Body Dysmorphia & Other Related Concerns

Let’s learn about body image issues that can keep us from maintaining a healthy weight. If you feel that the descriptions below sound like the struggles you are dealing with, I hope you’ll talk about it with a medical provider. You don’t need to be alone in this!

There are 6 common eating disorders according to Healthline. They are: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, pica, rumination disorder, and avoidant/restrictive eating disorder. These are serious conditions that are far beyond the scope of my blog. If you feel that any may apply to you, please see your doctor. Early diagnosis and treatment are important for your health. Read more here: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-eating-disorders

Let’s go straight to the source, the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation, to learn how to differentiate between body dysmorphia and other similar conditions and terms:

The main difference between eating disorders and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is [that] someone with an eating disorder is worried about their body weight and shape, which leads to behaviours that are aimed at trying to lose or control weight…BDD tends to be focused on specific areas of concern and restricted eating may be employed to try and alter those perceived flaws.

A distorted body image is a feature of both BDD and eating disorders, which also share many other symptoms, such as low self-esteem (1).

So an important difference between BDD and eating disorders is that in general those with BDD are concerned about perceived flaws with specific body parts, not the shape of their entire body (2). However, it is possible to have BDD as well as an eating disorder or a preoccupation with weight.

The term gender dysphoria is sometimes confused with BDD (3). “Gender dysphoria means someone feels the body they were born into doesn’t reflect their true self or who they are or identify with in terms of their gender” (3). It’s possible to have both disorders, even at the same time. A good example of this is when someone with gender dysphoria becomes overly concerned about breast size.

It appears that being dissatisfied with your body can become a gateway to a variety of disorders (4). Because of the seriousness of these health conditions, some have suggested that we improve our attitudes about our bodies by adopting the approach of body positivity.

Body positivity emphasizes the beauty of all bodies, regardless of shape, size, color, or gender. If we can feel good about how we look, then we are less likely to have anxious or obsessive thoughts about our appearance (5).

Body positivity sounds like the perfect attitude on the surface, but for some people, it rings hollow. Even though it seems like it’s inclusive, it tends to portray “young, white, conventionally attractive, non-disabled, cisgender females. People of other ethnicities, males, people from LGBTQIA+ communities, and older adults do not have adequate representation” (5).

The goal of body neutrality is an alternative attitude we can adopt. Its emphasis is not on appearance at all. Instead, body neutrality focuses of the amazing functions of our body rather than how our bodies look (5).

To me, body neutrality is a healthier outlook. If we place our emphasis on the function of our physical bodies, we can step away from social media bias and the absurdly edited perfectionist images that surround us. (Yes, you can see how I really feel by that last statement!)

The National Eating Disorders Association has a 5 step plan to enable us to move towards body neutrality:

• Call a truce on the war with your body. You can’t hate yourself happy, successful, thin or anything else. Step away from living in the body hatred camp.
• Start a daily body appreciation practice. Write down 5 things every day that your body can do.
• Counteract your negative self-talk (your inner bully) with some body neutral phrases like thanking your body for taking care of you today and understanding that your weight does not define your worth.
• Focus on your strengths. What are your unique talents, and what are you good at? What do others like about you?
• Clean up your social media feeds. If there are people or sites that make you feel bad about yourself, or that you compare yourself with, delete them. Follow feel-good feeds (6).

How do you feel about body positivity vs. body neutrality? Will you make it a practice to concentrate on the positive aspects of your body? Let’s continue to learn and grow as we maintain our healthy weight!

If you are interested in more about media and distorted body image, you might like to read one of my first blog posts here: https://lindawbrowning.com/2022/12/09/perspectives-on-appearance/

(1). https://bddfoundation.org/information/bdd-related-conditions/eating-disorders/

(2). https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-body-dysmorphic-disorder

(3). https://www.talkspace.com/blog/body-dysphoria-vs-dysmorphia/

(4). https://www.verywellmind.com/body-image-and-eating-disorders-4149424

(5). https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/body-positivity#what-is-body-positivity

(6). https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/5-steps-body-neutrality