AZ mother's goal to be fattest person ever

[HeLiXe]

It happens a lot, women keep getting bigger and bigger implants, some have died from repeated operations.

Here is one that survived.



http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20016194-10391704.html

staph infections

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Here is one that survived.

I was in bed all day, couldn't get up," Hershey said in July.

I'm not surprised. Her hobby is trying to walk without falling over.

 

[Kindayr]

Addiction of all types -- to nicotine, alcohol and drugs -- is often found in people with a wide variety of mental illnesses, including anxiety disorders, unipolar and bipolar depression, schizophrenia, and borderline and other personality disorders.

This only tells us that if you have a mental illness, then it is likely that it can be manifested as an addiction. However, this does not tell us that if you have addictive behaviour, that it is a manifestation of mental illness.

The same goes for your other quote. There is a big difference.

 

[206PiruBlood]

Perhaps this gives some insight into her rationale...

Susanne's bizarre mission began after she couldn't stop gaining weight naturally.
'Two years ago I hit 35 stone because I was losing my battle against weight gain,’ she said.
‘I noticed I actually started attracting more men, and it made me feel good.’

From Evo's original article.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Generally speaking the term "mental illness" starts to be relevant when a person's behavior, whatever it is, makes them dysfunctional. Most would agree keeping a tidy place is a good thing, for example, but when the need to line up your soup cans according to height starts making you late for work, then you probably have Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and are on the verge of becoming dysfunctional.

Though it's hard to plug this woman into a pre-existing diagnosis with the info we have, there's no doubt she's dysfunctional.

 

[FlexGunship]

Though it's hard to plug this woman into a pre-existing diagnosis with the info we have, there's no doubt she's dysfunctional.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders loosely defines an eating disorder as:

[...] a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health.

It doesn't say whether it has to be involuntary or not.

 

[zoobyshoe]

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders loosely defines an eating disorder as:


It doesn't say whether it has to be involuntary or not.

C'mon. Obviously if a person can shut it off it's not a disorder.

But, I'm not sure this woman has an eating disorder, per se.

There's a chance she has Munchausen Syndrome, where people fake illness for attention. This half fits, because I think this woman is all about the attention, but since her obesity is so admittedly deliberate, Munchhausen's doesn't really fit. We'd expect someone with Munchhausen's to claim it was beyond their control.

She might, alternately, have Histrionic Personality Disorder, which is all about the need to be the center of attention.

Symptoms of Histrionic Personality Disorder

A pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

Is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention

Interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior

Displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions

Consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to themself

Has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail

Shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion

Is highly suggestible, i.e., easily influenced by others or circumstances

Considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx17.htm


The one: "Consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to themself", could well explain what this woman is about, half using her fat to get everyone's attention and half catering to guys with that specific fetish. As for the rest of the list, there's not enough info to say.

The one guy I know who admitted to having been diagnosed with HPD did not display any "seductive behavior" I'm aware of, but he did go around in an eccentric clothing combo of his own design, which I'm sure was meant to attract attention. This included a clip on necktie that was made of wood. He wore that every day for years.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Generally speaking the term "mental illness" starts to be relevant when a person's behavior, whatever it is, makes them dysfunctional. Most would agree keeping a tidy place is a good thing, for example, but when the need to line up your soup cans according to height starts making you late for work, then you probably have Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and are on the verge of becoming dysfunctional.

Though it's hard to plug this woman into a pre-existing diagnosis with the info we have, there's no doubt she's dysfunctional.

But then we get into the sticky situation of defining "dysfunctional" and it's a bit of a leap to imagine that if an adult rationally decides to do something that they know will damage their health they are dysfunctional. The majority of adults tend to do that at some point (and a hefty number of the minority do it excessively: smoking, drinking, over-eating etc)

 

[zoobyshoe]

But then we get into the sticky situation of defining "dysfunctional"...

There's certainly a continuum, and you might have a hard time deciding in some cases when someone has crossed the line, but this woman does not strike me as borderline.

...and it's a bit of a leap to imagine that if an adult rationally decides to do something that they know will damage their health they are dysfunctional. The majority of adults tend to do that at some point (and a hefty number of the minority do it excessively: smoking, drinking, over-eating etc)

I don't have a DSM with me but IIRC it's explained what they consider dysfunctional. The term comes into play in separating the merely eccentric and idiosyncratic from those whose behaviors severely disrupt their own lives and/or the lives of those around them.

It pretty much goes without saying that self destructive over-indulgence is never embarked upon "rationally". You could say, in this woman's case anyway, it was a conscious decision, but I don't think you could accurately assert it was rational.

 

[DoggerDan]

And it has made her feel sexier.

Goodness, yes! She undoubtedly has fans from every major fast-food restaurant around the world.

I hope this doesn't start to pose a health concern.

"Start?" I'm more concerned about her mental health than her physical health. This is just slow suicide, and that's not healthy.

 

[jeebs]

if she can afford to support such a ridiculous lifestyle then fair enough, let her do what she wants.

 

[Evo]

if she can afford to support such a ridiculous lifestyle then fair enough, let her do what she wants.

She can't, she's unemployed.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

She can't, she's unemployed.

Except now I'm sure she's got loads of money from selling her story. Ironically people are paying for her to do this.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Let me get this right she is unemployed and gets social security disability ($2000 per month) because of her weight. I am unemployed and normal weight so I get nothing ($0 per month) from the government.

I wonder how much she spends on food. At 21,962 calories a day that $2000 a month starts to shrink very quickly. I figure to eat around 3500 a day and likely spend $400-$500 on food a month.