Eating Disorders Breed Disconnection

I have worked with hundreds of women who struggle with disordered eating and poor body image. Some clients obsessively track calories or Weight Watcher’s points. Some try to restrict their food intake all day then order large quantities of food to binge on at night. Some purge after meals or excessively exercise. Others restrict entire food groups. Some have tried every fad diet. Some say mean things to themselves when they look in the mirror, in hopes that this will motivate change. Some have found a community — in Weight Watchers or Overeaters Anonymous — to hold them accountable or to reinforce their guilt after a weekly weigh in. Some have convinced themselves that a juice cleanse is necessary for detox. Some only eat “clean” foods. Some only eat purple foods. Some never eat purple foods… (Those last two I haven’t come across, but I imagine someday I will). The form of an eating disorder varies from person to person; but I’ve identified a common desire, which magnifies or underlies, many of my clients’ obsessions and compulsions around food and their bodies. The desire is for deeper, more authentic, wholehearted connection.  I often ask my clients who struggle with disordered eating and poor body image, “What will happen if you change your body?” Usually I hear “I would just look better and feel better.” Then my client and I might give each other a knowing glance. She and I both know it doesn’t stop there.  “So what would it say...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Anorexia Binge Eating Bulimia Eating Disorders Habits Health-related Psychotherapy Self-Esteem Stigma Binge Eating Disorder Bingeing Body Image Disconnection Isolation Shame Source Type: blogs