Developmental Theory Embodiment
What are your physical and emotional
strengths? It is our job as parents to help our children to embody a sense of
emotional and physical strength. Far too often we focus too much on how we look
on the outside and forget about how to teach our children to focus on being the
best version of who they are capable of being emotionally and physically. How
we look is simply a small component of who we are. Developing Embodiment fits
extraordinarily well with the most current and valuable research about the
importance of being active and physically engaged in our bodies as it relates
to how we experience ourselves. This is called the “Developmental Theory of
Embodiment,” and was created by Dr. Niva Piran a Clinical Psychologist who has
given her life to researching the prevention of eating disorders, body image
and how individuals can come to love to be fully engaged in who they are in
their bodies. This helps us get further in touch with our bodies and prevent
eating disorders. As women we don’t have to just hate or love how our body
looks, but we can also enjoy being in it.
In this theory Piran lays out the
importance of three concepts that influence a girls or women’s ability to be
embodied. Mental freedom, social power and the third is the experience of
physical power are important in preventing the on set of an eating disorder.
This just like our thoughts and social and relational context, is just as
important for us to have healthy relationships with our bodies as our thoughts.
Physical freedom includes being
comfortable with our physical desires, appetites and changes that comes with
age. This means we don’t beat ourselves up for feeling hungry, or how our skin
looks or changes with age, but embrace them as part of the story of our self
and body in the world.
Imagine the gift you would be giving
to yourself and future generations if you better understood how important it
was to recognize the value in the Developmental Theory. How might someone you
know struggling with an eating disorder change the direction of their recovery
by better understanding mental, social and physical freedom of which should
have been taught prior to puberty.
I can tell you as someone who came
from a family of a century of eating disorders, my life would look very
different.
While doing some last-minute research
for my book, I came a crossed a disheartening statistic that made me sit back for
a few moments. While I struggled for a few decades… so did my family and
friends.
I read that 8.4 million caregivers support people with mental illness
spending 32 hours a week providing care for their loved ones. I was reminded of
the difficult journey so many of us have been on who have struggled with eating
disorders, addiction and other mental illness.
This inspires me every day to
continue to educate myself and others to seek new ways to be inspired. And yes…I
was once again inspired by an amazing woman her name is Becky Henry who wrote an
amazing book called Just Tell Her To Stop. As I began reading Becky’s book, I
thought to myself…why did it take so long for a book like this to be written?
If only I had a book like Just Tell Her To Stop maybe I wouldn’t have struggled
for 30 years. In Becky’s book she shares stories of families and how eating disorders
affected their lives. The gift in sharing their stories I believe without a
doubt will give families hope to navigate
what often feels like a dead-end fight in helping their loved ones overcome
their personal struggles. May you find
peace in your ability to educate yourself, remain strong in unity with your
family and persevere on your personal journey! Keep smiling!!
Praying for each and every
person struggling with an eating disorder! Giving thanks...Keep smiling:)
