Contents
Hello dear readers! Obesophobia is an irrational fear of gaining weight.
Why does it appear, by what signs can it be determined, and what consequences may arise? We will talk about this and much more today, as well as consider ways to help cope with this disorder.
What is it like?
Obesophobia occurs more often in women, but among men it is quite common.
A person tries to match the image, which, in his opinion, seems attractive, and sometimes ideal.
This, of course, leads to intrapersonal conflicts, because you have to deal with the natural need of every living being — to satisfy hunger. Otherwise, simply not getting food, the body will die.
Therefore, the fob basically «sits» on a diet, periodically he has breakdowns, because two desires, to lose weight and eat, turn out to be completely impossible at the same time.
Gradually, this forms pathological eating disorders. That is, there is bulimia, anorexia. And if you do not take any measures, death may occur as a result of exhaustion.
An interesting fact is that bezophobia is usually observed in thin, slender people. Full and obese individuals make up a small percentage of the representatives of this phobia.
Symptoms
Behavioral
People with this disorder usually spend a lot of time reading nutrition literature.
They carry out endless cleansing of the body and practice fasting, urging others to follow their example, giving up harmful products that give nothing but excess weight to their owner.
Fob is not just fond of diets and goes in for sports, being afraid to get fat. He literally counts every calorie, meticulously choosing foods for his diet.
Every day, she weighs herself many times, measures the volume of the figure, and experiences panic if it has increased even by a millimeter.
After each meal, he feels guilt and anxiety, because you never know what such liberty will come back to him later.
Not accepting himself for who he is, the bezophobe is critical of overweight people. He devalues them as individuals and, one might even say, despises them, experiencing irritation and disgust.
Naturally, such a lifestyle, obsession with losing weight, affects their career and relationships.
They cannot afford to go to a restaurant on a date, because there are so many temptations. Naturally, there can be no talk of any celebrations of birthdays, anniversaries and other things.
This leads to social isolation, because few people are interested in communicating with a person who is only able to talk about diets and constantly worries about whether he has recovered.
The lack of nutrients in the body due to malnutrition manifests itself in the form of exhaustion, depression, insomnia and other diseases.
Somatic
When thinking about extra pounds, and even more so, if you happen to gain them, the fob has a panic attack. It is characterized by symptoms such as:
- increased blood pressure, pulse, palpitations;
- pain in the heart, stomach, head;
- tremor of extremities;
- increased sweating;
- redness or blanching of the skin;
- difficulty breathing due to oxygen saturation;
- dizziness, loss of consciousness;
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea;
- lack of coordination;
A person in a state of panic is not able to think rationally and adequately perceive the surrounding reality.
He begins to get hysterical and one thought “to be saved” pulsates in his head. Therefore, he often commits rash acts, injuring himself and endangering his life.
For example, trying to get to a safe place as soon as possible, he runs without looking back, not paying attention to the fact that he has jumped out onto the road, where there is quite active traffic. He does not notice the steps and, stumbling, rolls head over heels down the stairs.
Consciousness becomes tunnel, which means a limited choice of behavior options.
That is, if you need to leave the room — he can try to do this using the window, not the door, considering it the only way to get free.
Causes
Low self-esteem
Obezofob with the help of cruel diets and self-flagellation for breakdowns, as well as the constant living of anxiety, shows hatred towards himself.
After all, in fact, he does not accept his individuality, wanting to be like others and trying to conform to generally accepted ideals.
This is all the result of low self-esteem. When it’s embarrassing to be yourself, it’s scary to be rejected and show your vulnerability.
Hiding behind an ideal body, he expects recognition and love, as if this gives a reason to show attention and respect towards him.
Therefore, he connects the favorable disposition of the people around him directly with his appearance.
And even the thought that she will change at least a little, in his opinion, for the worse, causes a panic attack. After all, this is commensurate with death, in this case social.
Suppression of aggressiveness
In men, obesophobia occurs most often due to the suppression of their instinct — a manifestation of aggression.
They do this for various reasons, for example, because the parents, when he was a child, did not allow him to get angry, annoyed. Then, in order to please them and not be punished, he had to restrain his anger within himself.
But anger is a rather strongly charged emotion, which definitely needs an outlet, otherwise it will begin to destroy the body.
Then there is a need, for example, for fat and sweets, in adults for alcohol and other types of addictive behavior.
Naturally, the use of a large amount of sugar, or a sedentary lifestyle with gambling addiction, negatively affects the figure.
Then anxiety appears, and subsequently a violation of eating behavior, obesophobia and other mental disorders.
Perfectionism and dominance
Individuals who strive for ideality, they are called perfectionists, set too high standards for themselves and those around them, that is, requirements.
It does not always work out to correspond to them, so tension, disappointment, anger and other negative emotions arise. The need to control everything leads to eating disorders.
After all, it seems to a person that he is able to influence his natural needs and desires.
Like, for example, Tibetan monks, who for a long period of time, being in a meditative state, may not eat, receiving energy from the sun, and so on.
But modern people, especially those living in cities and metropolitan areas, do not always have the opportunity to lead a lifestyle similar to these monks.
Accordingly, noticing even the slightest fluctuation in weight, phobes begin to panic and imagine how they “acquire” fat, and this only complicates an already difficult situation.
That is, bezophobia develops more actively, and, among other things, other types of mental illness may appear.
Canons of beauty in society
Modern canons of beauty are not as cruel as before. For example, women do not need to wear tight corsets for a beautiful, thin waist.
