How to Prevent Anorexia

Focus on your whole person., Highlight the positives about your body., Be critical of how bodies are portrayed in the media., Correct friends or family members who bad-mouth their bodies., Remind yourself that a certain body weight cannot bring you...

6 Steps 4 min read Medium

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Focus on your whole person.

    Society often places a great deal of emphasis on outward appearance to the point of overlooking other wonderful features about a person.

    One way to develop better self-esteem is to think about all of your strengths.

    Make a list of all the qualities you feel describe you as a person.

    Also, think about ways others have spoken highly of your personal traits in the past.

    Include these compliments on the list as well.Tape this list on your bathroom mirror so whenever you find yourself judging your physical appearance, you can immediately correct these judgments by focusing on positive strengths you have in other areas of life.
  2. Step 2: Highlight the positives about your body.

    This method is not suggesting that you point out specific aspects of your appearance like a slim nose or thighs.

    Instead, you need to direct your attention on how awesome the human body is without regard to appearance.

    For instance, you can pinpoint amazing abilities and functions that you are able to carry out because of your body.

    Whenever you catch yourself being nit-picky about any perceived flaws on your body, try to correct yourself and declare positive affirmations like "My legs and arms allow me to do cartwheels."

    "My heart is so strong it delivers blood to my entire body." or "My nose helps me to smell these beautiful flowers." Your body image may be poor if you are always directing your attention on what you think it is lacking.

    You can develop higher self-esteem and confidence if you uplift the wonderful things your body helps you to do. , Socio-cultural factors present through media, the Western perception of thinness as a beauty ideal, and opinions formed in local communities or cultures may strongly influence young people who develop unhealthy views of their bodies.Be a rebel and admonish images on TV, the internet, or in magazines of females who are significantly underweight and males who are idolized for having perfectly muscular bodies.

    Make a point of reminding yourself that these are not real portrayals of the true range of human bodies. , When you hear your mother, sisters, brothers, or friends down certain parts of their bodies for being too large or not good enough, stop them in their tracks.

    Tell them that speaking bad about their bodies is an unhealthy behavior and immediately compliment them on something that is not related to appearance such as them being awesome at soccer or having the highest GPA in their class.

    Dissatisfaction with one's physical appearance is a warning sign for anorexia and other eating disorders.Reminding your friends of this may help to promote awareness and also help you to reinforce thinking about your body in a more positive manner. , When you spend so much time idealizing a certain body weight you begin to view this as a key to happiness and feeling good about yourself.

    This is an unhealthy viewpoint and can lead to developing anorexia.

    Despite what may be uplifted in the media, there is no ideal body types.

    Healthy human bodies come in all shapes and sizes.

    Furthermore, no amount of weight loss or change will suddenly make your life more exciting or enjoyable.If you have formed an association between happiness in life and your appearance, it may be necessary to visit with a therapist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy.

    This type of treatment may be helpful for individuals at risk of eating disorders because it helps them identify and alter irrational or inaccurate thoughts and beliefs., Researchers have found a link between perfectionism and body dissatisfaction
    - a common problem for individuals with eating disorders.Therefore, you will need to do away with perfectionist tendencies and your need to control every situation if you want to avoid developing anorexia.Perfectionism is demonstrated when you often have trouble meeting your own standards.

    You may be very critical of yourself and your abilities.

    You may also procrastinate on tasks or do them over and over again until they meet your standards.

    You can speak see a therapist for help with overcoming perfectionism.

    Cognitive-behavioral therapy may be helpful in pinpointing perfectionist beliefs and finding ways of developing healthier expectations for yourself.
  3. Step 3: Be critical of how bodies are portrayed in the media.

  4. Step 4: Correct friends or family members who bad-mouth their bodies.

  5. Step 5: Remind yourself that a certain body weight cannot bring you happiness.

  6. Step 6: Say goodbye to perfectionism.

Detailed Guide

Society often places a great deal of emphasis on outward appearance to the point of overlooking other wonderful features about a person.

One way to develop better self-esteem is to think about all of your strengths.

Make a list of all the qualities you feel describe you as a person.

Also, think about ways others have spoken highly of your personal traits in the past.

Include these compliments on the list as well.Tape this list on your bathroom mirror so whenever you find yourself judging your physical appearance, you can immediately correct these judgments by focusing on positive strengths you have in other areas of life.

This method is not suggesting that you point out specific aspects of your appearance like a slim nose or thighs.

Instead, you need to direct your attention on how awesome the human body is without regard to appearance.

For instance, you can pinpoint amazing abilities and functions that you are able to carry out because of your body.

Whenever you catch yourself being nit-picky about any perceived flaws on your body, try to correct yourself and declare positive affirmations like "My legs and arms allow me to do cartwheels."

"My heart is so strong it delivers blood to my entire body." or "My nose helps me to smell these beautiful flowers." Your body image may be poor if you are always directing your attention on what you think it is lacking.

You can develop higher self-esteem and confidence if you uplift the wonderful things your body helps you to do. , Socio-cultural factors present through media, the Western perception of thinness as a beauty ideal, and opinions formed in local communities or cultures may strongly influence young people who develop unhealthy views of their bodies.Be a rebel and admonish images on TV, the internet, or in magazines of females who are significantly underweight and males who are idolized for having perfectly muscular bodies.

Make a point of reminding yourself that these are not real portrayals of the true range of human bodies. , When you hear your mother, sisters, brothers, or friends down certain parts of their bodies for being too large or not good enough, stop them in their tracks.

Tell them that speaking bad about their bodies is an unhealthy behavior and immediately compliment them on something that is not related to appearance such as them being awesome at soccer or having the highest GPA in their class.

Dissatisfaction with one's physical appearance is a warning sign for anorexia and other eating disorders.Reminding your friends of this may help to promote awareness and also help you to reinforce thinking about your body in a more positive manner. , When you spend so much time idealizing a certain body weight you begin to view this as a key to happiness and feeling good about yourself.

This is an unhealthy viewpoint and can lead to developing anorexia.

Despite what may be uplifted in the media, there is no ideal body types.

Healthy human bodies come in all shapes and sizes.

Furthermore, no amount of weight loss or change will suddenly make your life more exciting or enjoyable.If you have formed an association between happiness in life and your appearance, it may be necessary to visit with a therapist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy.

This type of treatment may be helpful for individuals at risk of eating disorders because it helps them identify and alter irrational or inaccurate thoughts and beliefs., Researchers have found a link between perfectionism and body dissatisfaction
- a common problem for individuals with eating disorders.Therefore, you will need to do away with perfectionist tendencies and your need to control every situation if you want to avoid developing anorexia.Perfectionism is demonstrated when you often have trouble meeting your own standards.

You may be very critical of yourself and your abilities.

You may also procrastinate on tasks or do them over and over again until they meet your standards.

You can speak see a therapist for help with overcoming perfectionism.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy may be helpful in pinpointing perfectionist beliefs and finding ways of developing healthier expectations for yourself.

About the Author

J

Jessica Adams

Creates helpful guides on hobbies to inspire and educate readers.

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