The Trust Is Gone Senator Blumenthal Slams Instagram Chief Over Pro Anorexia And Eating Disorder Content That The Platform Has Done Nothing To Remove Ceo Claims Theres Nothing One Company Can Do
Lawmakers of both parties accused Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, of developing an addictive platform and not doing enough to protect young users during a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Your Content has learned.
Adam Mosseri appeared before senators to answer questions about whether Instagram was doing enough to protect young users.
It follows whistleblower revelations that Facebook, which owns the photo sharing platform, put profits before safety.
The trust is gone, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal as he demanded regulation.
Keeping young people safe online is not just about one company, said Mosseri ,according to CNN.
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Using Mindfulness To Cope With Difficult Emotions
When you start to feel overwhelmed by negativity, discomfort, or the urge to restrict food, take a moment to stop whatever youre doing and investigate whats going on inside.
Identify the emotion youre feeling. Is it guilt? Shame? Helplessness? Loneliness? Anxiety? Disappointment? Fear? Insecurity?
Accept the experience youre having. Avoidance and resistance only make negative emotions stronger. Instead, try to accept what youre feeling without judging yourself.
Dig deeper. Where do you feel the emotion in your body? What kinds of thoughts are going through your head?
Distance yourself. Realize that you are NOT your feelings. Emotions are passing events, like clouds moving across the sky. They dont define who you are.
Once you learn how to accept and tolerate your feelings, theyll no longer seem so scary. Youll realize that youre still in control and that negative emotions are only temporary. Once you stop fighting them, theyll quickly pass.
For a step-by-step guide to learning how to manage stress and uncomfortable emotions, check out HelpGuides free Emotional Intelligence Toolkit.
Tip : Develop A Balanced Relationship With Food
Even though food itself is not the problem, developing a healthier relationship with it is essential to your recovery. Most people with eating disorders struggle with issues of control when it comes to foodoften fluctuating between strict rules and chaos. The goal is to find a balance.
Let go of rigid eating rules. Strict rules about food and eating fuel eating disorders, so its important to replace them with healthier ones. For example, if you have a rule forbidding all desserts, change it into a less rigid guideline such as, I wont eat dessert every day. You wont gain weight by enjoying an occasional ice cream or cookie.
Dont diet. The more you restrict food, the more likely it is that youll become preoccupied, and even obsessed, with it. So instead of focusing on what you shouldnt eat, focus on nutritious foods that will energize you and make your body strong. Think of food as fuel for your body. Your body knows when the tank is low, so listen to it. Eat when youre truly hungry, then stop when youre full.
Stick to a regular eating schedule. You may be used to skipping meals or fasting for long stretches. But when you starve yourself, food becomes all you think about. To avoid this preoccupation, try to eat every three hours. Plan ahead for meals and snacks, and dont skip!
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Put Your Thoughts On The Witness Stand
Once you identify the destructive thoughts patterns that you default to, you can start to challenge them with questions such as:
- Whats the evidence that this thought is true? Not true?
- What would I tell a friend who had this thought?
- Is there another way of looking at the situation or an alternate explanation?
- How might I look at this situation if I didnt have anorexia?
As you cross-examine your negative thoughts, you may be surprised at how quickly they crumble. In the process, youll develop a more balanced perspective.
What Is New About The Message Projected By Pro
- The emphasis on superiority, empowerment and pride through self-control. As one site puts it, in response to a number of complaints about its pro-ana content and picture gallery:“The difference is that you lot moan about your fat thighs and then sit on the couch eating cookies. We moan about our fat thighs and then go out for a lovely long run.”
- The use of political language. Many talk of anorexics as “the elite”, and present the anorexic lifestyle as a rejection of conventional, “weak” values.
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How Do I Begin Recovery From An Eating Disorder
The inner voices of anorexia and bulimia whisper that youll never be happy until you lose weight, that your worth is measured by how you look. But the truth is that happiness and self-esteem come from loving yourself for who you truly areand thats only possible with recovery.
The road to recovery from an eating disorder starts with admitting you have a problem. This admission can be tough, especially if youre still clinging to the beliefeven in the back of your mindthat weight loss is the key to your happiness, confidence, and success. Even when you finally understand this isnt true, old habits are still hard to break.
The good news is that the behaviors youve learned can also be unlearned. Just as anyone can develop an eating disorder, so too, anyone can get better. However, overcoming an eating disorder is about more than giving up unhealthy eating behaviors. Its also about learning new ways to cope with emotional pain and rediscovering who you are beyond your eating habits, weight, and body image.
True recovery from an eating disorder involves learning to:
- Listen to your feelings.
- Accept yourself.
- Love yourself.
This may seem like a lot to tackle, but just remember that youre not alone. Help is out there and recovery is within your reach. With the right support and guidance, you can break free from your eating disorders destructive pattern, regain your health, and find the joy in life again.
