn’t know what to expect around the house,” says Laura. “I was pretty explosive.”

After the New Year’s Eve tirade, Laura began going to Al-Anon meetings, but continued to drink.

“I felt that I’d found my people, who I identified with, but after awhile I felt guilty about my own drinking,” she says.

One day, when her husband was not home, Laura thought she was free to drink as much as she liked.

She soon had a headache and a stomachache, which led her to an epiphany.

“I am an alcoholic; it’s me, not anyone else,” says Laura, who quit drinking after that day.

However, George did not like her sober.

“The dynamic of how we related to each other shifted,” says Laura. “He couldn’t relate and was confused.”

After a year of sobriety, Laura’s husband moved out.

“This is a very interesting phenomenon,” says Santa Monica College psychology professor David Shirinyan. “The recovering addict becomes a mirror, of sorts, and makes the addicted partner face their own addiction.”

This dynamic can cause tension and resentment. Even if the recovering addict does not change their behavior or tone, sometimes the partner is not ready, says Shirinyan.

“Protective factors for people who may be pre-wired for addiction is parent involvement, having dinner together along with family discussions and making sure there is consistency, structure and limits,” says Shirinyan.

“Also if they’ve abstained in high school, chances of them becoming an addict goes way down,” he says. “Learning how to deal with stress instead of using alcohol and drugs as a coping strategy early on is ideal because stress is the number one cause for relapse.”

“I have a sense of a higher power, and even if things don’t work out, you do what works out, and that makes my life less stressful,” says Laura.

In the past, celebrities were nothing more than a mild form of entertainment — they would just get stopped for an autograph, or to have their picture taken. Now we follow their every move, from what they eat, to what they did on Saturday, and even who they sleep with. As time has passed, and technology has expanded, people have become addicted to knowing everything about their favorite celebrities’ dirty details.

Websites that provide this information, such as TMZ or Access Hollywood, waste people’s time finding out what their favorite celebrity is up to, even if they are not aware of it.

Celebrities acknowledge that having fans that are invested in their day-to-day routines generate easy revenue and can help them get more publicity, despite the possibility of feeling harassed by reporters or obsessed fans.

In 2003, psychologists at the University of Florida and Southern Illinois University conducted a study on obsessive fans and concluded that about one-third of Americans suffer from Celebrity Worship Syndrome. The study divided fans into three categories: people who follow celebrity news for social purposes, people who develop an “intense” relationship with a star, such as the belief that the fan and star have some special bond, and people who display “borderline pathological” behavior, and are willing to hurt themselves or other people in the name of a star.

The third is the scariest group, and is considered an addiction. Roughly one percent of the population displays this behavior, and when asked if they would do something illegal for their favorite celebrity, most of these people said yes, and some even said they were prepared to die for their idol.

“Just worshipping a celebrity does not make you dysfunctional,” said Dr. James Houran, one of the authors of the study, in the analysis paper. “But it does put you at risk of being so. There is this progression of behaviors, and if you start, we don’t know what’s going to stop you.”

I am personally a big fan of Latin Pop singer, Prince Royce, but just because I like his music and think he is very good-looking, doesn’t mean I’m going to follow him around. There’s a limit, and people need to acknowledge that.

The media may report an issue that the celebrity did not want to be released, leading to harsh criticism and a demand for an apology from people who are not necessarily as invested as the individuals in Houran’s study.

I cannot understand why anyone, expect for her close relatives, would want an apology from Lindsay Lohan when she crashed her car for the how-many-th time, was caught snorting cocaine, or when she got a DUI.

Society needs to end this ridiculous hero-worship of celebrities. If you want a hero, look for someone who deserves your praise, like a medal-of-honor recipient, a charity organizer or a fireman who carried a child out of a burning house.

It is sad to see what our society has come to — caring that much about a celebrity someone does not personally know is just simply crazy, and people who are addicted to celebrity gossip need help.

Whether to substances or behaviors, addiction can permeate all facets of life.

Addiction is characterized by cravings, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms, says Lynn Davison, a psychology professor who teaches human development at Santa Monica College.

“Anything associated with the addiction can trigger neurologically-based cravings for the substance or activity, which may include people, places, objects or emotions,” Davison says.

On Wednesday, the American Psychiatric Association released the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

The DSM — a psychiatric bible to some, a manifesto of overdiagnosis to others — classifies and defines mental disorders for diagnostic purposes. The first revision in nearly two decades changes the parameters of certain aspects of addiction.

