Kimberly Reid, writer for the Ensign, said, “We live in a society that emphasizes the body and limits the definition of beauty. If we are not careful, we may adopt unrealistic standards. More than sixty-five years ago, writer C. S. Lewis observed that the adversary uses distorted body images in the media to direct ‘the desires of men to something which does not exist.’ That trend increases today.”1
Elder Holland has counseled, “In too many cases too much is being done to the human body to meet . . . a fictional (to say nothing of superficial) standard. . . . This is more than social insanity; it is spiritually destructive, and it accounts for much … unhappiness.”2
Society’s pressures on appearance only seem to be getting worse. The way people perceive their bodies can affect emotions, appetite, food intake, exercise patterns, relationships, self-worth, and even life goals. Food and physical activity cease to be a way of taking care of the body and mind and instead shift to obsessions. Then, disordered patterns of thought and behavior may set in. Food and body become the enemies. The eating disorder becomes a negative way of coping with life’s stresses. Once these patterns are established, it may often require professional help to break the cycle and shift their way of thinking because the grasp is so addictive. Many people do not know where to turn for help.
I have worked as a dietitian at Center for Change for six years. I love helping people on their path to establishing a healthy relationship with food and with their bodies. The most effective way for people who struggle with eating disorders to recover is to have a solid support team who are experts in this area: a physician, therapist, and dietitian. Physicians monitor labs and vitals that may be affected by malnourishment. Therapists address the underlying issues that lead to the behaviors and suggest ways to change the negative thought processes about food and body.
Dietitians help provide education on proper nutrition and exercise balance, address emotional overeating and restricting, challenge clients to break the rigidity and become more flexible about their food choices, combat common myths about food and the all-or-nothing thinking, provide accountability for eating disorder behaviors, and guide setting goals to return to normal eating, to decrease other disordered patterns, and to work on body image acceptance. The dietitian plays a key role in helping individuals accept the need for change and the ability to give themselves permission to eat. Sometimes awareness may not even come until meeting with a dietitian who will point out restrictive patterns.
I took on the position of the dietitian at the BYU Student Health Center because I feel so passionately that many people may need help but may not know where to find it, or they may need a support team in closer proximity to campus. The therapists at the Counseling and Psychological Services have an eating disorder treatment team, and I am working in conjunction with them to provide better resources for students.
Working toward recovery can feel like a battle, but it does not have to be fought alone. We all have the same goal in mind: to guide people who struggle with eating disorders toward recovery. We are ready to help.
Lauren Absher, RD, CD
801-422-5156
1. Kimberly Reid, Dating and the Eternal Perspective, February 2008 Ensign
2. Jeffrey R. Holland, To Young Women, October 2005
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