Several children with the onset of puberty become particularly conscious about their physical appearance. For numerous adolescents it becomes a fixation which is a chief reason behind certain eating maladies. These disorders might result in severe conditions of anorexia or bulimia which cause speedy changes in weight and consequently might hinder the normal day to day activities and harm the internal mechanism.

This ailment is more specifically prevalent amongst the members of the fairer sex, but boys are not exclusive to it either. In the United States according to research two out of every hundred kids might be at a risk. It may be several years before their family may suspect it as it is effectively concealed by the youngsters suffering from it. The chief causes are undefined and are mainly attributed to hereditary and mental issues.

There are mainly two major categories of this ailment. One is the group who is affected by anorexia whereas the other suffers from bulimia. People of the former category might be skinny but still suffer from a fright of becoming obese. Consequently they limit the intake of their diet and opt for strenuous workouts to stay thin. In contrast the sufferer's of the later category could have usual body weight or in certain cases might even be overweight. It involves the routine indulgence of eating and its riddance.

Its treatment revolves around the development of a positive behavior and approach towards food. This might be done with aid of a medical expert or a nutritionist and a regular analysis. The teenagers who are suffering from malnutrition might even be hospitalized until his or her condition becomes constant. The more early this condition is detected the better and quicker the chances of cure and the smaller the time span of the treatment/therapy will be.

Sarfaraz was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, surrounded by traffic and technology. He writes mostly about diseases, the storybooks, futuristic columns, mysteries, as he likes to call it. He enjoys writing for web.

He wrote his first book (The Black Bodyguard of Stone-Pyramid) in 2003 and since then has provided the picture for 1 more title. His book was honored as a BEST SELLER.

Sarfaraz currently lives with his wife in Karachi near Seashore, about fifteen miles from the house where he was born.

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Well, no. There are so many people for whom their body image is the one thing holding them back from the ability to be the person they want to be, dream to be and that absolute belief that they are not as good as anyone else in that room, being judged by others and have a total and clear picture of the person they think the others are seeing.

Body image not only stretches from what we see in the mirror ourselves, it's a 3 angle view.
Body image revolves around the 3 aspects of our "self".
1. The person you see in the mirror
2. The person you think your family and friends and those whom you feel comfortable with see
3. The person you think others see who have never met you before.

If one or 1 or all 3 of those parts of you is negative then this can in fact filter through to your self esteem, self belief, ability to interact with others, the way you read situations and how you believe others are responding to you.

Body image goes far past the skin depth - it goes into the very core of our belief systems and if you interfere with those then your perception of the world can change dramatically.

The way body image is dealt with in main stream medical intervention is often with direct psychiatric treatment, some of which can be effective but for others it is dealt with in the manner of a "disorder" on its own.

Frequently there is a misconception that this is the presenting problem - the distorted view of one's self which then leads to paranoia and depression, eating disorders etc. However, in order to deal with body image issues you need to look at the root cause of the problem, the one aspect of which, if you deal with that then the entire system and pattern of negative imagery and thoughts will collapse.

For a number of clients over the years, the initial problem started as a minor doubt. The same thing that most of us encounter at some time in that when we are in a specific state of mind, then our own internal image of ourselves will reflect the way we are feeling at that time. We then project that when interacting with others and in turn we get a less favorable response which then convinces us that our sudden negative view of ourselves must be correct.

From that one occurrence, an entirely new behavior is born. A filter of self doubt based on a image we held in our mind for a fleeting moment of time which is then confirmed by the reaction of others to us.

If I give you a simple example.

A teenager wakes up in a low frame of mind. The day before had been awful for her, her friends didn't have time for her, her boyfriend seemed to be more interested in someone else and her parents have other worries going on so no one seems interested in her. At that age, this is enough to be the world falling apart.

Her own self doubts begin to formulate putting her into a negative frame of mind. When she looks in the mirror, those insecurities change the perceived view of herself and she sees a less than perfect image. She concentrates on the parts of her she does not like which is in fact what she has been thinking about for the last hour anyway about her own personality.

When she concentrates on the negative aspects this then magnifies them and she focuses on what she doesn't want and doesn't like about her entire self.
She could feel unsure about many aspects and elements of herself and then also has a negative internal image. IE the picture she holds in her mind of herself which may be different from the one she saw in the mirror.

She then gets ready to go out - nothing looks right, nothing feels right so she then covers up to hide the imperfections she believes she has. When she does meet her friends, the image she believes they are seeing then cause her to be more withdrawn than usual.
Due to her change in her behavior and the way the girl is conducting herself with others, the reactions she gets from her friends is different, possibly distant or reserved.

So, she then has it confirmed to her that the negative image she believes they are seeing must be right due to the change in their attitude towards her and the spiral goes on.
There are so many ways this can go - eating disorders, social anxiety, aggressive behavior, low self esteem resulting in never achieving goals and so on.

So what has to change and what is the answer.

Well for each individual it is different. Frequently body dysmorphic disorder is not from a major traumatic event as so often stated. Normally there is no known "first event" and the client will state that it just started. Even with techniques designed to find the first event, there is nothing significant.

Also, each person has their own specific times and way that it occurs and almost always there will be situations where in fact it does not occur at all. It is purely individual and there is no fast and hard rule of thumb on how to treat body image issues except that it is the root cause, the self esteem issue which has to be addressed before any real effect can be made of the perception of the self.

If more time was spent on the evolution of therapy and work with the individual rather than various "authorities" looking to disprove the theories and treatment of others maybe more would and could be done in the main stream of body dysmorphia and related eating disorder patients in the UK and throughout the rest of the world.

