Body Image & eating disorders

we are going to discuss how attaining a healthy body weight has to be balanced with a message about developing a healthy body image, setting realistic goals, and maintaining emotional well-being.

I am also going to briefly go over our society's obsession with thinness and dieting and eating disorders. 

shit is going to get real homie.

first of all, lets just give the media a big FUCK YOU for brain washing us all int believing what is beautiful, what looks good and what doesnt,what may or may not be the latest trends, what is "best" for us, and what goes.

I may get a little off topic for a moment, but that is only because I do not understand who the fuck decided that dolce and gabbana was going to say that a brown bag on my leg is going to be the next big thing ( this didnt really happen, but lets go with it for the point ). WHO THE FUCK made him the man, the one to call the shots? What if my out of wack fashion sense is just as fucking good as his own, I just have to rock the confidence and be able to make a few shirts, know my fabrics and shit, im a fashion designer. The advertising industry and the media are relentless in selling the American consumer an image of the ideal body, and many of us buy into WHATEVER THE FUCK THEY ARE SELLING!!!!! FUCK YOU MESSAGE OF THE MEDIA for being so fucking powerful.

oh, us poor souls who don't have the back bone to fucking not give two cares.

but, for all you out there who enjoy being told what to do and what to wear and how to look, it may or may not be effecting you emotionally, mentally, and physically, so stop! 

alright, so, just like all ideas, values, attitudes and beliefs, body image is the mental representation that a person has of his or her own body, including perceptions, attitudes, thoughts, and emotions----- all which are strongly influenced by culture.

lets take females.

The female body is portrayed by the media as an object of desire, and this beautiful objectification reinforces women's focus on their appearance.

the lovely media ( said with heavy sarcasm ) place a heavy emphasis on women's physical attributes rather than on their abilities, performance, or accomplishments.

since the 1950s,what is held to be the ideal female body in US culture has been getting thinner and thinner. Can we really keep up?

Yes, I get that now we have research on healthy body weight and obese, but, marilyn monroe was curvy, healthy, and beautiful. 

 * studies have shown that after women view media images of thin women, they are less satisfied with their own bodies than they are after viewing images of AVERAGE sized women.

this really scared me. 

eating disorders are most likely to develop during adolescence. 

this is because the hormonal change that happens in the females body causes increase in body fat, especially on the hips, buttocks, and thighs. 

if you or anyone you know has an eating disorder, or you believe they may, here are a few symptoms and characteristics of one.. 

Certain characteristics or thought patterns associated with eating disorders, including:

• Low self-esteem
• Self-critical attitude
• Belief in the importance of thinness
• Black-and-white thinking
• Feelings of emptiness
• Need for power and control
• Difficulty expressing feelings
• Lack of coping skills
• Lack of trust in self or others
• Perfectionism 

Anorexia is due to starvation, anorexia carries the highest death rate of all psychiatric diagnoses.  to the left is a picture of how it effects each part of your body.

Bulimia is another eating disorder that can also be deadly.

 < not all of these will be present in all people with the disease

VALUE yourself based on your GOALS,TALENTS, & STRENGTHS

rather than your body shape or weight.

How to treat a eating disorder :

• First step: Recognize problem

• Effective treatment 
• Therapeutic therapies ( I will make a separate blog for this! ) 

• multidisciplinary 
• multimodality team

• Possible hospitalization
• Once weight has been stabilized, the next phase is behavioral modifications through:

• Psychotherapy
• Behavior relearning and modification
• Nutritional rehabilitation and education 
• Medication

This next disorder is for my fellas as well as my ladies, but it is found more with the male than females!

Body Dysmorphic Disorder :

• Preoccupation with an imagined concern about a slight defect or exaggerated defect in appearance
  
• Preoccupation causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning
  
• Other concerns related to this disorder are:

• Muscle Dysmorphia (obsession with muscle building) .. i may make a small blog for this disorder!

**TIP**

-try going a week without making any critical comments about your body- or anybody else!