Archive for February, 2010

Many people living with Anorexia and Bulimia eating disorders tend to have a distorted perception of themselves. They are extremely critical of their reflection in the mirror as what they see is not reality…

Examples of distorted thinking during eating disorders include the following:

• All or nothing thinking – black and white thinking- seeing things in absolute terms such as good-bad, right-wrong- no flexibility in thinking
• Minimising the positives – insisting that any compliments or personal achievements are not really important
• Jumping to conclusions – Believing that certain outcomes will be negative without any definite evidence
• Blame – you blame yourself for something you were not responsible for
• Maximisation/minimisation – You over react and blow things out of proportion or you minimise certain important events.
• Over generalisation- for example – I gained 3 pounds last week, so I know no matter what I do I will gain 3 pounds every week. Or, last week I binged on chocolate bars so I can never ever eat them again…

How to monitor your eating disorder thoughts?

When you are feeling a negative emotion, it is helpful to look inward and examine what thoughts are going through your mind.

Step 1: Record your feelings and urges (guilty, frustrated, urge to restrict my eating)

Step 2: Identify the situation you are in/ the triggers (alone, at a party, with work mates)

Step 3: Record your exact thoughts at that time. For example were you thinking in extremes, over generalising, blaming, and jumping to conclusions?

HONESTY IS KEY TO THIS TASK IN ORDER TO HIGHLIGHT THE EXACT DISTORTION IN THOUGHTS!

Are you also suffering from such distorted thinking? You may be suffering from Eating disorders. Get yourself diagnosed for Bulimia or Anorexia at Kildarestreetclinic, Eating disorder clinic in Ireland.

Know more about Eating disorder symptoms online.

Eating Disorders are characterised by abnormal eating habits and involve either excessive or insufficient food intake, which eventually becomes detrimental to both physical and psychological health. The exact cause of this disorder is not always clear and the reasons are often quite complex and not always fully understood. Today a significant proportion of the world population suffer from this health problem.

Almost 1 million males and 5-10 million females in the United States alone are estimated to be affected by this irregularity. Some common example being Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Compulsive Overeating and Binge Eating Disorder. Though, among all the others, the last one is the most common one. The most important symptoms that you may observe in such cases are -

* Obsession with weight
* Constant complaining of weight problems
* Dramatic weight loss in a relatively short period of time
* Chronic dieting and visible food restrictions
* Self-starvation and binging or purging
* Vague or irregular eating patterns
* Obsession with calories and fats in food
* Continuous exercise
* Isolation and manifestation of low self-esteem after food consumption

The major physical repercussions of eating disorders are it can in some cases lead to cancer, kidney or liver failure and various other complications. Besides this, it may also lead to depression, mood swings or suicide. Recovering from such health problems requires time, effort, support, determination and courage. So, if you are one of those suffering; then these are some of the best ways through which you can recover:

Consult a physician or visit a clinic: If you suspect you have a problem, it is important that you consult a specialist clinic or physician immediately. A qualified doctor will carryout an assessment and certain tests may be given to determine the level of treatment required.

Consult a nutritionist: You may need to consult to a nutritionist. A consultation with a good nutritionist can help you with the next stage in your treatment. A nutritionist will help you by providing a schedule and chart out lists of foods for you and provide meal plans.

Choose Eating Disorder Treatment Centre: You may also need to consider entering a treatment centre if it is impacting on your physical and mental health. The support system plays a major role in assisting your recovery.

Take a break and detox your life: Let your family and friends help and support you in changing your eating behaviours. Get support and advice from someone who has successfully recovered back from this health problem.

Self Care: Take care of yourself. Learn more about eating disorders through different resources available in books, the media and on the internet. Such knowledge can make you understand your condition and recover faster. It is very important to note that recovery from this habit is completely possible. In order to heal completely physically, psychologically and spiritually, you need to follow the above mentioned tips. These tips can help you recover and let you enjoy your food in a normal manner.

Source URL: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Recover-From-Eating-Disorders&id=3602311

Body image is an integral aspect of our experience of being human! We each live in a body that uniquely identifies us, to others and to ourselves. Many people find it hard to accept what they look like and society’s over emphasis on appearance, weight and beauty only make it more difficult for people to accept the skin they are in.
Being unhappy with your body image lowers your overall self-esteem, leading to a negative body image and self-consciousness.

Just for today….

Pick one of these tasks and practice it daily…….

•    Focus on the parts of your body you like and less on the parts you don’t like.
•    Start to record your body- image experiences in a diary to monitor certain negative body-image thoughts and emotions.  What situations and events Trigger your body image vulnerabilities? What Beliefs, thoughts and conclusions fill your mind during these situations? And finally, how do you React emotionally and behaviorally? This short diary will be a useful self-awareness tool and promote change from within!
•    Write positive  body affirmations affirmations about yourself and stick them up on the wall or on the mirror focusing on the aspects that you like for example,
•    “ My eyes are beautiful, My eyes give light to the world, I am thankful for being able to see! Repeating these positive body affirmations daily reinforces positive feelings about our bodies by emphasising things that we like already.
•    Body and mind relaxation combines muscle relaxation, visualisation, breathing deeply and positive self-talk. The power to relax physically and mentally is a very powerful coping strategy to deal with challenges related to your body image and also other stressful events.

Today’s helpful tool.

Situation : On the verge of a binge

You are on the verge of a binge and are deciding what to eat and how much you will eat. You promise yourself you will stop at reasonable limits although you rarely succeed in keeping this promise.

Action:

Hold on. Now record your experience of the just concluded hour in your diary. Jot down the activities you performed, how you reacted to those activities and finally your feelings, thoughts or any other expression regarding those activities. Do all this even if you have experienced or are reminded of something frightful or hurting. Daily activities like walking the dog, washing your hair, hanging up the phones or misplacing your shoes may seem to you as ordinary events, but if you think hard you will surely realize that there are some hidden painful feelings that you deliberately prefer not to feel.

•    Think of how you might comfort yourself to ease these uncomfortable feelings. What could you do to either delay or distract yourself from bingeing. Write a list of 3- 5 alternatives quickly. For example, you may call a friend, you may repeat out loud a positive affirmation, continue to record your journal or listen to music. The important thing is that you are now safe and moving further away from carrying out a binge.
•    Write what you are thinking and feeling now.
•    Read it out loud.
•    Read it out loud a second time in front of a mirror.
•    Smile and praise yourself.

JUST FOR TODAY….

•    Accept that recovery is a process and does not happen quickly

Are you over concerned about your body image and have an intense fear of gaining weight?

If YES! Look over this list of warning signs of  eating disorders, and if you match the majority of them, there is a good chance that you have an eating disorder.
Kildare Street Clinic is a specialized eating disorder treatment center offering effective Coginitive Behavioural Therapy for treatment of eating disorders.

Source URL: http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Body-Image?&id=3724316