Your body. Your beauty. Your perception
By: Ella Mccrystal
Tags: Mental Health, Body Positive, Psychology, Body Image, Positivity

Your body. Your beauty. Your perception

I’m a body positive advocate and and I love being around people who love their bodies and themselves. But that in no way makes me immune to triggers. I love being motivated by images of strong, fit women…but my motivation is also my trigger. One particular trigger was a popular fitness professional’s account on Instagram where women who follow her guides, showcase their weight loss and are celebrated for “finally having abs.” This fitness pro herself is beautiful and very lean, and despite the fact that I have no issue with her, or her programs/account, I found myself hitting “unfollow” after I realised I’d spent the better part of an hour thinking about how to get as lean and defined as her.

Even the women who you may assume should feel great about their bodies, suffer with body image issues. Let’s face it: we could all use a little body image boost from time to time. Body image issues are a common problem. In a society that promotes unrealistic body ideals, it is challenging to not get caught up in comparing oneself to these unrealistic standards. As a result, many individuals may experience depression, anxiety, anger and even self-loathing. In addition to affecting an individual’s view of self, poor body image may also result in avoidance of social situations and may interfere with developing healthy social and romantic relationships.

Everyone has something they wish they could change about their body. Wishing you had someone else’s thighs or curly hair or smile takes away from what is uniquely you. Accentuating the qualities you like will boost your spirits and minimise the things you don’t like.

I believe that when it comes to our health and happiness, what we put into our minds is just as important as what we put into our mouths. Being surrounded by unhealthy food doesn’t mean you need to eat it. If you’re committed to feeling good and eating well, planning ahead helps ensure that you have healthy food available to eat instead. The same goes for what we consume visually and mentally. There may be ample opportunities available to view thin, toned, “beautiful” women with perfect skin, laughing while eating salads, but that doesn’t mean we need to view them.

If you’re struggling to love and embrace your body, I encourage you to go on a visual consumption diet, scrupulously removing anything from your life that doesn’t actively help you improve the way you feel about your body. Think of it like this: If it’s not helping you get better, it is likely making things worse, or at the very least, keeping you in the same mental space. Approach absolutely everything you consume through a critical lens, asking yourself, “Does this help me love my body more?” If the answer is anything other than a “Yes” get rid of it.

There are people (men and women) who aren’t just struggling with body image, they have a disorder. I myself was diagnosed with this disorder at 21 years old. It is called Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) This is a psychological disorder that involves a misperception of one or more body areas. Individuals with BDD perceive a defect or flaw in their appearance that is either very small or nonexistent. Areas of concern often involve flaws of the face or head (e.g., hair thinning, acne, scars, redness, wrinkles, facial asymmetry, size/shape of facial features such as nose, mouth, lips, etc.). Other areas of concern may include but are not limited to genitals, breasts, buttocks, abdomen, hips, and thighs. Individuals suffering from BDD are preoccupied with the perceived defect(s) to a point where it causes clinically significant distress in several areas of functioning. They may spend excessive amounts of time checking their appearance in mirrors, putting on makeup or otherwise masking their appearance, and seeking reassurance. Individuals with BDD will often avoid social situations and romantic relationships. As a result, high levels of anxiety, depression, embarrassment, shame, and self-disgust are frequently present.

Managing day-to-day life with BDD can be overwhelming. BDD, however, can be treated and managed. A solution focused/behavioural based therapy is the best approach. During therapy the individual is shown how to recognise that their self-perception is false, something that can be very hard to accept. Solution focused therapies for body dysmorphic disorder take a similar approach to obsessive compulsive disorder. The individual needs to be exposed to their fears so they can be desensitised. Much of the work of behavioral treatment is to help individuals limit the compulsive behaviours, such as camouflaging behaviours or reassurance-seeking. In addition individuals will be taught delay strategies or thought-stopping techniques.

Cognitive interventions designed to help you think about your appearance in a more balanced way can help decrease obsessive thoughts. Ways to take care of yourself each and every day include getting adequate sleep, following a healthy diet, and getting exercise as these can help symptoms from being more magnified due to fatigue and poor health.

I hope some of the information in this article can help you start the process of changing your perception on your body image ❤️

Ella McCrystal. – Clinical Psychotherapist/Hypnotherapist & Business Owner

www.ella-hypnotherapist.com