According to a press release from the APA, the substance abuse and substance dependence categories from the DSM-IV are now merged into a single “Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders” section in the DSM-5. This change allows behavioral addictions to be included as addictive disorders, and also releases the constraint that dependence denotes addiction.

“Eliminating the category of dependence will better differentiate between the compulsive drug-seeking behavior of addiction and normal responses of tolerance and withdrawal that some patients experience when using prescribed medications that affect the central nervous system,” states the release.

David Shirinyan, a psychology professor at SMC who specializes in addiction, notes the significance of the distinction between addiction and dependence.

“Dependence is always a component of addiction, but dependence can be seen in chronic pain patients who are not addicted,” Shirinyan says. “Dependence refers to the psychological and physiological reliance on the drug in order to function.”

Although behavioral addictions are now recognized in a separate subcategory in the DSM-5, gambling disorder is the sole syndrome listed. Internet gaming disorder is recognized as a condition that can be manifested as addictive behavior, but more research is needed before it is formally recognized as a disorder, according to the APA.

“Behavioral and substance addictions are similar in that they rely on the same brain system — the reward and pleasure system,” Shirinyan says. “They are both characterized as this compulsive engagement with the problem behavior or drug in the presence of negative consequences.”

While it may seem counterintuitive to keep doing something that is damaging to one’s mind, body or well-being, those in the throes of addiction do just that.

“So a person may repeatedly be reprimanded at work or school, may lose their job or flunk out of school,” Shirinyan says. “People may lose close relationships, their home and livelihood but still continue to use.”

Behavioral addictions can ultimately be just as devastating as substance addictions, though not typically as immediately, Shirinyan says.

“Having promiscuous sex with many partners a week can lead to STD, but engaging in intravenous heroin can kill you every time you shoot up,” Shirinyan says. “Gambling debt can ruin a family and has led to many suicides, but meth addiction can kill you in the short term.”

There are some concerns about the revised diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5 initiating more diagnoses.

“The new DSM does not make a distinction between drug use, drug abuse and drug addiction,” Shirinyan says. “One unintended consequence, I fear, will be that because so many people will qualify as addicts, the seriousness of addiction may get diluted.”

Addiction’s gravity can be felt on bathroom floors and street corners. It infiltrates campuses and offices, and can lure anyone into its grasp. Even with treatment, its hold is strong.

“There is a lifelong management of addiction,” Shirinyan says. “You can’t take your eye off the disease because the chances of relapse never completely go away.”

As far back as 1830, substance abuse played a part in the music culture with Hector Berlioz, a French romantic composer who used opium while he wrote “Symphonie Fantastique,” according to PBS documentary “Keeping Score.”

“Drugs and music, I mean it’s been in the music culture for so many years that it is now the normal for me to hear lyrics about drug within today’s music,” said Santa Monica College music theory student Ashton McCreight.

Drug use can be found in many of the music industry’s top artists. With Rihanna rolling a joint on top of her security guard’s head at last year’s Coachella, or Lil Wayne having a seizure from drinking too much of a promethazine-codeine cough syrup nicknamed “purple drank,” overindulgence of substances seems to be prevalent today.

However, there are those who think that musicians using drugs is not a bad thing.

“I feel that it’s good that artist use drugs; it lets them truly express themselves,” said SMC student Trayvon Gordon. “Drugs help artist explore another realm which they can’t access while being sober. I feel that can be one reason why drug usage is so common among artist of all ages.”

SMC music department chair James Martin feels that if a musician truly feels that their creativity is enhanced by doing drugs, there is not much that can be done to stop their behavior.

“Some of the music was created by drugs in the ’60s and ’70s, and a creative mood is a tough mood to leave once an artist finds out how to get there,” said James Martin, music department chair at Santa Monica College. “If an artist thinks smoking a couple joints or sniffing a line is going to get you there, an artist is going to do it again.”

Musicians Institute professor Daniel Gilbert believes that the careers of artists such as Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix would be different if they had not ever done drugs.

“Look what happened in the ’60s,” said Gilbert. “Would that have happened without drugs? I’m not advocating drug usage, but if Morrison or Hendrix stopped using drugs, I would have to say there is a possibility that they would not be as iconic as they are now.”

