Body image disorder is condition produced by modern civilization. Never in human history, people have been so obsessed with their appearance. On the other hand, abundance of crappy foods, media, commercials as well as modern society and lack of physical activity, are the ones to blame.
These can motivate people to eat healthy, exercise and to give more attention to their health in general. So, it ain't that bad, right.
However, some people may get frustrated and stressed out, by trying to lose too much weight, too quickly which may cause more serious problems, including heart problems such as irregular heart rhyth.
SYMPTOMS
The problem is when body perception in our mind goes from normal to extreme which leads to body image disorder. The symptoms may include low self confidence, anxiety, panic attacks, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, obsessive thoughts as well as inability to work and focus due to preoccupation with appearance.
CAUSES
Body image disorder may be caused by person being concerned with look of his/her's skin, hair, weight, height, nose, face, legs and other physical attributes. In lot of these cases, a person sees some of his/her's physical attributes a lot worse than it really is.
You have to accept some minor imperfections and go on with your life. It is just how things are. Nobody is perfect. However, there is also a lot of space for improvement. This mainly applies for weight management and fat reduction as well as for healthy mental outlook on your body.
OVERWEIGHT
Let's face it, most people in the world today are overweight and main causes are too much unhealthy processed foods and sendentery, inactive lifestyle. It is very easy to turn things into your favour by going step by step and gradualy changing your diet and starting to exercise.
If you want to feel and look better then move your ass and just do it. Also try to lower the amount of stress in your life by removing the "stress triggers" from your life, as much as possible.
UNDERWEIGHT
Being underweight is another body image disorder but it is relatively rare. However, it can be dangerous as well as being overweight. Living in 21.st century and being underweight is very rare since it is very easy to acquire food.
So, unless you are poor, living in some 3rd world country where is lack of food or maybe you have some kind of a disease, then there is no excuse for being underweight.
If this is your case, then straighten out your diet and eat more since obviously, you aren't getting enough calories to mantain your weight. If you're exercising then lower down the intensity and frequency of your workouts. You can also indulge yourself by eating a little bit more sweets than overweight person can.
Don't starve yourself or the body will fight back.
MUSCLE DYSMORPHIA
On the other hand, there are some men which hit the gym every day in order to get bigger muscles. They start to think that they are small, while they are actually pretty big. This may lead to overtraining and in some people, use of anabolic steroids, when it comes to this type of body image disorder.
Some people experience these side effects very quickly while others pay the price, latter in life. Since I am a guy, I can understand desire to look better and more muscular. Even I workout and lift weights, besides doing my cardio on a weekly basis.
However, I wouldn't never put my health in danger because of the looks. Health comes first, everything else is secondary.
Body image is also very closely related to your mental and physical health.
OUTSIDE INFLUENCE AND YOUR INNER CRITIC
As I already said, there are many factors which can affect our body perception and cause body image disorder such as media and modern society as well as your inner critic.
In order to overcome these negative influences, you have to look things from the objective point of view and put aside what everybody else thinks.
Also, you have to be able to control your inner critic by being more relaxed and less obsessed about your body and physical appearance.
As you can see, you have to control your inner critic and not completely shut it down since that little voice inside of you which is pushing you to exercise, eat right and all in all, take more care of your health and body, is a good guy.
However, as so many things in life, we have to find the right balance, in order to achieve our goals and still have some fun in our life, otherwise is completely useless.
TIP
You can also check your hormone levels before devoting to healthy lifestyle. This way you are greatly improving your chances in reaching healthy weight since a lot of people are overweight these days, only because of their hormonal imbalance.
Unbalanced hormones alone, can lead to body image disorder, even if your weigh is normal, since they affect the way you think. Women take more care about their looks, partially due to higher estrogen levels.
If you know which hormones are too high or too low, you will get them to balance, much easier with healthy diet, some natural remedies and relaxing techniques such as meditation.
You should consult with your doctor which hormones to check but the main ones are testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, DHEA, cortisol, TSH, ACTH, LH, FSH and prolactin.
CONCLUSION
In order to have long and successful life, health is number one priority. By embracing healthy lifestyle, besides improving your health, you can prevent and treat body image disorder.
As your confidence and outlook on life improves, so will your health as well as heart function since the brain controls heart rate and blood pressure.
To achieve this your have to be consistent, go day by day and the results will come. Live in a moment, don't try to think to much about the past or the future.
Also, don't be too harsh on yourself, find the balance and the right program which works for you and stick to it. Eat healthy and exercise regulary, to improve your health but DON'T be obsessed with your appearance because the mind, besides health, is what really matters.
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