Alsana Experts: Body Acceptance Essential for Eating Disorder Prevention and Recovery

In Eager Anticipation of NEDA’s First Body Acceptance Week, Alsana Highlights Three Approaches to Body Acceptance

Alsana’s eating recovery community is eager to join advocates, care providers, educators, and others in celebrating NEDA’s first Body Acceptance Week (October 23-27, 2023). This new initiative promotes body acceptance for all and supports individuals experiencing body dissatisfaction - a leading risk factor for developing eating disorders.

Body dissatisfaction, a common symptom among most people struggling with eating disorders, describes when a person’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and actions towards their own body are cumulatively negative. Body acceptance is defined as accepting one's body regardless of not being completely satisfied with all aspects of it.

“Body acceptance is a journey that’s different for everyone,” says Jessica Harris, LMFT, CEDS. “Not only does it reduce the risk of developing an eating disorder, but it’s an empowering way to reject diet culture.”

Body positivity, born out of fat activism in the 1960s, was created by and for individuals in marginalized and oppressed bodies. Today, body positivity, an increasingly popular hashtag on social media, encourages diversity, inclusion, and loving one’s body unconditionally.

“Although its message that ‘all bodies are beautiful’ is true and well-intentioned, body positivity has gotten a bit crowded,” says Harris. “Unfortunately, many people in marginalized bodies no longer see the body positivity movement as inclusive or representative of their unique challenges and experiences.”

Body neutrality, a form of body acceptance that doesn’t require positivity, tends to be more inclusive of individuals whose relationships with their bodies are complicated by chronic illness, disability, or gender dysphoria. “It means choosing not to hate your body’s limitations or perceived imperfections while also not feeling obligated to like everything about your body, either,” says Harris.

Body liberation espouses the idea that people are more than their bodies. It separates peoples’ worth from their appearance, advocates for size diversity and fat acceptance, and fights against weight-normative beauty standards and systems of weight-based oppression.

“For many individuals struggling with body dissatisfaction, some forms of body acceptance may seem out of reach,” explains Harris. “You may not feel like celebrating your body today, and that’s ok. But accepting your body is a huge step toward healing. Liking every aspect of your body is not a prerequisite for beginning to love and care for yourself.”

About Alsana®

Alsana is an eating recovery community with Residential and PHP/IOP programs in Alabama, California, and Missouri and virtual PHP/IOP offerings across the United States. Their eating disorder treatment programs are compassion-focused, evidence-based, and designed in alignment with Alsana’s Adaptive Care Model®. This whole-person approach addresses healing in all areas of clients' lives by integrating medical, nutritional, and therapeutic care with movement and relational therapies. Alsana serves adult clients of all genders and sexual identities struggling with a broad spectrum of eating, feeding, and co-occurring mental health conditions. Alsana's programs accommodate the unique needs of vegan clients and clients struggling with ED-DMT1, also known as "diabulimia." Learn more at www.alsana.com.

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