Being overweight or suffering from anorexia is considered a disorder and is treated as a psychological problem.

This problem is very common in our modern society, especially among young people, the distorted body self-image is one psychological disorder where an individual does not see their body as it really is. This problem is very common, unfortunately, because of the exposure to beauty standards that the big brands convey in their advertising campaigns, parades, music, etc. In this society, the distortion of body self-image has gained increasing space in the medical field and especially in the psychological one, after all one does not have any vision problems and distortion occurs only in your mind. Typical disorder is associated with excess weight, but there have been cases of anorexia that can also be related to the distortion of self-image. Experts say it is important that family and friends warn the person who is losing too much weight or gaining a lot of weight, as some individuals believe that there in no change occurring. What happens is that the individual is not aware that their body is changing and as a result, they do not seek medical help and try not to change their habits to improve their physical condition. They believe everything is normal and should remain so. What usually happens is that as a result of being overweight or anorexia, other health problems can develop in the body, as serious as heart diseases. Only in these cases, the person who suffers body self-image distortion seek medical help. The best treatment to treat the body self-image distortion is to look for a psychotherapist who will perform positive reinforcement procedures as well as other psychological techniques to the patient. Prescription drugs are permitted only in very severe cases.

References

Vieira, José Luiz Lopes, et al. “Distúrbios de atitudes alimentares e sua relação com a distorção da auto-imagem corporal em atletas de judô do estado do Paraná.” Revista da Educação Física/UEM 17.2 (2008): 177-184.

Giordani, Rubia Carla Formighieri. “A auto-imagem corporal na anorexia nervosa: uma abordagem sociológica.” Psicologia & Sociedade 18.2 (2006): 81-88.

Campagna, Viviane Namur, and Audrey Setton Lopes de Souza. “Corpo e imagem corporal no início da adolescência feminina.” Boletim de psicologia56.124 (2006): 9-35.