Challenging Body Image Myths for Empowered Recovery - Dr. Cristina Castagnini

Ever wondered how societal pressures and dieting myths shape our perceptions of body image and health? Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Christina, as she shares her compelling journey that began at the tender age of 11, where she faced disordered eating head-on. Through her personal story of struggle and recovery, Dr. Christina unveils the profound role that unrealistic body standards play, often fueled by social media and the internet. Her journey has not only influenced her personal life but has also paved the way for her professional path, where she now dedicates herself to helping others navigate similar challenges with empathy and understanding.

Explore the complex world of eating disorders with us, as we challenge the misconceptions surrounding health, body image, and the role of BMI. We delve into the secretive nature of these disorders and how societal perceptions can often hinder recognition and treatment. Through personal anecdotes and patient stories, we shed light on the diverse experiences of those struggling with eating disorders. This episode offers a beacon of hope for recovery, while also grappling with the question of whether full recovery is truly attainable. Tune in for an enlightening discussion that promises to inspire and offer new perspectives on the journey to healing.

Automate Social Media Posts with Marky
Marky.ai an AI marketing platform that automates campaigns and optimizes strategies for better ROI.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Chapters

• 0:08 Navigating Eating Disorders and Body Image
• 9:33 Understanding Eating Disorders and Recovery

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

self-discovery and thriving in a world that doesn't always make it easy. Today we are diving into a topic that is deeply misunderstood yet profoundly important eating disorders and body Eating Disorders and Body Image. But she also has a personal journey of recovery that brings unmatched insight and empathy to the conversation. If you have ever wondered about the myths, challenges and the truths behind eating disorders, this episode is for you. So let's quickly get started listeners. So, dr Christina, welcome to the show, and it is an absolute honor to have you with us today. Oh, thank you for having me.

Speaker 2: 1:09

It's a really big pleasure to be here. Thank you.

Speaker 1: 1:18

Lovely, lovely, dr. Christina, we would love to hear a little bit about your personal journey, which motivated you into exploring more about eating disorders and body image issues.

Speaker 2: 1:34

So, as you said in that wonderful intro, thank you. I come from two different positions. One is the personal and then also the professional. So, personally, I did have an eating disorder. I actually didn't know I had an eating disorder, and I think to your point where you said, you know, they're very confusing and complex.

Speaker 2: 1:55

I started young, feeling like I just did not like my body. There was several reasons, which you know I won't go into, but uh started with, you know, wanting to uh diet and um, you know, I didn't realize that that was like the first day that I was headed down the path to having an eating disorder. Um, and it was about age 11, and it was from that point forward that I started manipulating my food and doing all sorts of things, all sorts of things from counting calories, restricting, purging, over-exercising, binging, I mean, you name it. I did so many things for years and years that I just thought I was failing at dieting. I just was like, how come I'm taking on all of these diets and programs that kept saying, hey, it's so easy, if you do this, you're going to get these results. And I could never get the results, and or, if I did, they didn't last very long so I thought it was me Little did I know that I actually was so eating disordered and back when I was going through that, there wasn't a lot of information on eating disorders.

Speaker 2: 3:02

There certainly weren't eating disorder specialists do that there wasn't a lot of information on eating disorders, there certainly weren't eating disorder specialists. So thankfully, you know, after some years and it was a good majority of my youth I was struggling with this I did achieve recovery and I knew I always wanted to be in the helping profession. But there was this myth in there I still think it exists that there's wounded warriors. So, especially in my field, I'd always heard oh, you know, therapists, they always bring their own stuff into the room and they don't make it about their patients. And so I did not want to specialize or treat anyone who had an eating disorder because of my own history. Specialize or treat anyone who had an eating disorder because of my own history.

