Body Image and Eating Disorders

So that's the title of the chapter, Body Image and Eating Disorders - Linda S. Mintle, PH.D.

"Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body" - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:)

Eating disorders, along with negative body Image, are serious problems affecting millions of people especially women. hundreds worry about their weight and use food to cope with emotional and relationship issues. Have you ever made statements like, "i hate my body", "if only i was ten pounds thinner", "when i'm thin i will be happy", "i can't get control", " i eat when i am not hungry", "tomorrow I'll go on a diet", " i have to be thinner than everybody else", "i feel like throwing up".
Or maybe you feel the need to be perfect or to always please others. any mistakes means you've failed, and failure is not acceptable. when you fail, you struggle with self-hate. Unfortunately, the way you cope with these feelings is with food: binge and purge or compulsive overeating, or eating all day & watch the pounds add up. Life just feels out of control. but you are NOT alone. So lets try to understand more about eating disorders and food obsession.

*Food can be abused
Food is easy to abuse because it is cheap, available, tastes good, is physically satisfying, and emotionally comforting. And unlike true addictions, you can't abstain from the abused substance. because eating is a part of everyday life, avoiding it is difficult. In addition, food abuse does not have the stigma attached to it that alcohol and drug abuse has. You might say food is the acceptable overindulgence used to numb interpersonal and emotional pain. Food can even second an idol and source of obsession. So how do one move from an occasional overindulgence to becoming obsessed with thoughts of food? There are many factors that play into the development of food problems.

What are EDs?
Even though they are called eating disorders, they are not just about food. Focusing on dieting and weight may be an obvious beginning to an ED but much more is involved. Eating habits are disturbed and weight takes on a heightened focus, but the roots of these problems aren't really about food and all.
Most eating disorders emerge around the time of puberty and when a young adult prepares to leave home. These are developmental times of stress because:
The body is changing
Sexuality emerges
Dating relationships begin
Identity id forming
Independence increases

Helpful facts to know about EDs:
-Affects men and women of all ages but especially seen in young women.
-Affect a wide segment of population, including all social classes, ethnic groups and races.
-People DIE
-Early intervention is best
-Best treated with a multi disciplinary team

Causes:
The media influences people about their bodies we see bodies sculptured to perfection. There is tremendous pressure to look beautiful and thin, but food and weight obsession involves more than these. While we know that media influences our thoughts and feelings about our bodies, the obvious question is how do people go from somewhat being concerned about body and weight to developing eating disorders?
The answer is complex. No one factor causes an ED. A combination of factors is involved. Following factors contribute to the making of an ED:
-Dieting (happened for mine)
-history of mood disorders or family history
-odd family eating habits
-strong family concern about appearance and weight
-dissatisfaction with your body and a strong desire to be thin
-normal developmental events
-repeated negative comments on appearance
-emphasis on thinness
-positive family history of eating disorders coupled with dieting
-personality traits eg anorexics tendvto be rigid and perfectionistic. Bulimics often back impulse control and struggle with unstable moods
-family environment
-possible genetic predisposition

Types of Eating Disorders
1- Anorexia Nervosa involves severe weight loss (15% or more), excessive exercise, food avoidance, distorted body image, fear of weight gain, absence of menses(3 consecutive cycles in women). Medical symptoms such as irritability & depression, gastrointestinal problems, headaches, sensitivity to cold, low pulse and temperature, hair loss, weakness and anxiety, low blood sugar, fainting and reduced ability to concentrate can result.
2- Bulimia is characterized by self induced purging following a binge or compulsive overeating. purging can take the fornication of vomiting, laxatives abuse, use of diuretics and diet pills, fasting to control weight, or use of ipecac syrup or enemas to rid the body of food. this behavior occurs at least twice a week for 3months. serious medical problems can develop from the binge and purge cycle. they include large weight fluctuations, gastric distress, headaches, skin irritations, electrolyte disturbances, tooth loss and gum diseases, depression, and heart failure.
3- Binge Eating usually involves impulsive, poorly controlled episodes of binge Eating in which high calorie foods are insured in excessive quantities multiple times a day. You eat to the point of feeling uncomfortable and feel disgusted by the way you eat. you may experience chronic and sporadic dieting or fasting, social withdrawal, depression, anxiety and manic attacks, avoidance of school or work, low self esteem. because thus behaviour typically causes weight gain, one may develop medical problems associated with obesity.

Recovery or Freedom
With the knowledge of signs and medical complications of eating disorders, how do you recover or better yet, find freedom from such bondage? get help. trying to solve it alone is difficult because you have to learn to connect your eating behaviour to the underlying emotions and interpersonal difficulties you experience. For example, do you restrict when you're socially uncomfortable? do you binge after a fight with someone? do you swallow rejection and hurt by comforting yourself with food? making the connection between these situations, their accompanying emotions, @,and your eating behaviour is a starting point towards freedom!!:) Eventually you'll realize that food is used to cope, numb and soothe.
Don't deny the truth. Denial is very common when struggling with an eating disorder. No one likes to admit she has lostensibly control over eating. It signals weakness(though in cases of Anorexia, over control of eating can feel powerful). Denial of the disorder is what stops most people from getting better. In order to be free, you must first admit you have a problem. This means letting go of your pride and trusting people won't hate you or be turned off by your abnormal eating habits. Facing the truth and acknowledging emotional answer spiritual pain is essential. Denial bliss your intimacy with God. Getting better requires that you take a step of faith. (learning this now:))
Some other areas of your life to consider when it comes to letting go of the eating symptoms.
-Pride. Usually you need help from God and others around you. Most often a trained therapist and team needs to be involved. put down your pride and get help!
-Control. An eating disorder is a false sense of control. Whether you are out of control or trying to over control your food intake, you've lost control of a healthy eating pattern.
-Deception. Spiritually, don't be deceived by the enemy who wants to destroy you; he can use your eating disorder to destroy your life. Take off the spiritual veil and allow God to work. Your body image will be distorted, so you can't trust what you see in the mirror until you are better. That's why finding a trusted therapist, friends and family members is important. No one wants you fat. Think about it. No one benefits from you getting fat. God and those who care about you want you well.
-Time. Breaking free from ed takes time and work. Don't give up when you feel bad or make mistakes!