Spring is here—Let’s not fall into eating disorder/body image panic. While panicking about spring may sound strange to some, people with eating and weight problems know this feeling all too well. There is a tremendous amount of worry, anxiety, and shame. The fact that we only have a short time to get in shape before we have to get into a bathing suit concerns us. And we are often filled with shame about the diet we didn’t adhere to, the fitness regimen we couldn’t keep up with, and the fact that we are not a smaller size.
This can lead to anxiety, self-loathing, or even depression as we ruminate about what we see as our failures. We should be thinner and more muscular, have no obvious cellulite, and be in a happy, loving relationship. It is easy to think everyone is out having more fun than we are. And this is reinforced by the fact that we see couples out and about, walking on the sidewalk holding hands.
Spring often brings up feelings of inadequacy about whom we are and who we think we are supposed to be. We are filled with self-contempt about not being better at controlling our eating. We worry about not having the relationship we want and we tell ourselves we need to find a loving partner before Memorial Day if we don’t want to have a lonely summer. And we look at magazine covers with beautiful people who seem to have it all – and compare ourselves, coming up short.