EATING DISORDERS AND BODY IMAGE…I’D RATHER LIVE NAKED AND BE HAPPY THAN DIE MISERABLE WITH MY CLOTHES ON.

Before you get dressed in the morning, whether it be to go into the office, the classroom, or to simply chase your kids around  the house, I want you to go do me a favor. Go stand in front of your bathroom mirror completely in the buff for at least 2 minutes. Ok..stop don’t get scared, I am sure a bunch […]

Eating Disorders Treatment brought to you by RaderPrograms.com

Before you get dressed in the morning, whether it be to go into the office, the classroom, or to simply chase your kids around  the house, I want you to go do me a favor. Go stand in front of your bathroom mirror completely in the buff for at least 2 minutes. Ok..stop don’t get scared, I am sure a bunch of you just groaned, rolled your eyes, and went back on Facebook to stalk your ex, but no seriously bare with me (no pun intended).

Body Image and Eating Disorders

When was the last time you and your body—yes that thing below your neck—had a conversation? Chances are, and I bet your beautiful little bottom on this, that it has not been in quite a long time. It probably gave up trying to get your attention a long time ago.

If you were listening, you would probably have heard that it has quite a lot to tell you.

Your digestive system might have been trying to say that it’s sick to it’s stomach (pun very much intended) of being hungry; your throat that it’s really tired of being sore, and torn, and that it has grown to despise the taste of stomach acid; your lower intestines that they are overworked and cramped; your nerves that they are a wreck because of all the coffee you are feeding it; and your bones are saying a lot about calcium cravings although you probably can’t hear them very well because they are so weak. Your heart has been sending you urgent messages trying to tell you that it is really growing tired, and if you don’t stop all of this nonsense it’s gonna pack on up and stop working for you.

In fact the only member of your body that is talking to you these days is your head, and its speaking to you based only on the fact that it is BFF’s with your Eating Disorder who loves to control your every move.

Even if you have never had an Eating Disorder of any sorts, when was the last time you actually had a chit chat with your body, unless perhaps it was to nag at your thighs that they weren’t skinny enough, bash on your boobs because they were too big or too small, or put your hips in check because they couldn’t fit in to a size 0 pair of skinnies? Have you been putting down your nose lately, or your lips, perhaps trading them in for a better model, or getting them upgraded at your local plastic surgeon? Have you rolled your eyes recently when you caught a glimpse of your ass, or tried to keep them completely closed when you go into the shower?…just sayin.

When was it we as women decided to create an angry protest against our own bodies? Start to curse at it, and compare it to everybody Else’s, and get angry at it for never getting up to our expectations?

Well it certainly doesn’t help that it has several other haters on its list such as magazine covers, clothes designers,store mannequins, and the Red Carpet.

It doesn’t help that we from a young age have been guided down a road that leads us to industries that promote skinny, thin is beautiful, and curves are meant for baseball.

Well I hate to break it to you, but listen up. That body you have was the one you were born into this world with, and it’s going to be the one you leave this world with.

That is the body that got you through skinned knees in the 3rd grade, the chicken pox, tonsils being taken out, and quite a many cough and cold. It was there for you during that awkward haircut your mother gave you in the 6th, and the time you got your heartbroken for the first time in the 8th. It was the one who wore your prom dress, took your SAT’s, and experienced that awkward first time that wasn’t what you thought it would  be.

I wonder if you realize that your body is made up of your mother, your father, your grandmother, and your grandfather. That those  hands might be just like your sisters, your legs just like your Aunts, and that nose as much as you despise it could have been given to you by your great great grandmother.

I also wonder if you truly appreciate that your body is what enables you to laugh, to breathe, to walk, to talk, to text, and to flirt. It’s what gets you on your feet when you hear that song “Whip it”, or helps you politely cut in front of the guy who is trying to get away with 50 items in the 15 items or less expess lane.

There is no better time than the present to start getting to know your body again. Stop beating it up so much on the inside by depriving it of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Stop bashing it on the outside, making it feel like it shouldn’t even deserve to wear a pretty dress, or stand next to another woman at a party.

To put it bluntly..stop treating your body like shit.

Until you get your Mind, your body, your heart and your soul to sit down and start getting along, your self-esteem is useless.

How do you think Athletes excel so well at what they do? It’s because they have a deep mind body connection, they connect positive thoughts with their bodies and it enables their bodies to do great things.

I guarantee you that if Kobe Bryant did not have daily conversations with his mind and body, his hands would not be able to throw that ball the way they do.

There is no miracle way to start appreciating your body.

You just have to train yourself to stop comparing it to everybody Else’s, and to concentrate on what the Universe has given you.

Instead of focusing so much on what you don’t have and beating it down, focus on what you do have and start building it on up.

Look at your legs in a pair of heels, put on a LBD and tell yourself how sexy you are, make love with the lights on next time, and stop shutting your eyes in the shower and start taking more baths.

It takes practice, but I promise you that if you look at your body everyday and accept it for what it is, that soon you will actually start to really become friends with it again.

You will start getting up in the morning and not worry what you are going to put on, because you already know that the best thing you are going to wear that day is your own skin.

YOUR BEAUTIFUL–JAMES BLUNT

Eating Disorders Treatment brought to you by RaderPrograms.com