Creating a Positive Body Image 

We know that body image is not something we are born with- we are taught how to feel about our bodies as we grow up in this world and somewhere along the way, as young as age 4, we begin to develop what we call our “body image”. This body image will impact many areas of our life and will stick with us throughout the entire time that we are living in our bodies. So I would venture to say, it’s pretty important and impactful. I would also venture to guess that most of us would like to have a good body image since it does stick with us for so long. My third guess is that many, if not most of us, do not, or have not always had a positive body image and have struggled with our body image at times throughout our life. This is very common in our western society.

 

The good news- get ready for it- is that because body image is learned and not innate, that means we can un-learn it. We can change our body image from negative to positive. And that’s What I’m going to help you with today!

 

Body Image is not always related to eating disorders and visa versa, but there is a lot of overlap with body image struggles and disordered eating struggles. If you or someone you love is struggling with an eating disorder and you are seeking eating disorder treatment for teens or adolescents in Ohio or eating disorder treatment in Utah, please reach out here. I provide eating disorder assessments for children in Ohio and eating disorder treatment for children in Ohio and Utah.

 

What is body image? 

•       How a person feels about their body, height, weight or shape

•       What a person believes about their appearance

•       How they sense & experience their body 

•       We all have bodies, so we all have body image!

 

Positive Body Image versus Negative Body Image- let’s define these!

 

Negative Body Image:

•       Spends a lot of time thinking about what their body looks like & imagining how others view their body

•       Talks or thinks negatively about their body

•       Compares body to others

•       Focusing on perceived “flaws”

•       Wants one’s body to be different

•       Narrow concept of beauty or what is “acceptable”

•       Feels compelled to monitor their body- measuring, weighing, mirror checking

•       Feel ashamed, embarrassed of body

•       Engaging in behaviors that may be harmful or unhealthy

Positive Body Image:

·      Does not spend a lot of time thinking about what their body looks like

·      Talks kindly about their body

·      Accepts their body

·      Feels and displays confidence

·      Does not try to change their body

·      Does not feel compelled to measure, weigh or check their body obsessively

·      Broad concept of beauty

·      Engages in behaviors that are health promoting

 

Imagine someone you know with positive body image- what traits listed above do they display? What else do you notice about their relationship with their body or their interaction with the world around them?

 

Where do you fall? Do you see more negative body image traits or positive body image traits in yourself? Are these changeable behaviors or innate qualities? Have these been learned?

 

Takeaways:

·      Body image is not something we are born with; we are taught how to feel about our bodies

·      Because the above is true, this means we can change our body image

·      Having a positive body image does not require having a certain body type

·      Same goes for negative- you can have negative body image at any size and shape

·      Having positive body image does not mean saying “I love my body” all day long- it means accepting it and not focusing too much on your bodies appearance

·      Constantly trying to change or manipulate your body will not lead to positive body image- it is a characteristic of negative body image

·      You cannot gain positive body image from trying to change your body

Where does body image come from?

Now that we know the difference in negative versus positive body image, we need to explore where our body image development came from and what influenced it. One way to think of it is different puzzle pieces or building blocks that have come together throughout our life to build the parts that make up our body image.

 

What makes up my body image?

·      Media

·      Friends & Family

·      Physical Bodies

·      Culture/Society

 

Physical Bodies

•       Height, weight, shape are all determined strongly by genetics (what you inherit from biological parents)

•       Gender & gender identity

•       Muscle development- influenced by age, genetics, activities

•       Race

•       Birth marks, skin conditions, acne

•       Scars, physical accidents

•       Abilities

•       Puberty

•       Childbearing, fertility

  

Culture/Society

•       Where you live in the world impacts how you view your body image

•       Western ideals of beauty are not universal and beauty standards vary greatly across the globe- this tells us that what is “beautiful” is not universal and that beauty standards are created and taught to us, not something we are just born knowing or believing

•       Some cultures & time periods view larger, curvy women as a sign of fertility so this was the ideal body image

•       Historically, being pale & in a larger body was valued as a sign of wealth

•       Different societies have different traditions and values around body image such as valuing large earlobes, red hair, skin tattooing practices, etc.

 

Friends & Family

•       Many of us learn to view our bodies in the way that our parents & families modeled body image for us

•       Comments from grandparents or middle school bullies can stick with us for a long time and influence our body image

•       Siblings or parents struggles with body image, identity, dieting can impact us

•       Peers engaging in “fat talk” or “fat chat” can make us think about our own bodies

 

Media

•       We are exposed to 6,000-10,000 advertisements per day

•       Whether we are aware of it or not, these messages are impacting us subconsciously

•       Barbies impact girls body image as young as preschool

•       Cartoons portraying characters in larger bodies as “goofy”, “slow”, “stupid” has an impact

•       TV shows, fashion ads, magazines, diet and weight loss commercials, surgery ads, stories about celebrities surgery/weight/bodies

•       Music

•       Social Media- “What I eat in a day” videos, before/after photos

 

 

My challenge for you in this blog post is to write down your puzzle pieces from each category:

·      What media, advertisements, celebrities, TV shoes, music have influenced your body image?

·      What were you taught about your body image from family? What influence did your friends have on body image? What influence do your current relationships have on your body image?

·      What impact does living where you live have on your body image and beauty standard beliefs?

·      What impact does your physical body- and possibly it’s changes over time- have on your body image?

 

Most importantly, after you have written down your body image puzzle pieces, I want you to ask yourself, “What puzzle pieces am I willing to let go of today?”

 

What body image belief is holding you back?

What comment about your body are you tired of carrying with you?

What unrealistic media message are you sick of letting get to you?

 

You have the capacity and ability to create a positive body image and live a life you love in the body you are in right now.

 

If you are struggling with body image or an eating disorder, please reach out via my website. I specialize in working with adolescents and teenagers with eating disorders in Ohio and Utah. I provider eating disorder assessments and eating disorder treatment for children and teens. This post is not meant to be treatment advice, but information and education. If you have questions or need help, please reach out.

If you have more questions about eating disorders or eating disorder treating in Ohio, eating disorder treatment in Utah, please reach out here.

Navigating eating disorder treatment can be daunting. If you need help along your journey, please reach out to schedule a free consultation call.

DISCLAIMER: The advice on this blog is for entertainment purposes only and is not indented to be medical or therapeutic advice.