~ Healing from the inside out: Overcoming disordered eating and negative body image

Healing from the Inside Out:

Overcome your negative body image and start living!

I have worked with many women who struggle in some form or another, with negative body image/disordered eating and exercise fixation issues. I can understand the pain and suffering one faces when living with this dis-ease, because I too, have experienced everything I am about to share with you. I am happy, and relieved to not be in that place anymore, I have come a very long way, and have worked really hard to heal the cause within me that created this condition. It has been a long road since my diagnosis at the age of 15, I have been struggling with, and working to heal this for over 20 years. While I have not 'arrived' and know this is an ongoing journey, I am able to shift back on track very quickly.

To get to the root of this obsession with food and body image has required tenacity, constant self-awareness and the determination to overcome the obstacles, and above all- learning to love myself through the whole healing process. I have discovered that the root cause of any addictive behavior or self abuse manifests from FEAR and a lack of self love!  

We must learn to love ourselves unconditionally 

before true healing can occur.

  There are so many conflicting and negative messages out there about what it means to be beautiful, sexy, and attractive. Now with the booming health and wellness movement, restrictive eating can very easily be hidden and masked as 'healthy eating' or 'veganism' or 'no carb diets' etc., etc. I am not saying every person that chooses a certain nutritional lifestyle has an eating disorder,  I am only suggesting that it does happen, and it happened to me.

My eating disorder shifted to constantly trying restrictive diets, that the latest health guru suggested. I would eventually feel deprived (and was starving!) and would binge eat whatever I could get my hands on, because I was so hungry! Then the guilt would set in, and I would go back to restriction, and focusing on exercising to burn the calories I just ate, and on and on it went. It was crazy making, and a really miserable place to be. I was not having any fun, and was missing the meaning of life.

FOOD OBSESSION AND RESTRICTIVE EATING comes from a need to control anxiety (anxiety comes from fear) of gaining weight or becoming overweight.

In people with a negative body image, the desire to look like a zero body fat supermodel, or a skinny best friend, is so strong and overpowering, it can feed the anxiety, and  the feelings of being 'not good enough' with the body we have- which leads to the compulsion and fixation on 'getting skinny' and 'losing weight', which leads to unhealthy coping behaviors such as, restricting calories, binge eating, excessive exercising and an overall fear and anxiety of food! It is a vicious cycle, and very difficult to break.

 Negative self-perceptions or distorted body image issues (pretty much thinking you look a lot worse than you actually do!) also goes hand in hand with disordered eating, and obsessive and excessive exercise- all with the end goal of getting skinny, or losing the belly fat you can't stand after having babies. 

Sadly, this cycle can continue in a woman (or man but less commonly so, I am referring to women in this post) that is near skin and bones, and close to death- in the case of Anorexia, 'dying to be thin' takes on a whole new meaning. This is so unbelievably sad, and unnecessary! If only we valued, and accepted ourselves enough to treat our body with love and respect, and heal the hurt inside, this condition would cease to exist. 

What separates an eating disorder from a balanced, healthy approach to choosing healthy foods, eating smaller portions, and adopting a balanced exercise program as part of an overall healthy aspect of your lifestyle - extremes. It is an obsessive fixation, that takes over your whole life.

Whenever there are extremes, in any area of your life, when something takes up a great deal of your time, physical and mental energy and affects your life and relationships negatively, it is time to seek professional help and support. Where there are extremes there is no balance.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms or behaviors, please seek professional help:

~ Obsession or fixation around food: over-restricting, and obsessing over amounts, counting calories consumed, and kinds of foods you will eat.
~  Excessive, rigid or obsessive exercise regime, or forcing yourself to exercise when ill or injured. The feeling you are 'getting fat' right after you eat, and the compulsive urge to go and exercise to burn it off is so strong you are uncomfortable or restless if you don't.
~ Compulsive need to weigh yourself daily, or several times daily-  perhaps leading to, and perpetuating the behaviors above. You place your value as a person and mood, based on the number on the scale. 
~ Fixation with perceived body flaws: hating your reflection in the mirror, thoughts of disgust and intense aversion for certain body parts.

These are just a few of the ways this disorder manifests itself. It is not always just one of the signs that indicates there is a problem, but often a combination of them, leading to lack of enjoyment, happiness and zest for life. You don't have to suffer in silence, there is help from people who have been there. I am just one of them. 

If you are looking for help and support in healing negative body image and disordered eating issues, I am here to help. I can be reached at 250-319-3630 or www.soulworkcounselling.com

Yours in health,
~Leanne

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