Posts in Body Image
How does anorexia affect the brain?

Anorexia nervosa has a profound impact on the brain. Beyond the obvious physical consequences, this eating disorder affects the brain’s structure, function, and chemistry, leading to changes in behavior, thinking, and emotions.

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What causes anorexia nervosa?

Anorexia nervosa is one of the more well-known eating disorders, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood (as do most eating disorders). Anorexia is a complex psychological and physical condition driven by various factors that go far beyond food and weight.

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Is Body Dysmorphia a Form of OCD?

Body dysmorphia, or Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), is a mental health condition where individuals become obsessively preoccupied with perceived flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often minor or imagined but feel overwhelmingly real and distressing to those experiencing BDD. Given the obsessive nature of these thoughts, many people wonder if body dysmorphia is a form of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

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How to Increase Your Appetite During Pregnancy:

Pregnancy is a beautiful journey filled with excitement, anticipation, and, of course, a fair share of challenges. One of those challenges that many expectant mothers face is a decreased appetite. If you are struggling with both disordered eating thoughts and a decreased appetite, pregnancy can be a big challenge for your recovery. It can be perplexing and frustrating, especially when you know how important it is to nourish your growing baby but you lack hunger and you struggle with the nagging ED thoughts.. If you’re struggling with this, you’re not alone. Here’s a little guidance to help you along the way.

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Healthism: Nuance, self-compassion, and re-defining “health” to fit your lived experience

Are you pursuing “health” in your life but coming up short? Are you feeling overwhelmed by all of the recommendations floating around in mainstream media and simultaneously ashamed that you can’t do it all? Keep reading to hear some thoughts on how to re-frame this concept and step into a more compassionate and nuanced space as it relates to your pursuit of health.

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How to Urge Surf and understand Eating Disorder Behaviors

As part of breaking the cycle of acting on ED behaviors in response to negative body image, you can learn skills to help tolerate urges for eating disorder behaviors.

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Body Image Activity: Letters to and From Your Body to Build Healthy Communication

Your relationship with your body and your body’s relationship with yourself is just that- a relationship. In relationships, what we need is an understanding, an ability to listen to one each, an ability to understand and mend, to ask each other what you both need.

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10 Characteristics of People with Positive Body Image

Body image research is DEFINITELY lacking but we do have an understanding based on the research that tells us about why some people have better body image than others and what qualities, skills, components they have that allow them to have a healthier, more positive relationship with their body.

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What is binge eating? How do I stop it?

Oftentimes people do not recognize that their binge episodes are related to under-eating throughout the day. When that happens, they can feel shame associated with misunderstanding their body and their current seemingly “uncontrolled” behavior around food. Learn more about binge eating!

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What Happened to You

Healing your shame is key in healing your relationship with food and your body. It starts with changing the question “what’s wrong with me??” to “what happened to you?” When we make that simple shift, grace enters the room. What happened to you offers explanations, not excuses. It opens the gate to understanding. Understanding gives us knowledge, even in the most seemingly “irrational” situations. Your fear and your pain is not senseless. It may not seem fitting for the situation, and that just means we have more to learn.

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The Fisherman, the Businessman, and the Allure of the Body Ideal

Learn to explore the stories you tell about your body and your life.

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