Posted by Racer on January 29, 2005, at 17:49:30
In reply to bad body image, posted by photogirlla on January 29, 2005, at 15:24:49
I hate my body, too, so I can relate to that. And to comparing yourself to others, which is just gonna leave you feeling as bad as it does me. I'm not built to be slender and willowy, and should just learn to accept looking like me, but that's easier said than done.
Paxil can cause weight gain, so that could indeed be part of your recent weight gain. As for whether or not that's a problem, it all really depends on your body. If by "30 pounds more" than others your height, you mean that you weigh 140, compared to 110 -- well, that just means you're not nearly as underweight as they are, though you're still underweight. If, on the other hand, you happen to work in an area of the industry where the average 5'10" woman weighs in at 180, and you weigh 210, that's another story.
Have you got a realistic idea of what an optimal weight range for you would be? If not, there's a handly body mass index calculator here at Dr Bob's site: http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/bmi.html That will help you get a more realistic picture of what a healthy weight for you might be. That's a good starting place for you, at least, since if you're not outside that healthy range, you need to focus solely on accepting your own body. If you're over or underweight, though, getting some nutritional counseling might help, too.
There are some books that might help you, too, in improving your body image. One is "The Don't Diet, Live-It! Workbook: Healing Food, Weight, and Body Issues" which has some exercises in it that might help. Another that I've seen recommended is "The Body Image Workbook: An 8-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks". Another that came up on Amazon is "The BDD Workbook: Overcome Body Dysmorphic Disorder and End Body Image Obsessions", which might be good since you seem to be sub-threshold for BDD. A lot of other books directed more towards eating disorders might help, too, since the sort of body image distortion you're describing is really part of the same continuum, when you come right down to it.
I think you're wise to address this, since it's so miserable to dislike the body you inhabit. Better to put the work towards something healthy like getting comfortable in your own skin, than to waste it by trying to make your skin fit some other ideal. Good luck.
poster:Racer
thread:449789
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/eating/20041128/msgs/449858.html