However, Gilbert also sees the end of the drug abuse spectrum.

“Don’t get me wrong; musicians can still be amazing when off drugs,” Gilbert said. “Sometimes drugs can bring someone up for a moment, but one way or another, that artist will be coming down from their high.”

SMC student, rapper and producer Alex Crawford said he has been smoking marijuana since he was 16, using it to sometimes to “kind of release any anxiety I might have so I can perform my best.”

“Personally, when I write music when I’m high I feel invincible,” Crawford said. “I honestly feel someone who smokes weed, pops pills or does a few lines can feel free and have fun without worrying about any judgments from other people. When that person is high on whatever drug, they usually play music in their iPod or in their cars and the two marry. Drugs and music feed off each other.”

Crawford is not unique when it comes to smoking cannabis. Since 2010, marijuana use is up 22 percent, with four in 10 teens smoking the narcotic. One in 10 teens now uses ecstasy and in the last three years, ecstasy use among teenagers has jumped 67 percent, according to drugfree.org, a website that provides information and support for parents of teen drug users.

While there are many artists who openly do drugs and drink alcohol to potentially enhance their creativity, release anxiety or put on a better performance, there are those who have had long, successful careers without the aid of drugs or alcohol.

Bruce Springsteen, multiple Grammy winner and a 1999 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, has reportedly never done drugs. This was confirmed by musician Steven Van Zandt, who has performed with Springsteen, in a 2012 interview with “Rolling Stone.”

“He’s the opposite of a drug-created monster,” Van Zandt said in the interview. “He’s in good shape by not doing drugs.”

Tim McGraw, three-time Grammy Award-winning country singer, did an interview with “US Magazine” in 2011 about going to rehab because he would text his wife while drunk. Now he is three years sober and preparing for another tour.

Unfortunately, drugs have still cast a shadow for several famous artists of the 27 Club, artists who have died at 27 because of some sort of substance abuse. Those musicians include Morrison, Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and most recently Amy Whinehouse.

Whether an artist decides to indulge in drugs or alcohol or stay sober, Marin said music will keep “reflecting artist feelings.”

However, according to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, addiction can be defined as a having “compulsive needs” that are “habit-forming” and may be harmful. But what if there were addictions that instead of making you weaker, made you stronger?

Addiction is not a new concept, and no two addicts are the same. Since 1599 — when the first known definition of addiction was expressed — this concept has carried with it a negative connotation. The impression in today’s society on recovered addicts sets discrimination by employers, health care providers and the government.

In turn, negative connotations about having an addiction cause people to like they have a problem when, in many cases, they are experiencing no trouble.

Today, when we hear the term, we generally think of a negative behavior, in which a person is fundamentally incapable of stopping. But 75 percent of alcoholics recover without treatment, according to the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol abuse.

However, in cases where there are addictive drugs involved that change one’s body composition, physical addiction can be a serious problem.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 43.8 million adults were current smokers in the year 2010. On average, smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers.

“While there are plenty of cases where addicts struggle for years to overcome a drug addiction, many more cases reveal the opposite: short-term users who manage to put the the past behind them and lead normal and productive lives,” said Adi Jaffe in a CNN article.

Contrary to belief, addictions that do not necessarily have a negative effect on someone’s life and physical well being can be positive. Outlined in Glasser’s book, criteria for a positive addiction includes being addicted to something noncompetitive, easily accomplished and is something that does not depend on others. Also, the individual with the addiction must believe that it has some value — physical, mental or spiritual — to them, and that the addiction will improve the individual in some way.

With self-realization in the mind, there are plenty of pros to being positively addicted to something. Monomaniacally speaking, as an addict, an individual learns how to not be so selfish. Addicted people learn to feel remorse for others and feel that it is necessary to share with others.

In that sense, some of the little addictions, like eating chocolate or collecting comics, are really the pleasant things in life that are worth repeating without hurting anyone’s life. For example, a drug addict is determined in their hunt for drugs but weak in the mind for anything else — blindly giving up on love, family and their friends. A positive addict enjoys his or her addiction, but it does not dominate and prevail on others. Positive addicts gain mental strength in order to accomplish their needs and wants in order to become successful.

Some say that to them music is a form of drug; an addiction. They consider it a vital part of their lives, a necessity to get through the day. I concur. Not a day goes by without music playing somewhere around me, stroking my day like a canvas with the colors of every beat and tune.