Because of which the internal organs “suffer”, reducing life expectancy and causing a lot of pain and inconvenience.
Also heavy dresses with a massive construction, because of which an extra step seemed like torture. The lady risked burning alive at any moment, accidentally knocking over a candle or coming too close to the fire.
And although the clothes of women and men have become more comfortable, light and not restricting movement. And plus-size models began to appear on the catwalks, with vitiligo (disturbance of skin pigmentation), Down syndrome and so on.
All the same, society dictates the requirements that everyone must “obey” if they want to be considered successful and beautiful.
If a person leads an active lifestyle, goes in for sports and monitors his diet, this is a sign that he has sufficiently developed willpower, awareness, and determination.
Therefore, he receives recognition, and the opportunity to move up the career ladder.
That is, it turns out that appearance is a kind of “ticket” to a happy life, where you can successfully start a family and realize your professional potential.
Naturally, these are all illusions, happiness is a purely individual value, even without having anything, a person is able to feel joy from every day he lives.
And sometimes no millions of dollars or fans can give this feeling.
So, wanting to “fit” into the image of an ideal modern person, worthy of respect and admiration, people ignore their own individuality, features of appearance and character.
Media
You just have to open a glossy magazine, or even better, look at a couple of Instagram profiles to feel your inferiority, your differences from what most people think is beautiful.
In films, the main female roles are played mainly by beauties with long legs or large breasts, ideal facial features.
What is the usual image of a millionaire? A man in a perfectly fitting suit, slim and fit, who prefers to play sports in his spare time.
Naturally, a person with low self-esteem, comparing his reflection without any effects and beautifiers, with photos of bloggers insta will only confirm the fact that he is not interesting, without zest, and so on.
Psychological trauma
If a person has experienced rejection because of their appearance, this can provoke the development of a phobia.
His psyche will try to defend himself in order to avoid repeating pain and shame in the future due to the fact that someone did not like it because of the extra pounds, or something else.
Education
If parents mainly paid attention to how they look, considering a slender figure as the only indicator of success, then the child risks adopting their values.
After all, while he is growing, the information is transmitted to him that “if you don’t look very attractive, nobody will need and interest you.”
Especially if they laugh at his appearance, or vice versa, «stick out» in pride.
For example, a mother, depriving her daughter of childhood, spends all her free time promoting her. That is, she takes her to beauty contests, takes her to etiquette schools, puts makeup on her and so on.
Since for some reason she could not realize herself, therefore, she is trying to win recognition at the expense of the baby.
Which, then growing up, thinks that if she allows herself liberties in the form of a sagging belly or an orange peel on her pope, then she will certainly not marry and die alone, because she is not worthy of love and is no longer capable of anything.
Treatment
If you have a fear of gaining weight, and you are constantly in anxiety and tension, worrying about whether you have gained excess weight, be sure to contact a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.
In order to receive qualified treatment. Willpower cannot cope with a mental disorder, which are phobias, especially alone.
In some cases, with severe forms of manifestation, drug treatment is necessary.
The psychiatrist usually prescribes sedatives, tranquilizers, antidepressants, and sleeping pills.
This helps to relax, even out the mood, if there were sharp changes in emotions, and also improve sleep, if insomnia and nightmares bothered you.
The psychotherapist helps to find out the reasons that led to this condition. Thanks to his support, the fob copes with its limitations, psychological trauma, and is aware of the feelings that have accumulated over the years.
And, importantly, he understands how to stop showing anger towards himself, and learn to love and accept even his own limitations and shortcomings.
Gestalt therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and hypnosis showed the best results in the fight against phobic disorders.
Group work, when different people with similar problems meet in the same space, allows you to understand that you are not alone in this world, that there are others who understand what you have to live with and what feelings to deal with, trying to recover and stop worrying about your figure .
Participants share their stories and experiences that help them in certain situations not to panic, but to calmly accept what happened. For example, a couple of centimeters at the waist.
And be sure in case of eating disorders, go for a consultation and examination with a doctor, a nutritionist.
Since diets, fasting and endless cleaning have an extremely negative impact on health, especially the gastrointestinal tract.
Methods and recommendations
- That’s how to take and love yourself, of course, is not easy. But in order to recover, it is essential to do so. So take a piece of paper and write down at least 10 things that are good about you, that are worthy of admiration and recognition. It just doesn’t have to be about looks. In this case, the qualities and skills should be directly detected. Something about you can stay the same, unlike weight. It is unlikely that, for example, you will forget how to crochet if you make excellent tablecloths or hats. Is not it?
- Now write a list of individuals who have achieved success or who command your respect. It can be both celebrities and people from your environment. Only there is one thing — they must be overweight, not an ideal figure. This activity will help you understand that success, love, and acceptance don’t always come from looks. Inner qualities, charisma, purposefulness, etc., allow you to live in harmony with yourself, achieving your goals and realizing your potential.
- Think about who your desire to please is addressed to. That’s who exactly I would like to receive praise, recognition, and, of course, love. Whose image appears before your eyes? Perhaps it was your father who constantly criticized you as a child? Or the classmate who made fun of your attempt to confess your feelings to her? It is important to understand at what exact moment you began to torment yourself like that and adjust it to the model of ideality.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Share in the comments, have you ever been overly worried about your figure? If so, what helped you accept yourself for who you are?
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Take care of yourself and your loved ones!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina.