My Forum

I love all these posts here and am excited that someone would start a thread about this to spread awareness and/or discuss it.  I definitely have to say that it is a serious mental disorder (that tends to go hand-in-hand with bulimia and/or overeating as well (kind of flipping back and forth)) that has (or can have) so little to do with women wanting to look like the picture perfect models on the media.  In fact, many times the beauty or "thin obsession" side of it CAN have only a small part.  It definitely may be part of it or even trigger, but this disorder starts from the inside.  Is the person prone to perfectionism or control?  Sometimes the core of this disorder starts with the need to perform (driven by the feeling or the sense that one is not good enough or worthy of love).  Sometimes trauma victims run to eating disorders as an escape or to seek control in SOMETHING even if life doesn't FEEL out of contol.  At the same time, trauma in early and very influential stages in life can cause a person to intensely struggle with perceptions (or a warped reality) on anythin in life including body image.  Yet ANOTHER factor of what can trigger eating disorders is because it's less mutilating than something such as...cutting perhaps, but it has the same intent at heart, showing on the outside what the person is feeling on the inside.

I'm sorry.  I'm really tired right now, but this thread looked really intriguing.  Basically, if sometime I said sounded unclear, please don't hesitate at all to ask me what I meant.  I may not have explained it clearly!  

Just to let you know, I'm not a psychologist, but much of my thoughts are from personal experience.

We can love (including ourselves), because Christ first loved us! He thinks we're worth it!  If the God of the universe thinks we're worth dying for, no one else's opinions of us should matter and DEFINITELY not define us!  (This includes (but absolutely not limited to) peers, the media, or anyone at all that even merely implies we're not good enough or worthy of love).   

A book that has HIGHLY influenced my life and my thinking is called "God Loves Ugly" by Christa Black.  She is/was the violinist for a band called the Jonas Brothers.  She struggled with this as well and really walks through her whole process through it as well as many other things surrounding this struggle.

"I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Your works are wonderful.  My soul knows that full well.  My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place.  When I was skillfully woven in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be."  ~Psalm 139:14-16

 It still amazes me that a woman who is strong, confident, and intelligent can be so manipulated by a man.

SO true, Springle!  But it absolutely DOES happen!  It's incredibly sad!

Hello!  I'm single, but not in the east anglia region!  Sorry!  

Thank you for that advice!  Unfortunately, I am still in the states right now with no visa or permit to work in the UK.  I do understand that many places will not consider a candidate unless he/she already has a work permit/visa, but I also believe that I cannot get a visa without a job offer.  It's a catch 22.  This is of course just based on the little I know about visas and what not.  I may be wrong here though.  Do you think it would be better to already be in the UK and then look for the job/visa or would it not matter?  Thank you again!!

Hello!  Thanks for all these tips!  They are very helpful!  I'm actually from the states (Texas) and have been really, really, really wanting to work in the UK for quite some time now.  I have sent out a bunch of CV's in England (and of course resumes here too).  I was definitely curious as to what is noticed more on a CV.  Would anyone on here be willing to receive my CV and circulate it if you have time?  I just graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science in Communication (Hons).  Thank you very much!!!