What is a body image disturbance?

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What is a body image disturbance?

Body Image is how you feel about your body and what you do about

those feelings. Some people feel bad about their bodies and try to

change them though a variety of means (called Appearance Management

Behaviors). These AMB include routine behaviors such as cutting or

coloring hair, shaving, ironing, and changing clothing. Non-routine

behaviors are invasive, sometimes dangerous, and include changing

eating habits, working out, exercise, or even surgery.

Disordered eating includes crash dieting, yo-yo dieting, fasting,

and bingeing & purging.

Disordered exercise includes working out (or exercising) for long

periods of time, using steroids, over-the-counter products, and

avoiding foods (i.e., carbohydrates) that you feel may " hurt " your

muscles.

Disordered behaviors are dangerous because of the toll they take on

the mental, physical, and spiritual body. Mentally, people with

body image disturbances are seeking to fit-in with cultural or

social standards. Physically, they are harming themselves by

avoiding food, destroying bone and cartridge, harming muscles

(including the heart and lungs), and eroding the enamel of the

teeth.