Although music is not recognized as an addiction by the American Psychiatric Association, for anyone who lives and breathes it each and every day like I do, music cannot be anything else but that: an addiction.

“Music is used to regulate mood and arousal in everyday life and to promote physical and psychological health and well-being in clinical settings,” states a study done by Daniel J. Levitin and his colleagues of the Department of Psychology at McGill University.

Even though various studies show that music has some form of impact on us, none of them have yet concluded it to be an addiction. But many do not consider the effect music has on them on a daily basis. Music depicts a person’s moods, feelings and thoughts. Music affiliates itself to our memories, and even tends to trigger them back after being labeled as long forgotten.

Anytime I hear one of my favorite songs, I immediately get a flashback of the moment I first heard that song, or a memory that makes the song unforgettable to me. Certain songs even stimulate my mood, either lifting it up, or tainting it with something unpleasant because the song brings along a bad memory. When I hear Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep,” my mood turns foul because I remember ending a relationship while that damn song played on the radio.

As I see it, music is an addiction because we have made it such a prominent part of our society. Music sells to a point where we cannot control ourselves from buying so many music-related necessities. People spend massive amounts of money on mp3s, iPods, CDs, stereos and anything else we need in order to listen to music. Music is a trend that will never dissipate simply because it is addicting.

Justine Miranda, music major at Santa Monica College, says people listen to the type of music that best suits their mood, which in a way makes them addicted to particular songs.

“If I’m in a hyper mood, then I’ll listen to something fun and upbeat,” says Miranda. “But there are also moments when I’m down, I’ll go ahead and listen to something upbeat to lift my mood. Music does that. It simply affects our moods and makes us addicted to the effect.”

According to the study done by Levitin and his colleagues, people with varied pasts, preferences and personalities will encounter particular pieces of music differently from others.

In other words, how I live my life is how I hear my music.

I listen to particular songs that entice certain feelings in me because I like the reaction I have to those songs, therefore they are making me addicted to them. Every time I listen to Pink Floyd, such as, “Hey You,” or “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” I immediately react to the songs with such profound pleasure that it becomes addicting to listen to them. Songs like that become much-needed hits to my addiction to music.

There are moments when I want to rewind back in time with certain songs. When I listen to The Doors’ “LA Woman,” I am right away transported three summers back, driving with my friends on the Pacific Coast Highway, singing along loud and proud with Jim Morrison.

I find it amusing when I see SMC students strolling around campus with their headphones on, tuning out everything around them. Some are even having conversations with their friends while one ear bud is in their ear, as if they cannot fully disconnect from music. They even ignore their friends’ blabbering for a few minutes just because that favorite song starts to play on their iPods. I am aware of these side effects as a music addict because I have a habit of letting them take control of me when the need to listen to music becomes eminent.

“I know I can’t go a day without listening to music,” says Miranda. “Whether it’s in the car or in the office, I turn on the radio. When I’m on the bus or in the gym, I listen to my iPod. It’s part of my life. It’s an addiction alright.”

But not only can music be dubbed as an addiction, it can also be used as a cure to ending addictions.

A recent BBC News report tells the story of a group of 80 people in Ireland battling drug and alcohol addictions with the healing power of music.

“The patients sang songs they had written as well as traditional pieces,” states the article. “One song is called, ‘I Don’t Deed No Dope, To Help Me Cope,’ which the singers regard as a statement of intent on their journey to recovery.” They recorded their own album, spreading the message to end addiction.

Dr. Julie Sutton, a registered music psychotherapist at the Belfast Health Trust, told the BBC that “music is like a kind of magic vitamin for the brain.”

She also claims that music is “a drug, if you like, for their brain that is not going to be destructive. It doesn’t matter how much music you listen to — music is going to have a much more benign effect.”

Simply put, detrimental addictions can perhaps be healed by replacing them with an addiction to music.

It does not matter whether people consider music an addiction or not, because as far as I am concerned, if I need it every single day in my life, then I know I am addicted. Music is an addiction that can possibly be used to cure addictions. It is a powerful form of art that we all know of, and to many like me, it is something we desperately need.

Music is an addiction. An alcoholic needs alcohol; a drug addict needs drugs; a music addict needs music.

While good health is heavily promoted to encourage being active and maintaining a healthy weight, there has not been much awareness of those who work out in excess, and how it can potentially cause negative effects on the body.

