Vigorexia and inner beauty

This mental disorder makes us always try to Muscle our body more.

At a time when the cult of image is becoming more and more evident, it is sadly easy for us to become accustomed to maladaptive behavioral reactions from friends, acquaintances, etc. Such a cult implies, in part, associating our self-esteem to our physical imageSince this will not always correspond to the imposed beauty ideal of the moment, we can assume that this self-esteem can easily be compromised.

Among the reactions to which we refer we can find a considerable economic outlay on clothing, cosmetics or aesthetics in general, that our mood becomes dependent on the approval of others, or even establish toxic emotional relationships. even establishing toxic affective relationships. But these behaviors away from a pristine mental health can end up leading to serious pathologies, such as anorexia, bulimia, or vigorexia.

A distorted perception of oneself

The vigorexia is a mental disorder characterized by the performance of a physical activity disproportionally demandingsometimes combined with the consumption of vitamin supplements or anabolic agents and a distorted self-image of the body.

This distortion is usually aimed at perceiving one's own body as thinner or weaker than it really is (as opposed to the typical case of anorexia, where the patient perceives himself to be heavier than he really is), and usually involves an eternal dissatisfaction with one's own body, the most immediate consequence of which is the most immediate consequence of which is that maladaptive behaviors in relation to physical exercise tend to be maintained. indefinitely, as well as the feeling of dissatisfaction with one's own body.

In addition, vigorexia can leave physical and psychological sequelae, in the form of alterations in growth, inability to return to healthy sports practice....

These behaviors are essentially the same as those of any athlete, only taken to the extreme, and we all know people who, in our opinion, devote a large number of hours to the gym, so how can we differentiate vigorexia from a simple demanding workout?

How can we distinguish it from sporting demands?

Like any disorder, vigorexia will be so insofar as the related behaviors involve a significant deterioration in the life of the athlete. a significant deterioration in the athlete's life. If you dedicate less time to your obligations (academic or work) than you spend training, if it alters the quality of your social relationships, your sleep, or if your health is affected, through inadequate training (due to your weight, age, physical condition, etc.) or substance abuse.

Due to the great social pressure that exists and the reinforcements associated with sports practicevigorexia is a disorder that involves a component of addiction, so that most of the time the athlete will not be aware of having a problem, or feel that it is worth living with that problem while achieving their maladaptive goals.

That is why we must be very attentive to the manifestation of the first symptoms of the disorderThis is because in any psychological intervention, the patient's motivation to solve the corresponding problem is of vital importance.

Psychological treatment

People don't change if they don't want to. And when they do want to, it involves systematic work or training in different techniques derived from psychology, which in this case would be, above all, oriented to, on the one hand, correcting the distorted vision of one's own body through techniques related to cognitive restructuring, that is, "dismantling" those irrational beliefs that are maintaining the behaviors to be modified. "I am a wimp" has to give way to "But X kg", I have "x muscle mass or body fat index", "I am above average", etc.

On the other hand, modifying the pattern of maladaptive behaviors through the establishment of short-term objectives, seeking to maintain motivation for change ("I have managed to train less, I can do it") and managing the contingencies between these behaviors and their consequences, whether they are reinforcements (those that facilitate the associated behaviors to be repeated in the future) or punishments (those that decrease these probabilities).

But the most important thing is to generate critical thinking, which protects us from the media bombardment of a limited way of understanding beauty because this, never better said, is inside.