A Therapist's Guide to Treating Eating Disorders in a Social Media Age by Shauna Frisbie

Author:Shauna Frisbie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2020-07-30T00:00:00+00:00

SELFIES AND SELF-AWARENESS

Selfies bestow control of all aspects of the image making process on the individual. People are simultaneously creators, subjects, and viewers of the selfie. Thus, selfie images are endowed with meaning from multiple perspectives—rich material for the identity work that is central to eating disorder treatment. As we contemplate the selfie phenomenon, it is obvious that photography imparts a greater influence on society today than ever before. Never have so many people engaged in the creation of images. Camera use is at an all-time high, with smart phones producing more selfies than anyone could have predicted. What we consider to be a simple touch of a button on a phone often holds implicit meanings that are rarely explored. Selfies, often unknowingly, are a means to express what cannot be spoken.

When strong emotions are present, verbal centers in the brain are less proficient. We’ve all experienced this when at a complete loss for words in an intensely emotional moment. People use images to capitalize on the ability of visual stimuli to express intense emotions or confusing thoughts when other means of expression are inadequate or unavailable. These images range from internal images in the mind to external images that hold symbolic meaning. Both created and found images can be meaningful when they express what is not possible to express with words. The expressive power of images, including selfies, lies in examining what is underneath the surface.

Neuroscience research shows that there are two distinct forms of self-awareness: the autobiographical-self that keeps track of the self across time, through language, to form the story of self and the present-self that reflects moment-to-moment awareness based on physical sensations. These two kinds of self-awareness emanate from different brain regions and processes—language versus visceral body sensations. Whereas, words cannot make sense of experiences until the body-based self is engaged,14 pairing the story with what registers in the body as the story is told creates a path to self-awareness.

The therapist’s role is to guide the client to self-awareness, a paradoxical goal at best. In peering inside to understand our own nature, there is only the self to interpret what is seen. Complete self-awareness is an impossible task; to fully know oneself is unattainable. Still, self-knowing lies at the heart of the overarching identity process, and to know oneself requires self-awareness. Individuation and differentiation grow from self-awareness, as does the likelihood that clients will act in line with their personal values.15 It is only through self-awareness that values can be identified.

Self-awareness grows from self-reflecting on social guidelines that are learned so a person can fit in socially and on the internal dialogue of private thoughts. Without self-reflection, critical voices from the past can intrude on the present. Self-reflection allows a person to uncover the unconscious programming of reflexive social language and internal dialogue, so clients can build an awareness of their own mind. The expanded self-awareness that develops over the course of therapy enables clients to observe their social reflexes and their internal voices and then decide whether to follow the mandates of others or to create their own story.

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