How to move from denial to accept that you have gained weight

How to move from denial to accept that you have gained weight

In the same way that there are people who are very thin, but they look fat.Are there others with an excess weight that look thin?Why does this distorted perception of reality occur?“Indeed, the distortion of body image constitutes one of the central manifestations in the soIn the "fatorexia", a recently defined disorder in which people who suffer from it, usually with obesity, perceive themselves with a much lower weight than real weight, which entails important medical implications, ”says CuidatePlus Ana GutiérrezFruits, psychologist from the European Medicine Institute of Obesity (IMEO).

The distorted perception of the body itself is a complex issue.To understand it, says this expert, we must bear in mind that our body is much more than a weight, a height and an image reflected in the mirror, but that each of us has been forming a representation, a mental image of our own bodyAccording to our sensations, attitudes and experiences throughout life.Specifically, the distortion of body image in fatorexia can be understood as a mismatch between the real image and the perceived image, as a defense mechanism that protects the person from discomfort by accepting their own self.

According to Gutierrez, “although wearing too tight clothes in relation to the size of the body, in certain prolonged cases in time, could be indicative of a difference between the real and perceived image, we could never consider it as a conclusive symptom, since it canhave multiple alternative explanations ".

Who does it cost more to recognize that they have gained weight?

Cómo pasar de la negación a aceptar que has engordado

Systematically, it has been shown that there are clear gender differences in perception and satisfaction in relation to body image.“The sociocultural pressure perceived by women towards the search for the ideal of female beauty is associated with that they tend to be more critical of their body and to perceive to a greater extent the weight gain.This difference is usually maintained throughout life, being young women who have greater vulnerability, ”says IMEO psychologist.

Gutiérrez recognizes that, currently, since fatorexia is a recent condition that has not yet been clinically defined, there are no specific data on the age strips in which the distorted perception of weight gain is greater is.

How can the family and the closest environment help

“As I said previously, the distorted perception of the body is a complicated phenomenon.Being a psychological defense mechanism in which the real image cannot be tolerated at that time and since it is based on the experiences and sensations lived by the person and not on the objective, the efforts by the environment throughcomments or arguments to change their minds about your body are not effective, ”says Gutiérrez.

When we point to someone close to a sudden change in weight, in any of the addresses, sometimes, what we want to convey is a concern for how that person is.Therefore, the psychologist advises, “it is preferable to replace comments in reference to the physicist for others who communicate real concern;In short, let's ask the person if he is well and if we can help him ”.

The first step to return to the previous weight

When a person who used to be thin has fattened several kilos and is not able to lose them easily, accepting that he has gained weight would be the first step to set the goal of thinning.

This is defended by the IMEO expert: “It is not possible to change what has not been aware.It is necessary to ask questions such as what habits have you led to weight gain?, With what circumstances have they been related?and what factors have influenced?, among others.In my view, it is essential that weight loss is always from a self -care approach ”.

In addition, the underestimation of weight, in disorders such as fatorexia, is an inconvenience in recovery, to the extent that the person even arrives necessary the search for professional help.

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