How Body Checking Will Keep you Stuck in your Eating Disorder
Body checking refers to an obsessive thought and behavior about appearance, usually used to judge weight and shape. It may present as frequently hopping on the scale, looking in the mirror, pinching or wrapping a hand around stomach, waist, thighs, arms, comparing oneself against others, checking the fit of clothes, measuring yourself, asking others for assurance, etc. It can show up in a variety of pervasive ways.
Why do we body check?
The way in which one may body check looks different for everyone. However, the theme of why one may want to body check is quite similar. Body checking is done in attempt to feel better about one’s body, more specifically about the parts one may wish were different. The belief is that body checking will provide us with some relief and help in decreasing the anxiety or worry we are feeling, making us feel better and/or feel more in control.
What does body checking actually do for us?
The problem with body checking is that what we are looking for when we body check is not actually what we receive. Something I like to compare it to is when people “ask doctor google” to feel some relief about symptoms they may be experiencing. However, in actuality, doing so ends up making us feel more nervous and scared. Googling symptoms provides a false sense of security that usually leaves us feeling worse. Body checking is similar in that the reassurance may only be momentary and then followed by heightened anxiety and fear.
However, do not take my word for it. Experience is the greatest teacher. Try raising some awareness around your body checking behaviors. How do you feel before body checking and after body checking? Do you actually get what you are looking for?
How does body checking keep you stuck in the eating disorder:
Body checking fuels and maintains the eating disorder. It is like many other eating disorder behaviors, such as restriction or overexercising. These behaviors all strengthen the eating disorder voice.
The model below shows how when responding to negative emotions, body checking is performed in order to reduce this aversive state. Consequently, the effect of body checking to stop negative emotions negatively reinforces and thus maintains body checking behavior. Therefore, it can be assumed that body checking is maintained through negative reinforcement.
Take a second to think about your body checking behaviors. What is the purpose of your body checking behaviors? What are you searching for in this behavior?
The Research of Body Checking and Eating Disorders:
(Article: Immediate Effects of Body Checking Behaviour on Negative and Positive Emotions in Women with Eating Disorders: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Approach)The aim of this study (which is downloadable below) was to test the negative and positive emotions prior to and following body checking in people with eating disorders as compared to people without eating disorders.
The results were as follows:
Participants with eating disorders showed a significantly higher frequency of body checking than healthy controls.
Higher scores of negative emotions were found in the eating disorder group than in the control group.
For positive emotions, a significant main effect was found, with lower scores for positive emotions in the eating disorder group.
There was a higher degree of negative emotions in the eating disorder group compared with healthy controls across the two time points before and after body checking.
There was a significant main effect of time, indicating an increase in negative emotions from pre- to post-body checking across the two groups, indicating a greater increase in negative emotions from pre- to post-body checking behaviour in participants with eating disorders compared with healthy controls.
There was a decrease in positive emotions from pre- to post-body checking across both groups.
Interpretation of Results:
Negative emotions seem to play an important role in the maintenance of eating disorders and also appear to trigger eating disorder behaviors. The study shows that this is considered to be a relevant factor in maintaining the vicious circle of the eating disorder. Therefore, contrary to the the eating disorder’s thought that body checking will help decrease anxiety and bring control, body checking, in actuality, leads to an increase and amplification of negative emotions and thus increasing eating disorder behaviors to combat those negative emotions.
Body checking behaviour plays an important role in eating disorders, as it is a behavioural manifestation of body image disturbance and is positively correlated with the degree of eating disorder pathology.”
So what can we do to stop body checking?
“It can be assumed that body checking behaviour contributes to the maintenance of eating disorders (Shafran et al., 2007), leading to the suggestion that reducing body checking behaviour improves the prognosis (Kachani, Barroso, Brasiliano, Hochgraf, & Cordas, 2014) and, therefore, constitutes a suitable target in the treatment of eating disorders (Cash & Hrabosky, 2004; Lavender et al., 2013).
Like anything in recovery, changing behaviors doesn’t happen over night, requires grit and takes patience. Simply stopping body checking is no easy feat after years of body checking. So where do we start? Here are a few things you can do.
STEP ONE: Start raising awareness around body checking. Ask yourself the following questions:
Why do I feel I need to body check right now?
How am I feeling after body checking, during body checking, after body checking?
How does it affect my mood?
How does it affect my eating disorder behaviors?
Below is a a activity for you to download and track this awareness and start to see patterns.
Downloadable Activity
Body Checking Thought Log
STEP TWO: Work on RESISTING the urge to Body Check.
Rewiring your brain to automatically go from body checking to a healthier behavior will take work and feel very uncomfortable at first. The good news is that we can adapt new behaviors. We can start to carve out a new road. Remember, because this road hasn’t been traveled, it isn’t too strong and our brain doesn’t easily take that path. However, the more you activity take this new pathway, the more our brain will start using it and then this pathway will become easier to take, more automatic, and eventually become your new normal. The old path is used less and weakens. We all have the ability to rewire our brain and with repeated and directed attention to the changes you want, you can experience these changes first hand.
Below is a a activity for you to track body checking and watch it trend down.
Downloadable Activity
Body Checking Activity
What can we do when we want to body check?
Check out the following video for some tips!
Thanks for being here. Just being here means that you have grit and are on your way to finding peace with your bodies and will start to replace body checking with body trusting.
Schedule a call to chat with our dietitians to see how we can hold space and walk side by side with you on your food and body image journey.