When the news this summer hit about tanning beds being confirmed as causing cancer a lot of people began to get worried. The media really ran with that story and it was everywhere. I don’t think it really shed any new light on the subject, they went from being a probable cause to a definite cause, but it was indeed a big story.
There has been fallout from that confirmation, as many states have enacted laws governing indoor tanning and spray tanning has taken a surge in popularity. The Indoor Tanning Association even launched a campaign to fight back against the negative publicity.
Today I’d like to address a related issue, that of tanning addiction —or tanorexia. Many people are now finding out that they are concerned about the issue of skin cancer but can’t seem to stay away from indoor tanning.
On the US News and World Report website there’s a blog post entitled “How to Break your Tanning Addiction” that covers this issue. I know what your saying, how can someone be addicted to tanning? Well, I can assure you that it does indeed happen.
A 2006 study from Wake Forest University found that frequent tanners actually experienced real withdrawal symptoms when they stopped using tanning beds. These symptoms included nausea and jitteriness. These withdrawals happened because the UV lights emitted by the tanning beds triggered the release of endorphins in tanners bed. These people’s bodies then became dependent on those endorphin surges just like people addicted to opiates are. This doesn’t happen to people who use tanning beds occasionally, but with frequent tanners it does. This makes it very hard for them to stop the behavior despite the confirmed negative ramifications of prolonged use.
“Some people who compulsively tan have body dysmorphic disorder, which is an under-recognized and pretty common disorder” and is defined as a distressing preoccupation with a small or nonexistent flaw in one’s appearance, says Katharine Phillips, a professor of psychiatry at Brown University Medical School. Her research has shown that one quarter of those with BDD tan excessively to hid imperfections like acne or wrinkles
.For tanorexics, indoor tanning may be preferred because it yields that even tan—free of swimsuit lines—that they can’t get from sunbathing outdoors. What’s more, many women mistakenly think that indoor tanning is safer than the sun’s natural radiation because it’s less likely to cause a burn.
I can attest from personal experience that this does in fact happen. I know people who suffer from this. The blog on the US News and World report site is targeted to women, but some of the biggest tanning addicts that I know are men.
People that do find themselves addict to the tanning beds find themselves in a precarious situation. Now that the tanning beds are confirmed to be a serious health risk, an alternative has to be found if you want to live a safe healthy lifestyle. Spray tanning or self tanning creams will still give you that bronze look that you crave, but the endorphin rush is not going to be there anymore.
If you’re feeling irritable and need a mood lift, get active for 45 minutes by running or taking a spinning class, suggests Feldman. Or cut back gradually on tanning if going cold turkey leaves you feeling down in the dumps. If you simply can’t function normally without that perfect tan, you may have BDD. You could benefit from antidepressants or cognitive behavioral therapy that teaches you strategies to gradually cut back on tanning. “It’s very treatable,” says Phillips, “but you can’t tell someone to simply stop tanning.”
It might be hard at first for tanning addicts to kick the tanning addiction, but the long term benefits are going to make it worth while. To continue to do behavior that you know is bad for you seems ludicrous. Try and tell that to people, such as myself, who smoke cigarettes though. Each person has to make their own risk assessment, and decide if what they get out of the behavior is worth the risk.
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