We seem to forget about the individual and looking for the root cause, which when disconnected and dealt with will enable the rest of the chain to resolve, instead of following or disproving strict methods of others.

Only when the various main stream treatments become more flexible client orientated will our battle with the growing number of patients and clients begin to slow down. The amount of clients approaching me, having been through the normal medical system without success is rising. In the USA they have enlisted the assistance of other therapists from varying disciplines for input and treatment and we, in the UK are still stuck in the negative framework which in fact are moving us no further forward.





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Overeating is defined as eating when not hungry or past the point of satiety. Most people don't realize they are eating more than they need to until they become obese and suffer health problems. The majority of people overeat from time to time but it becomes a problem when it happens regularly. Excessive eating causes a person to take in significantly more calories than are needed for daily functioning. These extra calories are stored as fat, increasing a persons overall body mass index (the measurement most commonly used to determine obesity).

Overeating Problems

Eating too much can lead to many health problems. Occasional overeating can lead to indigestion, stomach distension and bowel disturbance. The more serious problems associated with it come from regular overeating or compulsive eating. Compulsive eating can lead to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and many other problems. A compulsive eater is at risk for these conditions even if they are not yet obese.

Overeating and Obesity

When there are too many calories being consumed, as happens with some eating disorders, these calories are stored as extra fat. When a person is 20 per cent above the normal weight or has a BMI (body mass index) of 30 or higher, they are considered obese. One of the easiest ways to prevent obesity is to stop overeating.

Overeating Causes

In order to stop overeating, most people need to understand why they eat too much in the first place. Stop and ask yourself, "What is at the root of my eating problem?" In many cases, it has just become a habit. To stop overeating, you need to break the habit. Another cause of excessive eating is psychological in nature. Using food as a comfort, people use food to deal with stress, depression and anxiety. Although it is a temporary fix to those problems, it is often followed by feelings of guilt, shame and disgust.

Tips to Stop Overeating

Attempting to stop overeating can be a daunting task. Slowing down while eating, chewing each bite many times, helps to decrease the overall amount of food that is taken in at one sitting. Many people eat past the full stage because they are eating faster than their bodies can signal that they are full. Cut back on snacking between meals. Only eat when the food previously eaten has been completely digested. Change the food items that you eat; healthier food choices usually have lower calories and keep you feeling full longer.

Treatments For Overeating

There are many treatments available to help people to stop overeating. Getting to the root of the reason behind the overeating can sometimes be the first step. Some people find help by talking to their doctors, therapists or through self-hypnosis.

Self Hypnosis For Overeating

One of the advantages of self hypnosis is that it is the sort of self help that you can access in your own time. Indeed, most self hypnosis recordings are designed to be listened to at bedtime as you drift to sleep. A combination of techniques is usually used, from suggestion through to metaphor, and the good self hypnosis recordings will always offer you a money back guarantee. The reason that the guarantee can so readily be offered is that these recordings are generally quite effective, though to be fair they often do require repeated listening.



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The treatment for anorexia nervosa is often difficult and can take a long time. Some patients improve much slower then others do with many relapses during the recovery process. The treatment can be subdivided into immediate or long term anorexia treatment.

The immediate concerns of most people who present with anorexia nervosa is always low weight, nutrition balance and complications (like organs failure) due to long term starvation. All these have to be addressed first before long term psychological treatment can begin.

Some people who are a danger to themselves because they refuse to eat have to be hospitalized until they gain enough body weight to maintain their life. Many of these patients will need to have intravenous injections of highly nutritious products to replace their nutritional losses. If attempts to feed them fail they may need a tube inserted into their stomach to improve their nutritious status. The lengths of these treatments can vary depending on how the patients progress.

Long time psychological treatment should start while in the hospital. A team of professionals are normally involved including psychologists, counselors, social workers, nutritionists and medical doctors.

The team has to be very supportive and cooperative in their attempts to persuade the sufferer to take the treatment seriously and understand the importance of it. Many patients have to be forced into treatment against their desires (like emergency and life saving situations due to starvation and organs failure). This can hamper the sufferer's willingness for treatment in the first instance; but by building a trusting and supportive relationship with a patient over time can help to breakdown this barrier.

Psychotherapy starts when a trusting relationship with the patient has been established. A number of issues have to be addressed: body image, anxiety, depression, fears, eating habits and other concerns. The most difficult one is the body image issue because the person is absolutely obsessed with being thin and staying thin. Putting on weight which is crucial for recovery can become a major fear for the sufferer that is difficult to overcome.

Personality issues, coping strategies, relationship problems - all have to be looked at in the therapy sessions with the patient.

Lots of people improve by the time of their discharge from the hospital but the treatment for anorexia nervosa should not finish there. Relapses at home after hospitalization is extremely common, over 95% of all sufferers have some kind of problem. Actually much more people do relapse than those who do not, a scary statistic for the sufferer.

And here is where research has shown that family therapy and home treatments should be the first choice of help after leaving the hospital or clinic. Research has shown now that if a person does not have good home support and family involvement in their treatment, the person has a very slim chance for recovery.

Many parents and family members have no idea what it is they are supposed to do to help: what they should say to the sufferer and what they should not. Most uninformed family members still think that all the sufferer has to do is eat, and everything will be okay: but of course this is totally wrong.

Also family members do not know what kind of atmosphere in the house they should create to support the sufferer and make her/him understand that recovery is possible. It is here that most sufferers relapse because they are normally left to their own devices, simply because no one else has the slightest idea of what to do.


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