This week is Mental Health Awareness Week in the United Kingdom, and the 2019-year theme is centered on body image. Body image can be strongly linked to self-esteem, eating disorder, and self-talk. We often talk down to ourselves, exclaiming that we are not good enough or we will never be pretty enough, but in reality, this negative internal dialogue is fueling our battle with poor body image. This negative self-talk can create a vicious cycle of self-hate, low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. This vicious cycle can lead an individual to engage in disordered eating, which can eventually lead to an eating disorder diagnosis. Eating disorders are not so much about food but more about internal struggles that are fueled by negative body image and harmful internal dialogues we have with ourselves. We use food as an attempt to take control of our fears and doubts, which leads to an obsession over calories, counting, and self-doubt.
The importance of positive self-talk
Our thoughts often dictate our actions. When we engage in happy and positive thoughts, then we feel better about ourselves, and people tend to want to be around us. We are in control of which thoughts we want to keep in our head and focus on and which ideas we decide to discard and ignore. Our inner voice can be a valuable tool in the recovery process if we engage in positive and uplifting thoughts, which are then followed by positive actions. The first step for change is learning to be aware of what types of ideas enter your head and to be able to differentiate whether they are unhealthy or healthy. By allowing yourself to be able to tell the difference between positive and negative thoughts, you can then begin to learn to hold on to the positive thoughts and act on them while letting go of the negative thoughts. Many individuals may wonder, “how do I let go of negative thoughts or thoughts that do not serve me?” This does take some mental strength however if you feel it is difficult to let go of these thoughts then engage in an uplifting activity or an activity that requires a lot of brain power such as a puzzle, cooking a recipe, learning a new language. Surrounding yourself with a new activity for a few moments can allow your brain to focus on that specific task while letting go of any negative thoughts.
Reframing your mind
Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa are signs of troubling internal relationships with yourself. While eating disorders are the result of many complex factors, working toward effectively changing your thinking and inner dialogue can be an essential step toward overcoming your eating disorder and beginning your healing process. Cognitive behavioral therapy is commonly used among eating disorder professionals to help reframe your thoughts into a more positive outlook, prevent you from jumping to conclusions, stopping a negative outlook or narrowed-minded thinking, and learning how to accept neutral thinking instead of polarized thinking. This fundamental concept for this type of therapy approach lies within the idea that thoughts and feelings are directly related to behavior and therefore, gaining control of one’s thoughts, and emotions can better dictate their behavior.