Amanda Ebner, a personal trainer for six years, based in the West Los Angeles area with credentials from the American Council on Exercise as well as the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, has had her fair share of experience on the subject.

“I did have a client that had an extremely low body mass index,” said Ebner. “Eighteen point five is considered the lowest healthy BMI. This individual was at 17.”

Ebner explained how the woman became obsessed with lowering her body weight and would work out for an hour on the treadmill before her scheduled sessions. She maintained an extremely restrictive diet and would often arrive at the gym dizzy, weak, or tired from her low-calorie intake.

Eventually, Ebner decided to part ways since she “felt unable to train the woman in good faith, knowing that she was engaging in self-destructive behaviors.”

Oftentimes, it is an athlete who may fall under the category of over-exercising, and that can possibly cause injury.

Santa Monica College head football coach, Gifford Lindheim, who received his Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology, has been coaching at SMC for four of his eighteen-year coaching career.

“We believe that at a certain point, there is a point of diminishing returns on your work,” said Lindheim.

Lindheim stressed that more is not always better. A person can set themselves up for physical fatigue which can lead to injury, mental fatigue and sometimes dehydration.

Ebner said the most common exercise-induced injuries are those resulting from overuse.

“Think shin splints, runner’s knee, tennis elbow,” she said. “Too much exercise can also lead to muscle tightness and misalignment, particularly if the individual is not using proper alignment or technique while exercising.”

Ebner said that the signs on the surface of over exercising can be seen in brittle hair, dry skin and discolored nails.

Ardell Gipson, a student-athletic trainer at Santa Monica College, said that some of the problems with over-exercising may lie with student athletes who play multiple sports.

Some football quarterbacks may also be baseball pitchers.

“They have that strong arm and accuracy,” said Gipson. “Some kickers on football teams will be soccer players.”

Ebner said that exercising once a day is enough for an individual. Most clients do not need any more than that unless they have specific training needs that would require more. Those training needs include practice for events such as the Ironman Triathlon, a 24-hour relay race, or a mountain ascent or climb.

“I recommend even my very fit clients take at least one day off, totaling six days per week maximum, with one of those days dedicated to active rest like yoga or walking,” said Ebner.

For new clients, Ebner said she starts them off with three times per week, later moving to four times per week after six weeks of consistent exercise.

Eating habits also play a major factor in exercise and workouts.

“I have had to send clients home who did not eat enough in a particular day to actually undertake vigorous exercise,” said Ebner. “Think about those on a juice cleanse trying to attend an hour-long boot camp.”

Lindheim said that short and vigorous workouts seem to work better for his athletes. He believes it helps them stay mentally sharper and physically healthier.

“We think the longer you go, the more you risk injury and lose enthusiasm,” he said.

However, the amount of time to work out does vary between sports.

SMC cross country head coach Eric Barron said his distance-runners’ workouts, which include warm-up, drills, the workout itself, a cool down, and then the core work, last 90 minutes to two hours.

“After that point, depending on what the work is, cortisol levels or lactic acid levels may build to the point where more hard work becomes counterproductive,” said Barron.

There are often warning signs that will tell when someone has been working out in excess.

Gipson said that too much strain on a particular part of the body could cause major injury later on.

“They do a lot of running and a lot of abdominal workouts,” he said. “Some even do weight training when they don’t need to.”

“Somebody who is working out too much, will sometimes develop tendonitis and sometimes have nagging injuries that don’t go away,” said Lindheim. “That’s the body’s way of telling you to rest.”

Injuries as well as other physical problems such as insomnia and rapid heart rate as well as psychological problems such as irritability, moodiness and depression will show up over time, said Barron.

As a personal trainer, Ebner said she looks out for the person she is training and will advise them to stop if she notices signs of fatigue which includes breakdown of form, loss of color in the face, shaky hands, or loss of eye contact or balance.

Lindheim said he believes there is an old school mentality where more and longer is better. If he and his coaching staff see an athlete struggling physically, they try to emphasize that less is more.

In Gipson’s experience, over-exercising was a symptom of reaching for excellence.

“They were striving for perfection,” said Gipson. “Trying to achieve it when it was already there, they just had to notice it was in them. They needed to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, those suffering from eating disorders are so preoccupied with food and weight that they focus on nothing else. Mayo Clinic lists the main types of eating disorders as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. In all of these disorders, people are typically obsessed with food and exercise, and suffer from low self-esteem and a distorted body image.

