Mirror exposure in women with bulimic symptoms: How do thoughts and emotions change in body image treatment?

Testing the efficacy of pure versus guided mirror exposure in women with bulimia nervosa: A combination of neuroendocrine and psychological indices

“…Negative thoughts associated with each woman's own body decreased and body satisfaction increased along the successive sessions. These psychological changes using mirror exposure may be comparable with other BN patients, given that our results are consistent with those reported by Trentowska et al (2013). Nonetheless, our study also revealed an increase in positive thoughts for both groups, a finding not reported in the above-mentioned study.…”

“…Hilbert, Tuschen-Caffier, and V€ ogele (2002), using this exposure technique in women with binge-eating disorders, observed that after two treatment sessions, patients' self-esteem increased, and the levels of discomfort, the negative moods and the frequency of the negative thoughts declined. Similar positive findings concerning increased body satisfaction after this type of body exposure were reported by Jansen et al (2008) in obese adolescents and Trentowska et al (2013) in women with bulimic symptoms.…”

“…Body exposure has been demonstrated to be an effective technique for reducing body dissatisfaction and negative thoughts and emotions associated with body image in individuals with eating behavior disorders (EBDs) (Trentowska, Bender, & Tuschen-Caffier, 2013;Tuschen-Caffier, V€ ogele, Bracht, & Hilbert, 2003). In this context, several authors have observed that when body exposure exercises are included in cognitive behavior therapy programs or linked to other therapeutic techniques (e.g., mindfulness), they contribute significantly to reducing body dissatisfaction and/or improving other indicators associated with body image disturbances, such as body checking or avoidance behaviors (Delinsky & Wilson, 2006, 2010Key et al, 2002).…”

The Emotional and Attentional Impact of Exposure to One's Own Body in Bulimia Nervosa: A Physiological View

“…Second, our results show that self-images captivate the attention of BN patients and that this attentional engagement is fundamental in the generation of dysfunctional physiological responses. Thus, therapeutic interventions utilizing body exposure to attenuate aversive emotions induced by one's own body [6]–[10] could benefit by the implementation of strategies aimed to reduce attentional biases, as also suggested by eye-tracker studies [20], [67].…”

“…These interventions are based on the hypothesis that patients with BN perceive their body as an unpleasant stimulus that elicits aversive emotional states. Empirical evidence in support of this idea comes from studies reporting that patients with BN experience increases in negative thoughts and emotions while viewing or imagining their own body [10]–[13]. In addition, patients' physiological responses to self-images also resemble those evoked by unpleasant stimuli: increased heart rate [14], [15], increased skin conductance recovery time [15], and high activity in the right temporal lobe [16].…”