By Geraldine Viggiani

LCSW, LCADC, PMH-C

Idolization of Hollywood performers and their characters has gone on for over 100 years. Glamour and beauty standards are portrayed in a golden light, something to emulate, to be seen as sexy, desirable, and successful. For most of those 100 years being white and slim was put forward as the pinnacle of beauty. Women had tiny waists and slender bodies the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Audrey Hepburn. Men were lean and fit, Paul Newman, Rock Hudson, and James Dean. Although make-up, hair, and wardrobe changed, body type remained basically the same.

Over time social pressures have changed this ideal to include people of different ethnic backgrounds and body types. Still dominant the blonde, blue eyed, thin icon has needed to move slightly over to allow for other ethnicities who may have more curvy body types. Men’s bodies have changed to an overly muscled stature and now back again to slim, but fit. That said, thin remains the perfect ideal.

Something that is often forgotten is that perception doesn’t match reality. That these movie and television stars are paid to stand up to this sometimes impossible ideal. They work out for many hours a day, have professional chefs and the money to access skin care, health and beauty products and even plastic surgery. Even more disturbing is that artificial intelligence and filters now can alter a person’s appearance by de-aging them, making them thinner, taller and with less wrinkles and imperfections.

Social media has exasperated this ideal of perfect. Viewers and scrollers have become inundated and barraged with these ideals. For the person with a fragile mindset and self esteem these impossible standards can lead to anxiety, depression and even suicide as people struggle to live up to these expectations. An even darker side to the exaltation of the Hollywood icons has been an epidemic of eating disorders.

Eating disorders have been around for a very long time. They include diagnoses of:

• Anorexia Nervosa. An unhealthy low body weight, intense fear of gaining weight, and a view of weight and shape that is not realistic. Anorexia often involves using extreme efforts to control weight and shape, for example intense dieting and exercise. This disorder can be life threatening.

• Bulimia Nervosa. A serious, sometimes life-threatening eating disorder. Bulimia includes episodes of bingeing, commonly followed by episodes of purging. It also includes restrictive dieting. Purging consists of vomiting up food that has been consumed during a binge but can also involve laxatives and enemas.

• Binge Eating Disorder. Binge-involves eating a lot of food in a short amount of time. The binge is not followed by purging. After a binge, people often feel a great deal of guilt, disgust, or shame. They may fear gaining weight. They may try to severely limit eating for periods of time. This leads to increased urges to binge, setting up an unhealthy cycle.

There are many other types of eating disorders as well as Body Dysmorphic Disorder, BDD In this disorder the person can't stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in their appearance — a flaw that appears minor or can't be seen by others. This leads to intense embarrassment, shame and anxious leading the person to avoid social situations.

Eating disorders and BDD have many different origins for those suffering. There is a strong genetic link, meaning that these disorders run in families. Along with genetics scientists have found that those with these disorders have other biological differences. That said people don’t just grow out of an eating disorder. So, people come into the world with a propensity to develop an eating disorder and then their environment can trigger the start of it. In her podcast for The American Psychological Association “Speaking of Psychology: The ‘silent epidemic’ of eating disorders, Cheri Levinson, PhD talks about two main triggers apart from biology that can spur an eating disorder.

The first is a period of eating restriction. That can be starting a restrictive diet such as weight watchers or Atkins etc. That period of restriction could also be due to an illness. The second trigger is critical commentary on someone’s weight or shape. This can come from bullying, parental criticism and even from a medical provider. These negative comments and criticism create deep shame and embarrassment. The person then wants to avoid these feelings and proceeds to problem solve with the development of an eating disorder. The thing is though that this commentary doesn’t necessarily have to be directed at them. This criticism can be internalized by watching the shaming of another person’s weight, body, and shape. There is a feeling of what’s wrong with me if this “famous” person defines what beautiful is and I don’t fit into that mold.

Although social media and Hollywood definitions of beauty are not meant to cause an eating disorder the messages portrayed either consciously or unconsciously can lead those who are vulnerable to develop an eating disorder. Many eating disorders develop in children between 9-15 years old. Because these are children with developing brains these ideals can have an extra impact. Eating disorders do not discriminate against race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. They can develop at any age, and it is a lifelong journey with periods of recovery and relapse for some.

So, what can we do. As parents we can avoid dieting in front of our children, monitor your child’s social media and talk to them about what is being portrayed and how they can stay healthy and lastly encourage a positive body image, focusing on what are bodies can do instead of how to change it. As adults avoiding restriction and eating a healthy array of foods that are eaten mindfully can help. Keeping a realistic expectation of your body and distracting from self-criticism and making comparisons. Limit social media if possible. Professional treatment is advised for both children and adults. The earlier the better.