Body Image: Things You Must Know

Body image is crucial if we want to build a healthy relationship with our bodies. I know the number of stereotypes and so-called standards we face daily.

These elements further worsen situations for a person who is not satisfied with how their body looks.

A negative image of the body or dissatisfaction with it can lead to severe psychological, behavioral, and physical issues. Some of the most prominent curses of having a negative image of the body are eating disorders, no control over weight, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

So, today, with so much exposure to social media and mounting peer pressure, we need to be more mindful of this issue. That’s why I have prepared a guide that will touch on all critical aspects of the topic.

What Is Body Image?

“I am beautiful

No matter what they say

Words can’t bring me down

I am beautiful

In every single way

Yes words can’t bring me down

Oh no

So don’t you bring me down today.”

It’s not always like this Christina Aguilera song. Sometimes you feel that everything depends on how you look at your body and how you think others perceive your body.

It is a complex emotional experience, and to put it simply, it’s your feelings about the weight, height, and shape of your body.

Some people end up having a positive body image or a healthy relationship with their bodies. However, many people feel dissatisfied with their body image.

And if we do a gender-wise comparison, women are more prone to develop a negative body image than men.

Positive Body Image

A positive body image makes a person comfortable, happy, and confident about their body.

If you have positive perceptions of your body, you will not be conscious of what others say. You will have a healthy relationship with your body, and if you find some aspects that need to be improved, you will work toward that.

Let me share a personal account. During this recent lockdown period, I gained a lot of weight. Even my closest relatives kept making fun of me, but I didn’t pay heed to it.

Once the lockdown was lifted, I joined a wellness center as I felt the urge and need to lose weight. With the help of the experts there, I managed to lose the excess weight.

If you take it from me, always try to follow a healthy diet and focus on your mental health. If your lifestyle is healthy and your body and mind get the right care, you will feel better about your body.

It’s not just me. The Office on Women’s Health is also of the same opinion.

Negative Body Image

A negative or distorted body image gives birth to a lot of dissatisfaction about your body. It is caused by comments or taunts made by your peers, family members, or neighbors about your body.

People facing regular microaggressions or discrimination based on sex, ability, sexual orientation, or race are more at risk for developing a distorted body image.

Further, age is also a factor in assessing the risks of developing a negative body image. Children and teenagers are most prone to develop insecurities and negativity about their bodies.

With time, these dissatisfactions can cause a lot of physical and mental health issues. Here are some common health issues triggered by a negative perception of your body.

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Suicidal thoughts
• Lack of self-confidence
• No or less physical activities
• Reduced sex drive
• Problems in relationships
• Troubled interpersonal communications
• Social anxiety and social isolation
• Dependency on alcohol and drugs
• Stress
• Unwillingness to seek help
• Always trying to be a perfectionist
• Frequent bouts of negative thoughts
• Eating disorders leading to the most life-threatening condition, Bulimia Nervosa
• Uncontrolled change in body weight

Key Aspects Related To Negative Body Image

A negative body image or the perception of your body covers some important aspects. You must understand these to understand the potential symptoms and risks associated with this emotional, behavioral, and attitudinal problem.

1. Muscle Dysmorphia

This is a kind of body image distortion where a person feels a lack of muscularity in the body. A person suffering from muscle dysmorphia will always look to gain more muscles.

It’s great if you want to work out hard and gain muscles in a healthy way. But in an attempt to get quick results, some may become subject to harmful supplements and substance abuse. These are fatal.

2. Body Dysmorphia

In body dysmorphia, a person is not happy with the features and image of body organs. People who become obsessed with these thoughts continuously try to hide or improve the so-called flawed organs.

3. Body Dissatisfaction

Body dissatisfaction happens when a person is not satisfied with their “body organs image.”

Thin-Ideal Internalization

This is a distorted body image belief. Everyone, especially women weighing higher, often find themselves as the subject of ridicule and shame.

They start to think that all the problems in their lives will be gone if they manage to become thin. They eventually believe they will become more popular and “accepted” once they become thin.

Now, maintaining a healthy weight is always encouraged. But with this distortion in body image, people may end up taking some desperate and harmful measures.

Also, every body type is different, and your medical conditions, lifestyle, and genetics will have vital roles to play in determining your body weight and shape.

So, becoming thin can never be the sole objective of achieving a healthy body.

Feeling Fat

People often have a distorted body fat image. A person can believe in having more fat in their body than it actually has.

Fear Of Gaining Weight

This is a kind of irrational fear where one is afraid of gaining weight.