Speaker 2: 3:53

That being said, it seemed like there was something that just made it so when patients would come in my office and I would screen them for, say, depression or something, and one of the symptoms for depression is appetite. You can have an increase or decrease, and of the symptoms for depression is appetite. You can have an increase or decrease. And when I would get to asking about that symptom, I remember very distinctly this one patient just started talking about the way she eats and how her relationship with food was and I went, oh my gosh, that's not depression.

Speaker 2: 4:21

And there was this moment where we just kind of locked eyes and she said something and I kept asking her questions. And it was this moment where we just kind of locked eyes and she said something and I kept asking her questions and it was like this moment of knowing for her where she didn't have to say anything else because I just flew into the fact that like she was really struggling with an eating disorder instead of depression and I just thought to myself, wow, if I would have had one therapist during my own recovery that could look at me and say, I've been where you're at, it's going to be OK, like you can actually recover, I think that would have helped me so much more. So I changed my mind.

Speaker 1: 4:58

Well, well, that's. That's a heck of a journey, dr Christina, and thank you so much for sharing with all of us. Um, so I believe body image is one of the triggers for eating disorders. Of course, there are multiple reasons there, but how do you think both are connected, and can we really, you know, categorize some common reasons why so many people nowadays are facing eating disorders?

Speaker 2: 5:35

I think it's a very broad question, but yeah, you could go down a lot of different paths with that one. So I'll try to do my best to hopefully clarify some of the questions you asked. So not everyone who has body image struggles has an eating disorder. So they are two separate things. People can definitely not like their bodies. They can look in the mirror and wish it was different or struggle with how they look, but not have an eating disorder is different. Or struggle with how they look, but not have an eating disorder. But certainly I would say that people who have eating disorders struggle with body image issues and I think you know I've been around long enough to see.

Speaker 2: 6:16

You know I grew up without the internet and certainly there was media when I was growing up, we had magazines and movies and billboards and things like that and there was a lot there just in terms of seeing these images of what the ideal body was supposed to look like and advertisements and whatnot.

Speaker 2: 6:38

But I think, to your question about why so many more people are struggling, about why so many more people are struggling, I think with the introduction of the internet and so much social media and we're being bombarded just so much, you know, I think it's just it's harder to get away from now.

Speaker 2: 6:55

We're just constantly bombarded with talk about diets or, you know, messaging about what we're supposed to look like, what we're supposed to eat. And then you know, when you see these images over and over and over again, that about what we're supposed to look like, what we're supposed to eat. And then you know, when you see these images over and over and over again, that's what gets put in your head about the ideal beauty standard or what's attractive. And so to get away from that's really hard when it's kind of been, it's kind of implanted in your head. And so when you look in the mirror and you don't look anything like that, it's kind of hard to say oh wait, I have this idea in my head about what's beautiful, what's ideal, what's attractive. How come I don't look like that? We're not seeing anything. You know various images of what's considered beautiful, and I think that's a lot of the problems.

Speaker 1: 7:42

Yeah you well, well summarized, doctor, great. Now why is working with an eating disorder specialist different from seeing a general licensed mental health professional? You know, I think from a listener's perspective would it be just therapy, be it any specialist.

Speaker 2: 8:07

So it's so interesting to me. So I worked at a hospital for 15 years and I would often ask my colleagues in other departments, you know, because they would just refer patients over to our department and say, hey, somebody needs mental health, they need therapy. And there was this assumption that, yes, we're generalists to a degree, but you say, well, I don't just send a patient over, you know, maybe they might go to the ER and get triaged into a department, or maybe they'll go see their primary care doctor. But you know, if the primary care doctor diagnoses them with a certain illness, they're going to send them to a specialist, right? So if you have cancer, say, you're not going to go to a podiatrist, right? Or if you're pregnant, you're not going to go see your urologist, right, You're going to go see an OBGYN. And you know, mental health is very much the same way.

Speaker 2: 8:58

Not everybody is specialized to treat every illness the same.

