Body Image

It is well established that the most difficult and intransigent part of eating disorder recovery is body image.

Eating patterns become automatic and rigid, but our bodies are willing to change to a new pattern with time. The exposure to more intense emotions by eating regularly is also hard, and there are new coping skills that can help manage this process.

But our own self image—the literal and figurative vision of ourself in the mirror—appears to be much more fixed. We expect to see that body and that person we have become accustomed to. If that body happens to be very underweight, that image is still what we expect. If that image is more normal looking but abhorrent to the eating disorder eye, then that’s how we perceive it.

But the concept that one could easily transition from a sick looking body to feeling comfortable seeing a normal body is a very large step in recovery for two reasons. First, it means accepting the image of a healthy body at a normal weight and beginning to let go of the illness. Second, this step also means the emotional acceptance that this body is one that does not need change or attention, that it truly is well.

After years of seeing something very different, this change is a very significant one. It demands a true acceptance of the process and effectiveness of recovery.

Body image will change over time, but the mind needs years to fully process the change and accept it. Often the struggle to accept body image is one that leads people back to relapse. The emotional support from treatment providers and also from friends and family is key for people to make it through this part of recovery. Doing so almost always means full recovery and simmers for a long time before coming to fruition.

As one loses the focus on body image, the importance of other parts of life become central. This final step in recovery isn’t an abrupt one. It’s one people glide into over time until they just realize life has changed.