Negative body image issues can lead to frightening pathological and psychological conditions like anorexia nervosa and bulimia, which can subsequently lead to a whole host of negative health effects. There are over 10 million female college students and over 8 million male college students with eating disorders. Due to the burdens of college, being away from home, stress and other factors, college students are even more susceptible to developing negative body issues. They might even put on weight from increased levels of stress, which can send students even further down a negative path and can effect both their grades and well-being. How can you help your college student overcome body image issues?

Determine the source of the problem

One of the best ways to help your student overcome their negative body issues is to find the source of the problem. Usually the source lies in a number of external circumstances contributed to the stresses of college, like waiting to the last minute to study for an exam or keeping a bad grade a secret. In most cases, these stresses can become internalized and will result in a negative self-image. However, by working with them to manage their stress, it can greatly reduce their body image issues.

Get them some help

You can also find them a psychologist near their school or perhaps even the college has a therapist they can speak to on a regular basis. Many young men and women need a therapist while they are in college to work through their stress. Because stress can cause students to gain weight, it can also make their body issues that much worse. Researchers say that students perform better in school if they have some sort of counselor to work with them through their stress while in college.

Take drastic measures if necessary

Next, if your child is showing signs of an eating disorder that is affecting their health, it is recommended that you admit them into an in-patient program at a hospital or a clinic. This can be the best way to save their lives, because eating disorders can be deadly. Usually, your college student will wait until it’s too late to share with friends and family that their body image issues have gotten so out of hand that they can barely take care of themselves and is effecting their health negatively. They might show signs that they are hording food, binging or not even eating at all, which can lead to a number of negative health effects and even death.

In the end, if your college student is always talking about their weight or asking about cosmetic surgery like cosmetic jaw surgery, because they have become obsessed with their appearance, these can be signs that they have developed some sort of pathological body image issue. You can get to the root of the problem before it gets out of hand, you can have them get help from a psychologist or a counselor at school, or even have them admitted to a clinic or in-patient program if their body image issues have turned into an eating disorder. Early intervention is the key to helping your student overcome this unhealthy behavior.