The Complicated World of Body Image

In my work, whenever the topic of body image arises my response is always, “well, it’s complicated…” I have gathered more and more tid bits of individual experience’s within my practice, and aware that the topic is very broad. Certainly, one of my blogs will not cover everything I have learned about the issue.

First, in my practice and in my own life, with or without an eating disorder, there are very few people I have met that feel positive, or attractive 100% of the time. To blame this on social media alone would be a mistake, there are a vast amount of influences that negatively impact the way that we view ourselves.

I also have come to learn that there is a wide spectrum of the way in which we perceive ourselves. One end of the spectrum means feeling extremely positive about ones body all the time, the other end feeling extremely negative, all the time. Particularly, when it comes to sitting with individuals with eating disorders, where they are in their journey to recovery can determine how they feel towards themselves day to day.. In my experience, the earlier clients are in their treatment, the more likely they feel negative all the time and are consumed with body image thoughts. It is when they start to move closer towards recovery that they shift more towards the middle of the spectrum, to then hopefully and eventually moving even further more positive.

With that said, I think the goal needs to be feeling “mostly good” a lot of the time, and landing more towards the upper middle of the spectrum. Along with that point, our place on the spectrum can shift, and my interest lies in helping individuals to better understand what impacts these shifts to occur. What are the emotions and sensations that impact the way we feel about our bodies? Does feeling overwhelmed make you feel more fat? Did you feel bigger and more exposed when you learned you failed your test? Why all of the sudden after days of feeling better about your body, do you now feel more critical about it? The most recent experience I heard from a client was “I feel scared that people will judge my body after not seeing me during the pandemic.” The key is figuring out the triggers internally and externally, and as I say to all of my clients who struggle with eating disorders, it’s not just about the food, and more to come on that later.