I'm hoping you guys have read the classic book, The Velveteen Rabbit.
It's a must read. The rabbit in the story is the epitome of lovable, which of course, is a main point of the story.
Awhile ago I lent my copy of it to someone who is very cute, cuddly and lovable, and who, of course, doesn't see that about herself at all.
I always find it ironic. When people talk about eating disorders they inevitably mention the body image distortion found in these illnesses. For sure, the distortion regarding body size and shape is endemic in eating disorders, and it's a dangerous facet of them.
In addition to that particular distortion though, there are some other ones that are as pernicious and hard to get people to see realistically. A big one is "lovability." OK, so that probably isn't a word, but I'm using it anyway, and I'm sure all of you know what I mean by it.
I've worked with many, many people who suffer from eating disorders over the years, and pretty much to a person, each of them has had this idea that he/she is not lovable- when it's been perfectly obvious to me (and other people who cared about them) that they are hugely lovable.
So, this is the project of the day: try to notice if you have a "lovability distortion"
I'm hoping you guys have read the classic book, The Velveteen Rabbit.
It's a must read. The rabbit in the story is the epitome of lovable, which of course, is a main point of the story.
Awhile ago I lent my copy of it to someone who is very cute, cuddly and lovable, and who, of course, doesn't see that about herself at all.
I always find it ironic. When people talk about eating disorders they inevitably mention the body image distortion found in these illnesses. For sure, the distortion regarding body size and shape is endemic in eating disorders, and it's a dangerous facet of them.
In addition to that particular distortion though, there are some other ones that are as pernicious and hard to get people to see realistically. A big one is "lovability." OK, so that probably isn't a word, but I'm using it anyway, and I'm sure all of you know what I mean by it.
I've worked with many, many people who suffer from eating disorders over the years, and pretty much to a person, each of them has had this idea that he/she is not lovable- when it's been perfectly obvious to me (and other people who cared about them) that they are hugely lovable.
So, this is the project of the day: try to notice if you have a "lovability distortion"