Speaker 2: 9:03

And certainly I have to just say that if somebody is not specialized in treating eating disorders, they can actually do more harm than good, Because when you have an eating disorder, there's a lot of triggers to what people say and there's just we live in a toxic diet culture and a lot of what people say even well-meaning people, loving people the things they say can often trigger somebody with an eating disorder and make things worse, Like for.

Speaker 2: 9:33

I'll give an example. I mean, and even I experienced this when I was at my eating disorder I remember one of my doctors says wow, you look really healthy. And I went into a tailspin, I just went into restriction mode for like the next three weeks because to me the word healthy meant I had gained weight. And I remember so many of my patients coming into my office just in panic attack mode or tears, just saying, oh my gosh, like somebody told me I looked healthy and I knew exactly why they were panicking. And I think that a generalist you know somebody who didn't know that would be like why is that a problem? That's a good thing to say. Or they might even say to them themselves, like they may say to their patient patient, why you look really healthy and not know that. That would devastate them I agree with that.

Speaker 1: 10:27

So, um, how valid is bmi as a measure of health? You know can can we really predict someone's well-being? You know, as you said in your own example, that you know. Your doctor told you that you look uh, greater, but the issues are very deeply ingrained. So what would you say on that?

Speaker 2: 10:52

oh boy, that's a whole podcast. Um, oh gosh, I I talk about this so much, I've been talking about it for years. I wish they would get't know the history of it. And to even know it's used for denying people life insurance. And, you know, at one point in time the weights were even lowered.

Speaker 2: 11:27

So, like, people who were in one BMI category literally one day, were in a higher BMI category and considered, you know, quote unquote unhealthy the next day, it's just beyond me, quote unquote unhealthy the next day, it's just beyond me. And you know, people who are like athletes, you know, have a lot of muscle mass. They're considered in the unhealthy categories because they have a lot of muscle mass. So, yeah, let's get rid of the BMI, because you can't look at anybody and know their state of health and I, you know, surprising to me that people don't really think, you know, maybe somebody like somebody who's restricting, say, maybe they are really malnourished and they're over exercising and they're at risk for a cardiac problem and they're in a really what our society would consider like a quote unquote healthy or, you know, attractive body, but they're genetically not meant to be in that size body and they're literally like starving themselves. I'll call them out, like my medical doctor colleagues, because they don't get any training in eating disorders in medical school might say something, oh, wow, you look great. And just ask, like, how often are you exercising? What are you eating? And they might say I exercise every day. I eat a lot of vegetables. Whatever they say, I'll keep up the good work. And I've experienced this myself and I have patients and they're saying see, I was told I was fine.

Speaker 2: 12:59

And the problem is, a lot of times even labs will come out normal, even when people are on the brink of like needing like emergency care. Their labs will give us a false sense that everything is quote unquote fine medically, so you can't look at somebody and know if they have a physical state of health. That's, you know, quote-unquote. We consider healthy or not. Everyone has this idea. Well, not everyone, but I think the norm is oh, if you're in a larger body, then you must be unhealthy, and if you're in a smaller body, then you're healthy. And that's just not the. You know, it's always shocking to me when people who are in larger bodies go to the doctors and their blood pressure is fine, or, you know, they don't have any medical problems, they don't have diabetes. They don't have anything. I don't understand, because they're well, they're fine.

Speaker 1: 13:58

Yes, and that's one of the biggest misconceptions Even I totally agree with that, totally agree with that. Okay, and this is really eye-opening, dr Christina. So what are the telltale signs? Or actual signs, or habits, actual you know science or habits, you know when actually we can say that you know?

Speaker 2: 14:28

if they are on the brink of having an eating disorder. Well, that's hard, and I say this because people who have eating disorders are often very secretive about them. We do a lot of things in Uh, there's a lot of shame around some of the behaviors. Um, and also to what I just said before, you can't look at anybody and know their state of health, and so there's this perception of like, oh, you can look at somebody, know if they have an eating disorder and if they have one, which one they have?

