In compliance with current WHO and CDC recommendations to minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am temporarily suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone and Skype consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE!
(This blog was
originally posted on June 9, 2016)
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| Photo by Rick Hustead |
“I have it on very good authority that
the quest for perfection our society demands can leave the individual gasping
for breath at every turn. This pressure inevitably extends to the way we look.
Eating disorders, whether it be anorexia or bulimia, show how an individual can
turn the nourishment of the body into a painful attack on themselves.” – Diana, Princess of Wales
Recently, singer Meghan Trainor
took her music label to task for altering her image. Apparently, the company
digitally slimmed her waistline in the video of her song, “Me Too.” Trainor was
happy and confident with her talent and her body image. Apparently, the record
company had a different idea, which is why the tweak was ordered in the first
place. Long story short, the video was promptly taken down and replaced with
the original version, sans photo-shopped images and exactly how the singer
wanted to be presented.
But not everybody has the opportunity or resources (internal or
otherwise) to determine how to present herself and be perceived by others. With
so many magazines and movies/television programs featuring uber-slim models and
actors/actresses, it is not surprising that we integrate the message that this is how they should look. After all,
that is the image the media and clothes designers want to promote. NBC’s popular weight-loss program, The Biggest Loser, makes the
process of losing weight into a competition. In this case, the “winner” is the
person who has dropped the most weight within the duration of the series (just
a few months). Is it really surprising when someone takes these popular images
and subconscious suggestions about the importance/value of looking like the
beautiful people featured in the magazines, to an extreme? Apparently, there
are websites devoted to the various ways a person can lose weight—including
fasting and purging—and there are various dietary “supplements” available to
suppress appetite and facilitate weight loss.
An eating disorder is not an
extreme version of a diet or extreme over-eating
at a meal. There are three basic categories of eating disorders: anorexia
nervosa; bulimia; and compulsive eating. In the context of this essay, I will
address just the first two. Each is a very complicated, dangerous condition
that can cause severe physiological destruction and even death. The symptoms
and etiology (medical/psychiatric origin) of each are addressed in the Diagnostics and
Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, a basic reference guide for various
psychiatric disorders. Typically, these conditions are out of scope of my or
most other certified hypnotherapists’ professional expertise to address in
hypnotherapy. To do so, I would have to receive a referral from the person’s (licensed)
medical doctor and/or mental-health worker to work with the individual. Even
then, my input as a hypnotherapist would be only
to help the client fortify her or his self-confidence and self-esteem and
reinforce new healthy-eating behaviors recommended by the person’s medical and
psychiatric team. Ultimately, the treatment (management) of anorexia nervosa
and bulimia is often a lifelong process which must be done under such medical
supervision.
You can watch the late Princess of Wales’s entire speech about eating
disorders at, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqNI9aRUb3k.
Limited-Time Offer: Free Phone Consultation
This is a great opportunity to find out why hypnosis is so
effective and how hypnotherapy can help you achieve your self-improvement
goals. Call/send me a text message at (661) 433-9430 or send me an e-mail at calminsensehypnosis@yahoo.com to set up your free, 30-minute
phone or Skype consultation, today!
Offer
valid through August 31, 2020.
Sara
R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern
California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 she was voted
the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information
about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an
appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
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