According to the Mayo Clinic, people suffering from anorexia nervosa are obsessed with being thin and in extreme cases will starve themselves to death. Symptoms of anorexia include refusing to eat, an intense fear of gaining weight, and health complications such as constipation, dry skin, and low blood pressure.

Those living with bulimia will binge, meaning they consume a large amount of food in a short amount of time, and then purge, which means they vomit to get rid of the excess calories. They sometimes even turn to laxatives or other substances to purge. Symptoms of bulimia can include feeling that you cannot eating behavior, constant dieting or fasting, and damaged teeth and gums from purging.

With binge-eating disorder, people eat more food than they need. They tend to eat when they are not even hungry and continue to eat after being full. They typically feel guilty or ashamed after, which can then lead to another binge, but they will not try to purge or exercise after. Symptoms with binging include eating until in pain, quickly eating food, eating in privacy, and feeling depressed afterward. While mostly females suffer from eating disorders, men and women almost equally suffer from the binge-eating disorder.

There is hope for those who seek help.

“A lot of people suffering from eating disorders often have suffered from sort of trauma,” says therapist Juanita Sell, who started an eating disorders program at Del Amo Hospital in 1999. “Something that’s as basic as eating, which we all need to do, can be such a disturbance and a preoccupation, and it’s sad to see people deprive themselves or lose control over something that’s so nourishing for life. It’s a complex problem.”

“Eating disorders are very tied into the sociological aspect,” says Sell. “In some countries, there’s not an emphasis on looking a certain way. Some people are just struggling to get enough nourishment.”

Sell says the media has a large influence on how people are “supposed to look.” There is a larger emphasis on how females should look than on how males look. If woman is a mere five pounds over society’s standards, she is hyper-criticized, whereas men have to be substantially overweight to be criticized, and even then, if they are funny or rich, their appearance is not as important, she says.

The Del Amo program is very much a psychological program, and very comprehensive. The program offers different means of help including family, individual, and group therapy sessions, on-site registered dietitians, medical doctors, spiritual aspects, and addresses psychological and emotional aspects, Sell says.

Sell suggests that those considering seeking help be preventive and proactive, getting help right away, rather than waiting until the disorder gets worse. Dealing with an eating disorder can require constant supervision and attention.

Sell believes that after dealing with all kinds of mental disorders, treating people with eating disorders is the hardest area to treat because it is so complex. With eating disorders, it’s very complicated in the physical part, because we as humans need a certain amount of nourishment to survive and to maintain a certain level health. And by definition, the more advanced the behaviors, whether it is restricting or purging, it’s all driven by psychological problems. Basically, it’s a very ineffective coping mechanism to deal with a number of emotional issues.

One can get so caught up in the behaviors and numbers of how much they weigh, calories and their clothing size, that it can be a preoccupation that takes the person away from what’s really bothering them, whether its trauma or anxiety. Trauma does not have to be some big significant event; it can be a life time of invalidation.

According to Sell, eating disorders are always about some emotional issue and mental aspect

People with anorexia tend to be more rigid, whereas people with bulimia tend to be more impulsive, says Sell. People with eating disorders are usually not in touch with their feelings, so they focus on the physical or this mental image because what they are feeling emotionally is too painful or too overwhelming.

The longer someone has been practicing these eating disorder habits, the harder it is to break, says Sell. They become a routine, and the body and hormones are all off balance. It is a vicious cycle. The prognosis for anorexics can be bleak, as anorexia has the highest death rate of all psychiatric disorders.

“The mindset and rigidity are the hardest things to break through because people often lose perception of what they really look like,” says Sell. “They become so obsessed with these almost arbitrary numbers like calories eaten or a number on the scale, and become out of touch with their feelings.”

“A lot of the work is asking what are you really feeling right now,” says Sell. “Then them learning how to tolerate the distressful feelings and cognitive distortions like thinking ‘I’m really fat,’ or ‘I blew it because I ate a doughnut; I might as well kill myself.’”

Sell says that people can become so self-absorbed that they lose touch with everything else, and those around them give up on them because they are tired of it.

She suggests getting in touch with value systems, and focusing on something besides body image. She also recommends seeking help, and focusing on strengths or positive qualities while replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, and not giving up hope.