5 Ways to Support Your Body Image
Did you know that:
80% of Australian women experience poor body image [1]
Body dissatisfaction is one of the top four issues for young Australians [2]
About 20% adults in the UK have felt shame in the past year related to body image, and about 13% of adults have experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings because of body image concerns [3]
…and stats like these are getting worse.
Body image is how you perceive your physical self, and the thoughts and feelings that result (the key word there is perceive…it’s not about how you actually look). As the stats show, many of us suffer from poor body image. Perhaps it’s a fixation on your size or shape, a certain body part, facial feature, or some other physical characteristic. Perhaps it’s an incessant belief that you’re physically flawed, that your appearance is by far the most important thing about you, that you’ll be more loved and happier if you could just change the way you look. Maybe you constantly ‘check’ your body in mirrors and reflections, weigh yourself, try on clothes to make sure they still fit, poke and prod parts of your body that you don’t like. Maybe you restrict food or overexercise in an attempt to change your body.
Can you relate? You’re not alone. There are, however, so many things you can do to help cultivate a more positive image – where you can learn to accept, appreciate and respect your body exactly as it is. Having a healthy body image isn’t necessarily about thinking your body is perfect. Instead, it’s about valuing and caring for it regardless of how you look. Here are five ways you can help foster a more positive body image.
1. Question what you see in the media
The vast majority of what we see on Instagram, tv and other forms of media are digitally manipulated. On top of this, they typically only show one very specific type of body. They have an entire team of stylists, make up artists and lighting experts. They use specific camera angles and take hundreds of photos. There is so much that goes into producing the final images that we see. And often these images aren’t even reflective of a real person at all. In fact, in 2011 H&M admitted to using completely computer-generated images of women to advertise their bikini! So get familiar with questioning these sorts of images (as well as things that you read and hear). Some useful questions are – Who created this? What creative techniques did they possibly use? What message are they trying to portray? Who benefits from this? How does it make me feel?
2. Give yourself a ‘social media detox’
Sit down with your phone and unfollow any accounts that don’t make you feel good about yourself. You know the accounts I’m talking about – the ones where you find yourself thinking “I wish I had her bum”, “why doesn’t my body look like hers”, “I need to be more muscly like him”…unfollow them all! Instead, surround yourself with accounts that do make you feel good about yourself and that show a diversity of bodies and people. Fun fact - studies have actually shown that exposure to body positive content on Instagram can improve mood, body satisfaction and body appreciation [4]. And on that note, also follow accounts that have nothing to do with physical appearance at all to help shift your focus to other things. Some of my favourite types of accounts are positive news stories, dog accounts and even NASA (trust me, their page is pretty awesome). While you’re at it, extend this to other forms of media too, like tv shows and movies.
3. Practice positive self talk
Ooh this is such a juicy point so I’ve popped them into a bunch of mini tips:
Think about how you’d talk to a little one or a friend. I’m sure you’d never say to them the kinds of things you say to yourself. Instead, think of the things you would actually say to them and try to have that sort of dialogue with yourself. This is a lovely way to tap into self compassion (p.s. for more about self compassion, Kristin Neff has some awesome practices).
Focus on things about yourself outside of how you look, like your personality traits. There’s so much more to you than the way you look. Try this – every day for one month, write something different that you like about yourself – your laugh, your generosity, your insatiable love for terrible puns, your ability to make an awesome cup of coffee…these are all things that could go on your list.
Think about all the things your body does for you each and every day. Use this to help reframe negative into positive self talk. Here’s an example – “ugh my arms are so fat” can turn into “my arms allow me to hug my loved ones, play with my dog and feel the sand between my fingers”.
Explore the things that are important to you and spend time doing them, instead of focussing on your body. Do you really value time with friends and family? Are you passionate about the environment? Spend time engaging with those things!
Celebrate your body right now, exactly as it is. A beautiful way to do this is through joyful movement. This will look different for everyone but ideas include dancing, yoga, walks, swimming, playing and gardening.
4. Wear clothes that make you feel comfy!
You know those clothes you own that are a bit too tight and that make you feel uncomfortable? Throw them out! I repeat…throw them out! They will NOT serve as motivation for you to ‘lose weight’. What they will do is tell you things like you’re not good enough, you’re a failure and you’ll only look and feel good when you’ve lost weight...and this just isn’t true! Once you’ve gotten rid of them, replace them with clothes that actually fit you comfortably and that you feel good in. Undies are an awesome place to start!
P.S. when I say to throw them out…of course I mean do something resposible with them like passing them on to someone else, donating them to an organisation like a women’s shelter, or selling them somewhere like Depop. And the same goes for buying new clothes…don’t forget about the wonders of second hand clothing stores or apps like Depop!
5. Model positive body image for yourself and others!
It’s become somewhat of a cultural norm to berate ourselves about our bodies. How many conversations have you had with friends or colleagues about the fact that you’ve gained weight during lockdown, about the size of your thighs or the rolls on your stomach? But just because these sorts of conversations have become normalised, doesn’t mean they’re not problematic.
In fact, causal links have been found between listening to friends ‘fat talk’ and disordered eating [5]. Challenge the ‘fat talk’ that you hear around family, friends and colleagues and encourae them to adopt some of the practices above. If you want some ideas about how to approach this, check out this awesome post. Also refrain from being judgemental about other people’s bodies – you have no idea what’s going on in their life (and quite frankly, you have no right to make judgments or comments on anyone’s physcal appearance regardless). Never comment on someone’s weight. We often think it’s a good thing to ‘compliment’ someone on weight loss, but you never know what’s going on behind the scenes – perhaps they have an eating disorder and a comment like this will only fuel their disordered behaviours or perhaps they’re incredibly ill and have lost weight as a result from that. Aside from that, comments about weight loss reinforce the idea that someone is more worthy or loveable if they are thinner…which just isn’t true!
So there you have it, folks, five ways you can help foster a more positive body image. If you relationship with your body and food are things that you’d like support with, please reach out to me on contact@ninakingsfordsmith.com.au or an organisation like The Butterfly Foundation.
[1] Better Health Channel. (2020). Body Image – Women. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/body-image-women
[2] Mission Australia. (2018). Mission Australia Youth Survey Report – 2018. https://www.missionaustralia.com.au
[3] Mental Health Foundation. (2019). Body Image Report – Executive Summary. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/body-image-report/exec-summary
[4] Cohen, R., Fardouly, J., Newton-John, T., and Slater, S. (2019). #BoPo on Instagram: An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Viewing Body Positive Content on Young Women’s Mood and Body Image. Sage Journals. 21(7), 1546-1564. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819826530
[5] Cruwys, T., Leverington, C., and Sheldon, A. (2016). An Experimental Investigation of the Consequences and Social Functions of Fat Talk in Friendship Groups. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 49(1), 84-91. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22446