Eating disorders and low self- esteem are prevalent with both males and females alike.
Low self- esteem ranks amongst the most important obstacle for people to have a good relationship with their body, their health, and fitness. People do not always feel fantastic about their body shape and size, particularly when their body is going through a number of changes.
However, for some, a preoccupation with the way their body looks can lead to severe and dangerous behaviorisms, which can really affect their quality of life, such as developing an eating disorder.
What is an eating disorder?
In a common misconception eating disorders are said to stem from someone’s desire to look more beautiful; in actual fact, an eating disorder is a serious and complex mental illness that can arise out of someone’s severely low self-esteem and negative view of the way their body looks.
Eating disorders can affect people of any gender and age, no matter their body size or shape, although the reasons behind why someone may develop an eating disorder are highly complex, there is no one single cause.
4 main types of eating disorder
There are 4 main ‘types’ of eating disorders:
Anorexia nervosa is an emotional disorder, whose characteristics are obsessive desire to lose weight by refusing to eat.
Bulimia nervosa is characterized by repeated episodes of binge. Eating followed by compensatory behaviors.
People with bulimia have a distorted sense of self and place an excessive emphasis on body shape or weight. A person’s sense of self-esteem and self-worth is often wholly defined by the way they look.
Binge eating disorder means, that people are eating a very large amount of food within a short period of time, often within an hour or two. They lose control, while they are eating and become unable to stop themselves from eating.
As someone suffers from an eating disorder they develop a distorted view of their body often accompanied by intense feelings of anxiety, isolation, and depression.
Eating disorders are silent outcry caused by isolation and separation from a person’s environment.
Eating disorders are silent outcry caused by isolation and separation from a person’s environment. This utterance is expressed through their bodies and food intake and needs to be taken seriously.
How to build up body confidence
Here are a few tips to help people, especially young people wanting to build on their self-esteem and body confidence:
- Body changes are completely normal and everybody is subject to them.
- If you are feeling really worried about something in particular, don’t be afraid to talk and ask questions about your concerns with a person you trust.
- It can be self-destructive to feel ashamed of your body as a result of comparing yourself to images you see in the media.
- It is important to remember that the images you see in public and social media are often digitally enhanced. They are often highly stylized, airbrushed pictures of celebrities. And models, and therefore unrealistic and unattainable.
- Instead of picking apart your own appearance, it is helpful and important to think about what the image might be trying to sell.
- Have a good look at your family members at different ages and stages. You may notice that you have a similar body type to other family members. You might like to talk to them about your similarities and how they make you feel.
- Talk to a counselor, coach or similar about your body and how it relates to other body types in your family.
Have fun finding your own style and know that you can shape your body with good food, exercise and a loving, caring connection to yourself.