Eating Disorders – Seattle – Media and Body Image

Eating disorders, media and body image are intricately woven together. Unrealistic images of the human body portrayed in the media often influence the way Americans view themselves in their own bodies. There’s an idea of the perfect body, however, few attain it due to its consistent change. I think the media’s unrealistic portrayal of the human body, has contributed to the epidemic of eating disorders and unhealthy habits in Americans lives. For example, using radical diets that are not healthy in order to achieve something that, in the end, is not achievable.

I don’t blame the media for the rise in eating disorders by any means, but I do believe it contributes. If someone has a pre-disposition to an eating disorder, I believe that  media can have a powerful affect on the tipping point of a disorder developing or not.  A person may be pre-disposed to an eating disorder due to a trauma (85%), perfectionist ideals, high expectations from family, friends, or even perceived high expectations. People with eating disorders are hypersensitive and hyperintuitive. They become hyper-aware of everything going on. For example, if someone is whispering in the corner they know about it, if someone says “You’ve got a terrible hairstyle”, they think they are a terrible person. They are very permeable to most comments and their feelings are hurt easily and they feel everything more intensely than the normal person.

After these people are recovered from eating disorders their intuition becomes honed into mental health habits, such as intuitive eating, how they are feeling and what would feel best, instead of feeling hungry and not knowing what to eat.” They are still sensitive yet they now use it to serve them. They recognize and quickly process comments that would have bothered them in the past.

When looking at an advertisement, ask these questions:

• What is the motive of the advertisement?
• What emotional jugular are they accessing?
• Are they targeting women or men?
• What emotional response do advertisers want me have to buy the product or service they’re selling?

Educating patients on effects the media is looking for becomes critical. One exercise used in treatment group is perusing favorite magazines, selecting different ads and analyze what emotional response they are aiming for, which audience they are targeting, and how they entice each audience to be hooked into their emotion, enough to buy a product.

In group sessions, we go through different ads, emotions that are evoked and the reasons people fall for these tactics. My patients learn to critically analyze what advertisers are trying to do so they end up feeling empowered instead of victimized by media.

Inpatient facilities often disallow media due to possible triggers presented, however media is everywhere in the real world so instead of avoiding it I exploit the exploiters without judgment. It’s their job to sell using emotion, however we can be empowered to make cognitive decisions without falling privy to emotions that advertisers want to evoke. My groups become educated on how advertisers do their job, and empower themselves over emotions ads try to evoke. We see media in the grocery store checkout line, and all over the real world, so I want to teach my patients how to deal with it, rather than ignore it.

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