Women and body image
Your Body Image
Body image is not always necessarily related to your weight or size. A positive body image is when you have a confident, healthy relationship with your body and the way you look. An unhealthy body image is when you struggle with the way your body looks. In some people, a negative body image has the potential to cause low self-confidence and even eating disorders. A healthy body image is about self-acceptance. Having a positive body image is indicative of having a good relationship with yourself. Your outlook on life and self-esteem is healthier. Your behavioral patterns will also be in line with the way you feel.
Beauty Standards
The beauty standards of today affect the mental health of girls, young women, and adult women. The imagery that they are constantly exposed to on TV and social media is often photoshopped. The alteration of the images sets unrealistic bars of comparison. Young girls that aspire to a photoshopped image of a woman that they see on Instagram will be perpetually dissatisfied with how they look. The fake, doctored ‘beauty’ is almost impossible to measure up to.
Take for example, a very well-known outlet for women’s lingerie, Victoria’s Secret. Its models are lauded the world over for their beauty and body shape. If a model is chosen to walk in a Victoria’s Secret fashion show, her career is set. Young women see the impossible body shapes and measurements of models in Victoria’s Secret ad campaigns. They start to believe that that is what they need to look like in order to be considered attractive.
A TikTok star and singer known as Jax made a song about this called Victoria’s Secret. The lyrics go like this:
“I wish somebody would’ve told me when I was younger
That all bodies aren’t the same
Photoshop, itty-bitty models on magazine covers
Told me I was overweight
I stopped eating, what a bummer
Can’t have carbs and a hot girl summer,
If I could go back and tell myself when I was younger, I’d say psst
I know Victoria’s Secret, girl you wouldn’t believe
She’s an old man who lives in Ohio
Making money off of girls like me
Cashing in on body issues
Selling skin and bones with big b***s
I know Victoria’s Secret, she was made up by a dude
Victoria was made up by a dude”
The song is slightly autobiographical, as the singer herself struggled with body image and dysfunctional eating habits. The song has gotten millions of views on YouTube and is a message to young girls and big corporations as it exposes the farce and marketing machine that fuels companies like this.
Body Image and Eating Disorders
Poor body image is linked to mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. It affects your confidence and self-esteem.
People often try to control the way their body looks by controlling their diet and exercise. A negative body image can put you at risk for developing an eating disorder. While it is beneficial to eat well and exercise, those at risk for an eating disorder tend to take this control to extremes. They may eat too little and exercise too much. Or they may binge on food and purge it (purposefully throw it up) later. Someone with an eating disorder is overwhelmingly preoccupied with their weight, measurements, and how much they eat. Their self-esteem and body image are highly and inextricably linked. A negative body image may trigger low self-esteem and low self-esteem can trigger poor body image, in a vicious cycle.
Young Girls and Body Image
Girls are more likely to have body image issues than boys. This is due in large part to the unhealthy messaging girls receive from a young age about how they are supposed to look. From early childhood into adulthood, women are praised for looking good, or being slim, or having a nice figure, etc. Their self-worth is projected onto them through their physical appearance.
Teenage girls are more at risk for struggling with their body image than their male counterparts. The risk is heightened if their mother has a preoccupation with either her own weight, body image, or eating habits. A mother’s comments about her own appearance or that of her daughter can have long-lasting affects on a child.
For some young women, puberty can be a highly troubling time for various reasons. It may be a time of weight gain or when certain parts of the body develop. Adolescent girls may receive unwanted or inappropriate attention due to their developing bodies. This can result in troubling attitudes towards themselves and their bodies.
Teenage girls may also face considerable peer pressure to dress and look a certain way. The celebrities they follow on social media may have a body shape young girls want to emulate. Teen idols and movie stars often date women that look a certain way. This heightens the pressure on young women and cements the belief that having only a certain body type is acceptable and beautiful.
A dysfunctional body image can be caused by the consumption of years of unrealistic standards of beauty. The media is very good at making you feel bad about how you look and causing you to compare yourself to others. Another possible contributor is being either teased or bullied at a young age for the way you look. It can stem from unkind comments made by family members, even friends. For example, you may have been shamed as a child by a parent for your weight, body shape, or eating habits.
Pregnancy and Body Image
Pregnancy is of course, a time when your body goes through many changes, both internal and external. Some women gain weight, some get marks on their skin, others see irreversible changes in their breasts. Your belly area will not be the same as it once was. After pregnancy, you may struggle to get back to your pre-baby body or weight. Clothes may fit you differently, and you may have a different relationship with your body than before. Women struggle with these factors and the possibility that their body may never go back to the shape it once was.
Improve Your Body Image
There are steps you can take towards improving your body image.
Practice self-compassion – be kind to yourself and avoid negative self-talk.
Reflect on one good thing about yourself a day. This could be something you achieved, something you are good at, one of your good qualities, or a kindness you did for someone.
It is hard, but try not to compare yourself with others. Comparisons are a proven recipe for dissatisfaction.
Reduce the time you spend on social media apps. Unfollow those accounts that make you feel bad about yourself.
Keep the people that uplift you, around you.
Consider talking to a mental health professional, like a therapist.
How Can Therapy Help?
Therapy can help as it teaches you to adopt a realistic way of looking at your body and yourself. It addresses the faults you see in your body and helps you form a healthier body image. It will also help you identify where your negative perceptions of yourself originate from.
Therapy will help you not only improve your body image, but also your self-image. It will teach you to be more self-aware, thus enabling you to recognize unhealthy behavior and thought patterns. That said, it takes time and dedication on your part to reevaluate how you view yourself and change your mindset about your body.
FAQs
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In individual therapy, you speak with a mental health professional. They will help you to improve your self-esteem, your relationship with yourself and with others, and your outlook on life. Your therapist will guide you to a better understanding of your emotions. You will discover the impact that thought patterns have on your life. You will also learn skills to communicate better. Therapists at Trust Mental Health are experts in various therapeutic approaches, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy. We will work with you through an approach that best serves your unique requirements.
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A psychiatrist can prescribe medication, while a therapist cannot. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who employs medication in their treatment of patients. Therapists specialize in talk therapies.
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Telehealth is online therapy – your therapy sessions with your therapist are conducted online. There are quite a few benefits to this:
You do not have to spend time travelling to and from your therapy sessions.
You can attend your therapy session online, from a space that you are comfortable in (such as your home).
If you drive, you will not have to spend time looking for parking!
If meeting and talking with a mental health professional in person makes you uncomfortable, telehealth may be a good option.
If you would like to talk to someone about your struggle with body image, we are here to help. Our team of therapists are from a variety of backgrounds and between them speak more than 10 languages. Contact us today for a free 15 minutes consultation. We will match you to a therapist best suited to your needs. Your sessions can be conducted either in-person or online.