What Does Tiktok Say
TikTok said users can indicate if they want to see less of a certain type of content, and anything promoting or glorifying eating disorders will be removed.
But the potentially harmful content does not always come in the way of directly referencing eating disorders.
Popular on TikTok are: “What I eat in a day – under 1,200 calories” videos that normalise what campaigners say is an unhealthy relationship with food.
Trends on the app include being able to prove how small your waist is with various household items.
But Mr Downs says social media could play a vital role in raising awareness of eating disorders and removing the stigma surrounding them.
He is worried blocking all content related to eating disorders could mean positive and helpful content is also lost.
“There is so much out there which aims to support recovery and brilliant accounts producing really helpful content for improving our wellbeing.”
A TikTok spokesman added: “For some, TikTok provides an opportunity to share their experience of living with or recovering from an eating disorder and expression of this nature is permitted within the boundaries of our community guidelines.”
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Can Anorexia Nervosa Be Prevented
Although it might not be possible to prevent all cases of anorexia nervosa, it is helpful to begin treatment in people as soon as they begin to have symptoms. In addition, teaching and encouraging healthy eating habits and realistic attitudes about food and body image also might be helpful in preventing the development or worsening of eating disorders. If your child or family member decides to become vegetarian or vegan, for instance, it is worth seeing a dietitian versed in eating disorders and touching base with your pediatrician or physician to make sure that this change occurs without a loss in nutrients.
How Is Anorexia Nervosa Treated
The goals of treatment are to stabilize weight loss, begin nutrition rehabilitation to restore weight, eliminate binge eating/purging behaviors and other ritualistic eating patterns, treat emotional issues such as low self-esteem, correct distorted thinking patterns, and develop long-term behavioral changes.
Treatment options will vary depending on the individuals needs. Treatment most often involves a combination of the following strategies:
Psychotherapy
This is a type of individual counseling that focuses on changing the thinking and behavior of a person with an eating disorder. Treatment includes practical techniques for developing healthy attitudes toward food and weight, as well as approaches for changing the way the person responds to difficult situations. There are several types of psychotherapy including:
Medication
The antipsychotic olanzapine may be helpful for weight gain. Although there is no clear evidence that antidepressant medications can help individuals gain weight, some doctors may prescribe these drugs to help control anxiety and depression associated with an eating disorder.
Nutrition counseling
This strategy is designed to teach a healthy approach to food and weight, to help restore normal eating patterns, and to teach the importance of nutrition and a balanced diet.
Group and/or family therapy
Hospitalization
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How To Become Anorexic
To follow the anorexic path in your life to lose weight is not an easy thing to do because at both the ends, we know that it requires a lot of dedication to follow the anorexic diet correctly and get slim by making the best out of it. Here are a few things to keep in mind if you are really serious about pro ana diet and following it. Make sure you at least give a read to them.
You know that it is not that easy to follow the pro ana diet as it looks to be and that you have to highly dedicated to achieve your goal, only then you can follow the anorexic diet correctly and expect good results from it in your life. Do you know what will keep you going? Its dedication.
To stay dedicated towards your goal you can use one of the many available ways. Just as an example, we can suggest tying a rubber band on your arm, keeping a lucky charm to remind you why you started this diet or keeping a picture of your crush or your favorite slim model to stay dedicated.
Not only that but you can even ask somebody to remind you daily of going on exercises and diets.
When following any kind of diet, it is highly recommended that you should keep a track of your intake and outwards flow of calories. Do you know why? Because tracking your diet can be highly effective and can help you achieve your goals much faster than you would have achieved them otherwise.
Damaging Mindsets That Fuel Anorexia
All-or-nothing thinking. Through this harshly critical lens, if youre not perfect, youre a total failure. You have a hard time seeing shades of gray, at least when it comes to yourself.
Emotional reasoning. You believe if you feel a certain way, it must be true. I feel fat means I am fat.I feel hopeless means youll never get better.
Musts, must-nots, and have-tos. You hold yourself to a rigid set of rules and beat yourself up if you break them.
Labeling. You call yourself names based on mistakes and perceived shortcomings. Im unhappy with how I look becomes Im disgusting. Slipping up becomes Im a failure.
Catastrophizing. You jump to the worst-case scenario. If you backslide in recovery, for example, you assume that theres no hope youll ever get better.
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How Is Anorexia Nervosa Diagnosed
If symptoms are present, the doctor will begin an evaluation by performing a complete medical history and physical examination. Diet history will be taken the individual will be asked about the quantity and variety of foods/food groups and thoughts about food. The doctor will ask about body image and weight loss history and measure weight and height and compare with age-based weight and growth charts. Binge and purging frequency and elimination habits will be discussed. Current medications will also be reviewed. The doctor will also ask about menstrual history, exercise history and family history of eating disorders, substance abuse and psychological disorders .
