Going into my second year of graduate school to get my Masters in Social Work, I debated long and hard over where to do my final internship. I have a big interest in treating clients with eating disorders and disordered eating, so I initially looked at numerous eating disorder clinics in Charlotte. After lots of deliberation, I decided to intern at a primary care facility where I would get to work with a broader range of behavioral health issues.
It turned out to be a great decision! I receive referrals for patients facing all sorts of challenges: depression, anxiety, marital struggles, substance use disorder, job dissatisfaction, etc. Despite such a broad range of issues, 8 out of 10 times they also face challenges around food and body image.
One day last week, I had 5 therapy sessions scheduled with clients, and 4 of those sessions ended up revolving mostly around food, body dissatisfaction or the fear of gaining weight. I got in my car at the end of the day asking myself, “What just happened? How is such a diverse group of people - all ages, shapes, backgrounds- all stuck around their eating and negative body image?”
Though many parts are at play here, to me, the answer mainly pertains to DIET CULTURE. We all live in a pervasive culture filled with toxic ideas of weight loss, dieting, exercising to change how our bodies look and the labeling of food as good or bad. It’s no wonder a majority of my clients need help to untangle themselves from the web of hateful lies that diet culture loves to spew.
Lucky for me, I have learned a different way of eating and a kinder way to treat my body called Intuitive Eating. Intuitive Eating is all about re-learning how to listen to your body, accept your body as it is in the present moment and see food not as “good” or “bad,” but just food.
If you’re interested in freeing yourself from the tyranny of never-ending thoughts about what you should or should not eat, when you should eat, or finally freeing yourself from constant body negativity, I recommend the book Intuitive Eating by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole.
I wasted years and years of my life obsessing over things like whether bananas were actually good for me, whether I should eat carbs and proteins at the same time, blah, blah, blah… How much time do you spend thinking about food and your appearance? What could you be doing if you didn’t have to deal with that any more? The possibilities are endless.
Thanks for this, Allison! I appreciate you sharing how pervasive body dissatisfaction is in our culture. I am loving the discussion of body image in the book Burnout: Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski. So much love for you and folks who do the hard work of sharing this information with us!