Be Positive,  Self Care

Tips To Build The Positive Body Image You Always Wanted

June 11, 2020 /

Boost Your Body Image With These Tips

What do you think you look like? (Hint: We will use these to evaluate your body image)

Just take a minute or two and think. Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Smile, first of all.

Now think, if you could make any number of changes about the way you look, how many would they be? Will you just wish for an increase in your height, your hair length, or some inches off your waist and a thing or two here and there? Or will you turn your look inside-out to look like the model you saw today on Vogue?

Think.

Are you done? Now, let me tell you why I asked this in the first place.

I want you to form a body image of yourself.

What is it, you ask? Read ahead.

Also read: How To Value Yourself

Body Image is the mental representation an individual creates of themselves but it may or may not bear any relation to how one actually appears. 

A healthy body image means that you truly accept and like the way you look right now and aren’t trying to change your body to fit the way you think you should look. It means recognizing the individual qualities and strengths that make you feel good about yourself beyond weight, shape, or appearance and resisting the pressure to strive for the myth of a “perfect” body that you see in media & online nowadays.

Body dissatisfaction can be minor, ‘too bad my nose is so big‘ or it can be severe, ‘I hate everything about my body‘. Once you start to think that you have a flaw, your mind runs with the distraction and turns it into more than what it is. All of which affect the way you think and feel about how you look and about life in general.

Poor body image can affect a person in many ways including performance in academics or in one’s professional career, relationship satisfaction, and overall quality of life. In reality, however, this perceived flaw is not even noticeable to others. People who suffer from severe levels of disorder obsess over a flaw to a point of dysfunction with some people even repeatedly visiting cosmetic surgeons.

Below, see how good body image and self-esteem positively impact mental health:  

boost-your-body-image

Source: www.heretohelp.bc.ca

Below, see how poor body image and self-esteem negatively impact mental health: 

boost-your-body-image

Source: www.heretohelp.bc.ca

Body Image concerns and eating disorders go hand in hand. Often, it is the early dissatisfaction with a young person’s appearance that leads them to conclude that losing weight would enhance their appearance and make them feel better about themselves and their bodies. Thus, restrictive eating and over-exercising are frequently leading to patterns of disordered eating and weight obsession that can develop into anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia, compulsive overeating or binge eating disorder, hormonal imbalances (PCOD), nutritional deficiencies, negative body perspective and poor self-esteem.

Well, now that you know what is negative body image, the thought process in a person’s head, and to what extent it makes a person suffer, the question that arises is, how does one NOT form or get rid of a negative body image of oneself?

  • Stop Avoiding Your Body. Sometimes we are so occupied with making our body look the best that we stop listening to it, we treat it as an object, which it is NOT! Treat it with respect. Also stop checking. Checking is when people repeatedly check their bodies for evidence of continuing “disgustingness”. If you have “pinch the fat on my stomach” on your list and you notice you are doing this 20 times a day, aim to cut down to 15 times, then 10, then five … then stop!
  • Stop Comparing. When you compare yourself to others, make a note of when you compare, who you compare yourself to, and what do you say to yourself when this happens. Is it fair? Is it realistic? What effect does it have on how you feel about yourself? Then why compare in the first place!
  • Practice Self-Acceptance. Having a negative body image is like having a critic in your head. The critic makes you feel awful because you believe it! Because you feel terrible about yourself, you look for ways to feel better. The big key to changing negative body image is to kill the critic and learn self-acceptance. This means accepting yourself as you are. Cognitive techniques are very effective in helping identify and change critical thinking. It can take time, but it’s worth it!

What If You Need Help With Your Body Image and Self-Esteem?

Sometimes, body image or self-esteem problems are too much to handle alone. Health issues, depression, or trauma can affect how you feel about yourself. Eating disorders can cause a poor body image that isn’t true. There are many organizations that help individuals cope-up with this untrue image they have of themselves in their minds.

All You Need To Do Is, Just Ask.

Always remember, You are Beautiful, You Are Enough, You Have the Power to Change the World, and never let anyone tell you otherwise!

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