Although there are no laboratory tests to specifically diagnose anorexia nervosa, the doctor might use various diagnostic tests, including laboratory values , to rule out physical illness as the cause of the weight loss, as well as to evaluate the severity of illness or the effects of the weight loss on the bodys organs. The doctor may order an electrocardiogram to check for slow heart rate, chest pain, abnormal heart rhythm, or heart flutter.
To be diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, the doctor will determine if three criteria have been met:
Why Do Some Anorexics Visit Pro
- Most of those who visit pro-ana sites do not want to go into recovery. There are few other places where an anorexic could be honest about this without causing distress.
- Pro-ana sites encourage pride and a sense of belonging to a community.
- Some want to be “better anorexics”, to get thinner with the help of tips and support from fellow anorexics.
- Some feel persecuted and misunderstood everywhere else for not wanting to go into recovery.
- The websites also have a certain underground cachet. They allow the anorexic to feel like a pro-active rebel rather than a walking disorder.
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But Researchers Marilyn Bromberg And Tomas Fitzgerald From Notre Dame Law School In Western Australia Have Been Investigating The Complexity Of Trying To Regulate Pro
“It is a very complex issue because people who are sick create the websites and if someone does see those images and does get sick, how do you prove that seeing those images caused their illness, so how can you effectively prosecute?” Bromberg told BuzzFeed News.
Fitzgerald said criminalising pro-anorexia websites would mean “overwhelmingly targeting” women who are “very unwell”.
“They’re doing it because they are looking for community support, they’re long-term sufferers, and publishing is a weird concept online because you’re interactive with your audience now and have a comment section and two-way communication most of the time so writing a law that captures both sides is difficult,” he said.
“Criminalisation runs the risk of giving these communities a sense that they are under siege and driving it underground.”
Fitzgerald said a lot of the content on pro-anorexia sites was taken from mainstream fashion magazines and websites.
“If you criminalise these sites,” he said, “someone who posts a picture of a thigh gap can be punished but someone who writes a book on how to obtain a thigh gap won’t be.”
The researchers agreed the government should develop a framework or set of guidelines for “traditional and social media to deal with this problem” in a consistent manner, based on evidence.
Anorexia Sites Offer Lessons To Be Learned
While it’s far too soon to come to that kind of conclusion, Peebles notes that there are things that parents and health professionals can learn about young people’s needs from the “pro-ana” sites.
“It appears that there is a subset of patients who are particularly curious and vulnerable to web sites. They’re really seeking information about their illness, really questioning,” she says. “How can we address that need for information in a way that’s more positive?”
It’s not easy. There are a number of good pro-recovery sites, Peebles observes. One of the best-known and most popular is www.somethingfishy.org. But even such sites can be misused to encourage unhealthy behaviors.
“No matter how positive we try to be in our portrayal of information, when you have an eating disorder, you have a very distorted world view and hear what you’re interested in hearing,” Peebles says.
If, for example, a bulimic in recovery posts the story of how she used to make herself throw up by using a toothbrush, an adolescent with bulimia will likely skip the paragraphs about how horrible the experience was and simply walk away with a new tool for purging.
What’s more, many pro-recovery sites, no matter how well done they are, are created by parents, doctors, counselors — in short, adults.
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Health Risks Of Anorexia
Long-term anorexia can lead to severe health problems associated with not getting the right nutrients . But these will usually start to improve once your eating habits return to normal.
Possible complications include:
- problems with muscles and bones including feeling tired and weak, osteoporosis, and problems with physical development in children and young adults
- fertility problems
- loss of sex drive
- problems with the heart and blood vessels including poor circulation, an irregular heartbeat, low blood pressure, heart valve disease,heart failure, and swelling in the feet, hands or face
- problems with the brain and nerves including fits , and difficulties with concentration and memory
- kidney or bowel problems
- having a weakened immune system or anaemia
Anorexia can also put your life at risk. It’s one of the leading causes of deaths related to mental health problems. Deaths from anorexia may be due to physical complications or suicide.
Why Do People Create Or Access Pro
There is an assumption that people who post pro-ana, pro-mia, or thinspiration content are being deliberately malicious, are fully aware that they are misrepresenting symptoms as lifestyle choices, and consciously want to encourage people to develop or continue to have eating disorders. But this is often not the case, as many of the people who post this content are suffering from eating disorders themselves.
In fact, some pro-ana and pro-mia social media profiles and sites may at the same time contain content that acknowledges the destructive reality of eating disorders, or even shows a desire to recover. This might seem like a contradiction, but eating disorders are highly complex mental illnesses. Its very common for someone to have complicated feelings about their illness and about recovery. You may be experiencing these feelings yourself, in which case finding a positive space online that focuses on encouraging people to look after their wellbeing and develop a healthy relationship with food again is a good way to explore these feelings.
We know that part of the reason pro-ana and pro-mia content appeals to people who experience disordered eating is that it is a space where they feel understood. Our support groups and and support are available every day as an alternative, offering this sense of understanding and community, where people can speak with others who are going through similar experiences, in a positive way.
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