Eating Disorders and Body Image

According to popular belief, it is assumed that anorexia is due to a cognitive disturbance of body image. This is often portrayed in images of a very thin girl looking at her reflection in a mirror and seeing an obese figure. The concept of ‘body image’ disturbance can be useful in understanding eating disorders when it is not used as a “cause” but rather as a symptom. Often an eating disorder starts with feeling overweight or perceiving oneself as overweight due to the constant images of very thin women in media, films and tv shows. A person will begin to diet but the extreme obsession with restricting food and never feeling satisfied with ones felt body or body image as reflected in a mirror is not the goal of dieting. This food fear and body image disatisfaction (loathing) happens on an unconscious level. I hear this with every single client.

So the disturbed body image needs to be metaphoricallyviewed as a physicalization or somatization of difficulties with self other relationships. Having body boundaries is about being self aware of what affects a person and what defenses need to be put in place to protect a person in certain situations and relationships. Also having a good repetoire of social roles while being grounded in ones authentic being. Relationally we need boundaries. With an eating disorder the body becomes the actual boundary rather than a psychic one. The taking in or not of food is the playing out of what is nourishing or feels good over what makes one feel bad. As with someone who deprives oneself of food, it is easier to try and not need anything (anyone). Be alone and deprive oneself of any love, closeness and intimacy.

The disturbed body boundaries of someone with anorexia, bulimia or binge eating can be symbolically be the psyche refusing to take in or accept other people’s (family/friends etc) versions of who she ought to be. For someone who deprives herself and then binges and purges, she is playing out the chaos and confusion she feels with her boundaries in relationships. She finds outher intrusive or leave her with bad feelings and so it is easier to have a empty, clean (symbolically) inner self. For someone who binge eats, it is her attempt to control the world by taking it into herself but it leaves her feeling shameful and bad about her overweight body. Body boundaries therefore act as metaphors for social relations. The way we allow people into our ‘space’ is crucial for someone who is anorexic. The ‘space’ or inner psychic realm of the self needs to be highlighted and explored to allow for insight, curiosity and acceptance.

Eating Disorders and Body Image

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