Abstract:
Obesity research and treatment options must not be considered without an effort to understand the profound emotional, spiritual, and physical trauma that accompanies obesity ‘cures.’ Proposed modalities that focus solely on addressing physical appetite, mood disorders and/or achieving and maintaining weight-loss may address the symptom of obesity but miss the point: “What if the thing you want to cure in me is not the part of me that’s sick?” Can we refocus proposed obesity treatments away from weight control and appetite reduction and towards healing a traumatized self-image? Can we design a gastric band-equivalent to patch a hole in the soul or stitch together a starved spirit? Historically, management of trauma created by the patient’s experience of obesity has been relegated to psychiatrists, addiction specialists and other mental health professionals. This provocative presentation makes the case that understanding a patient’s full emotional, cultural and spiritual ecosystem of experience living with obesity should be considered when designing treatment protocols, not simply as an adjunct to them. Presented by a 50+ year survivor of binge eating disorder (BED) and numerous obesity ‘cures,’ this session examines the complex experience and side-effects of patients who seek out and receive treatment for obesity. The opportunity is to more fully understand the social, cultural, spiritual, and emotional phenomenon that drive behavior-based weight gain, perpetuate a failing strategy for weight-loss, and, when integrated into design, may inspire new approaches to obesity treatment.
