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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    Do I Have A Eating Disorder?

    I have struggled with being overweight since I was 16. I don't like eating in public or when people watch me eat. I feel guilty when I eat something. It's become an obsession to lose weight but I still get no where. I sometimes I don't even wanna go to work because of the way I look or even go out anywhere. I look in the mirror and I don't like what I see. I battle with this every single day.
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  • Mariela Occelli is a Clinical Psychologist with well over 20 years experience in the assessment and treatment of clinical disorders. She has worked in private … View Profile

    Unfortunately, we live in a culture which glorifies body image and we are encouraged to define ourselves in terms of appearance. Being overweight carries all sorts of asumed irrational connotations and it is difficult not internalise these. Unfortunately this has led to you defining your worth in terms of your body image when there is so much more to you than this. Being a healthy weight is best achieved through self nurture. By this I mean that when we love something we are highly motivated to take good care of it. We are also more likley to exercise patience and to enforce kind but firm dicipline. The paradox is that accepting where you are in your journey now, will help you get to your destination more efficiently. Work on identifying and connecting with positive aspects of you that don't relate to weight or body image. Work on nurturing, developing and acknowledging connections with people who know you and care about you deeply . Base your weight loss goal on wanting positive and nurturing health outcomes. For example, make your goal improving your nutrition so that you live better longer, getting fitter so tat you feel more energetic, becoming more active so that you can have more fun, etc. If you do this, you will achieve your weight loss goal more effectively, but better still you will do it without suffering along the way.

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