Speaker 2: 14:58

Um, certainly there's people of every shape and size that have every eating disorder. You know, we have people who we call atypical anorexia, which means you know they're in a much larger body, but they have every diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, and people are shocked by that. You cannot look at anybody and know anything, and I think that that's harmful, because one of the things that a lot of people have eating disorders even tell themselves is, oh, I'm not sick enough, I don't look like I have an eating disorder, and so they don't think they're sick. I certainly, like I shared before, I thought that myself I can't have an eating disorder, I don't look like I have one. That's a problem.

Speaker 1: 15:44

Wow, that is concerning. Okay, so do you think you know? Or what does it mean to fully recover from an eating disorder? Is it truly possible? Or does it mean to fully recover from an eating disorder? Is it truly possible? Or does it stay with someone forever?

Speaker 2: 16:05

I love that. You asked that. I love that. Um, yes, that is one of the biggest pet peeves I have hearing is everyone always told me, oh, you're going to always kind of have it in the rearview mirror of your life. It's always going to kind of be there and I think that kept me from recovery for a long time. And I often hear people saying that, well, I'm only going to go so far and I'm always going to have to struggle with this Right. And I'm like, no, that's not true so far, and I'm always going to have to struggle with this right. And I'm like, no, that's not true. I say you weren't born with this right. It's an illness and it's the mindset. So if people truly believe they can fully recover, that's a very powerful mindset. We, you know, believe what we tell ourselves.

Speaker 2: 16:49

And when you say what's full recovery? Um, you know, people don't have eating disorders, don't have eating disorder. So it's um, how do I put this? I mean, I'm fully recovered and I can see, I know the difference now because, like, I work with people all day long and I hear the struggle and the hell they're in, um, it's like I can eat something and then I'm done, I don't think about it, I move on, I enjoy my food. My day is not revolving around any of that and, and I think the thing with you know, ask people who are struggling. I say how much of your day is spent thinking about food, your body, your weight, how much you're exercising, like I mean just consumed, with all of these thoughts about food and body and all of this? And they say, oh gosh, like all day long, like 80, 90 percent of my day, and um, the absence of that is when you're in full recovery. You can. Your life doesn't revolve around all of that, all of the times, great dr christina.

Speaker 1: 17:52

And before we wrap up this brilliant and absolutely informative conversation, if our listeners they want to explore about the crucial aspects on eating disorder and body image, um, how they can do that, how they can connect with you.

Speaker 2: 18:18

So there's several ways. Thanks for asking. I do have a podcast that comes out weekly where I have guests on who share their personal stories and I have professionals in the field coming on to give the right information about eating disorders. It's called Behind the Bite and it's on all the networks or platforms for um podcasts. And then, um, I do have social media. It's behind the bite podcast on instagram and um behind the bite podcast. I have a website. Um, I love for people to reach out dm me, ask questions. Um, I formulate a lot of my podcast episodes based on what people ask and you know I am in California, so I do treatment in California, but I do provide coaching for people outside of that state. So if anyone wants coaching or is interested, they can reach out to me that way too.

Speaker 1: 19:08

Lovely. We'll have all the details mentioned in the show notes for our listeners to connect with you. Dr Christina, thank you so much for sharing your expertise, your journey and also your deeply personal perspective with us and really, really, you know, it's a beacon of hope for anyone struggling with food, body image or mental health, because all of these are interconnected with each other. So thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Speaker 2: 19:37

Oh, thank you. You're doing great work, so thank you so much for having me Appreciate it and to our listeners.

Speaker 1: 19:44

If today's conversation resonated with you or someone you know, don't hesitate to seek support or learn more from Dr Castagnini's work. You can refer the show notes along with this episode on your favorite podcast platform. And, as always, thank you to all of you for tuning in to Pleasure Principles, I would like to say self-compassion is the ultimate foundation for a joyful, thriving life. Until next time, take care, be kind to yourself and others as well, and stay curious. Thank you.