11 Body Image and an Eating Disorder
This section focuses on our body image, sense of self and eating disorders.
Body Image and an Eating Disorder
One of the wonderful things about people is that they are all different. everyone has their own unique and individuals strengths, life experiences and motivations. Yet, we also know that as psychologists, nurses and scholars that when one experiences an eating disorder (or any other disorder for that matter), they usually experience similar struggles, emotions and experiences as others who have experienced eating disorders. However, this similarity is good because through an examination of these similarities we have, over the years, developed effective recovery interventions that help many people with eating disorders grow forward.
Although we experience similar treatments for eating disorders, it is important in our individual journeys that we have come to deeply understand and appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of our own words, terms and emotions that we have used to describe or try to understand our bodies alongside an eating disorder. We also know ourselves as more than the eating disorder diagnosis that we have been assigned by the health care provider. We know ourselves as capable, interesting, funny, hardworking, diligent, creative, funny (funny is my favourite characteristic so I am listing it twice!), critical, joyful, and one who can experience sadness.
“In the world of eating disorders ‘body work’ is often a topic discussed in an eating disorder program. The titles of education sessions that I have attended over the years included sessions and actvities on the following: my body health, my body image, and drawing my body. I hated every class on this topic, yet, I am coming to accept who I am as a human being with a pulse and a weird sense of humour”- Janet
Creative Space
- What do you think of your body? This is a common question you may be asked. In my journals and diaries, I see many copies of the following image:
Add image here
- Do you see your body physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially?
- Do you ignore or limit your perception of your body?
Janet shared the following: “When beginning this section on bodies and body image I initially experienced a deep sense of ‘never being good enough‘ to discuss this topic though I have lived in recovery for many years. I often defaulted to over-activity to cope, you know, just go for another run”.
Hannah also shared the following perspective:” I am reminded that while I cannot change my physical appearance, I can change my perspective. The story I told myself was full of negative, self-deprecation. The girl who once thrived to look like she belonged on the runaway, realized that at any weight, her shape could not be altered. She could never adjust her height, become curvy, or change the shape of her face. She was the same girl she had always been, just more gaunt. She could choose to embrace this body or fight against it. She chose to live with the imperfection she perceived. It took many years for her to realize that she was unique and beautiful as she was. She didn’t need to emotionally eat anymore, she could embrace her inner critic and be kind to herself”.
Creation Space
- Below is a table that list several words related to body image, Define and describe what you think of these words and compare them to the actual definitions of the words. Do you see any differences?
| Terms | Your definition of these words… | What we learned… (Merriam-Webster, 2022) |
| Bodies | The parts of a human body | |
| Body | My body, my space, my human body | |
| Body Image | My subjective perspective or picture of my own physical appearance that is developed by self-observation and by noting the reactions and responses to the people around us | |
| Bodily | This means, being in my skin or my flesh. It also refers to my physically moving my body | |
| Embody | Te represent or be in a human form or shape | |
| Embodied | A state of feeling or being in your body | |
| Embodiment | The state or place of being embodied |
Understanding our body is an important part of healing and recovery. Research on the embodied self from Cook-Cottone (2020) encourages us to identify “our body as a resource” (p. 60). In this research, Cook-Cottone also reminds us of this important information as it relates to our bodies and eating disorders. She states the following:
“I have worked with clients who had no sense of their identity beyond their disorders. In the model of the embodied self, between the internal and external experiences of self lies the possibility of the embodiment of self. However, once the disorder becomes a way of being, a sense of identity, clients experience a misrepresentation of self. The eating disorder becomes the experience of self upon which all else is organized. And the disordered self, or the misrepresentation of self, is what the world responds to as well. Within this context, the authentic, real, and embodied self is lost. The constructed and disordered self is experienced as an object (e.g., “I am an anorexic”), not as an authentic representation of the person’s experience, needs, and desires. It leads individuals in the person’s life to see their loved one through the lens of anorexia, bulimia, or client of seeing the person, it can be easy to begin to interact with a loved one as a set of things that are wrong, disordered, and problematic” (pp. 61-62).
Creation Space: What do you think of your body?
This activity requires you to consider sharing your findings with a trusted friend or health care provider.
Step1: Below is a blank image of a body silhouette for you to use and draw upon. Print off the image and make many copies.
Step 2: Ponder what you have colored and marked. What colors did you use? What body parts do you hide or ignore?
Step 3: Write beside the image ten words that come to mind as you did this activity.
Step 4: What are you thinking and feeling?
An example:
From my data, I found the following image that was drawn in response to this activity that I took in an art therapy class.
Image description: this is a picture of a distorted woman standing in front of a mirror
Self-confidence is not something we are born to exude. We struggle with societal notions of beauty. Media of all forms bombards us with images of the idealized body. It is understandable that if you are constantly reminded that you are not good enough, you start to believe the narrative you have been told. Having the self-confidence to embrace your imperfections, is a skill you need to hone in order to recover and grow.
What do you see, when you look in the mirror?
What do you like, and what would you change? 