Overvaluation Of Your Body Weight And Shape

Here our society has a major role to play as it attaches tremendous value to the image of human body. In this body image distortion, a person starts to believe that their existence and worth as a human being completely depends on the shape and weight of their body.

Body Checking

Body checking is another essential component of body image perception. Checking involves frequent staring at the mirror and frequent weighing. Body checking also consists of comparing one’s body with others and pinching certain body parts in suspicion of gaining body fat.

Body Preoccupation

Body preoccupation is obsessive thoughts about how your body weighs and looks.

Avoidance Of Body Image

One facing the avoidance of body image will avoid activities like weighing. People often tend to wear loose-fitting clothes to hide their imperfections. And in extreme cases, they even cover the mirrors.

How To Overcome A Negative Body Image?

Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, is the most effective treatment for overcoming negative body image.

This therapy helps people to identify and work on their thoughts and ideas that are harmful. It also motivates people to cut down on negative self-talk and challenge their negative perceptions about their bodies.

Most importantly, CBT is effective in managing stress and supports an individual to grow coping strategies.

Gender-Wise Body Image Facts With Special Emphasis On LGBTQIA+ Community

People of any gender, age, or societal condition can experience negative body perceptions. However, as I have said, girls and women are more prone to developing a negative body image.

The database of the National Institutes of Health says that among children and adolescents, 35-81% of girls are likely to have a negative body image in comparison to 16-55% of boys at risk.

A person can suffer from the experience of a negative body image throughout their life. But today, with the prevention of eating disorders and effective therapies, the severity can be alleviated, and one can learn to cope with the situation.

The LGBTQIA+ Community Is At A Greater Risk

The National Eating Disorders Association says that the LGBTQIA+ community is at a higher risk of developing eating disorders because people in the community face inequality and harassment, and they can experience violence and PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, there is often a conflict between their gender identity and the body they have at birth.

And studies also say that homosexual people are more stressed about their body image than heterosexual people. Further, this can be even higher in trans people, and they can have a positive body image once the transformations in their bodies are complete after surgery.

Irrespective of gender, sexual orientation, and desired body changes, one perceiving the body negatively needs therapy and support from mental and physical healthcare providers.

Role Of Media In Creating Body Image

Well, this is something a person is exposed to at a young age. Remember those childhood cartoons? The overweight female characters were always depicted as unhappy and dumb. Young minds get affected by these animated depictions easily, and they grow up believing that being overweight is a curse.

Growing up, we all encounter advertisements and videos where women and men of certain body types are depicted as ideal. We don’t pay attention to biology or our body’s natural mechanism; we are just always giving it all to get a more muscular or leaner body.

What do we do to achieve the ideal body standard? We take steroids, diuretics, supplements, and whatnot, causing permanent damage to our bodies and health.

Even in adult movies, you will see crude depictions of certain specific body standards, which are unreal as hell.

And social media, the latest to join the bandwagon, has been the worst influence when we talk about “body image.” With more exposure and so-called social connectivity, there is immense peer pressure to look in a certain way.

Hailed publications like “The Guardian” have recently published features showing how social media is messing up the “body image of children.”

Important Stats On Body Image And Eating Disorders

Here are some surprising facts and figures you should know about body image. Check out the table below.

Data	Source
Around 30 million Americans have eating disorders.	The National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders
Eating disorders are the third most occurring chronic illness among American adolescent women.	International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 2007
The global eating disorder has shot up to 7.8% from 3.4% in the span between 2010-2018	The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019
Young women are at a higher risk (3.5%) of developing an eating disorder than men (1.5%) in America.	Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010
Almost every hour, a person dies because of an eating disorder.	Eating Disorders Coalition, 2016
97% of Women perceive a negative body image	Glamour Magazine survey

All these data show how alarming the concern of body image is for women and how eating disorders, one of the worst outcomes of a negative body image, is affecting people in large numbers.

And I am even more concerned of late because I love Barbie and am happy with the release of Greta Gerwig’s movie. But I am yet to watch the film, and I am not sure how young minds are going to get affected again regarding the “ideal body image” as this movie is already a sensation.

How Can I Improve My Body Image?

The National Eating Disorders Association has a set of guidelines on coping with a negative body image. The guideline tells you to be positive in your self-talk about the body and spend more time with persons who hold a positive outlook regarding body image.

Also, the guideline asks you to get your body some pampering through a relaxing spa, massage, or haircut. You can even keep yourself occupied in developing new hobbies, and always remember that your body does not determine your worth.

Along with following these guidelines, you can do some physical activities or exercises. Physical activities positively impact our brain’s neurotransmitters, and they boost serotonin secretion. So, with exercise, you will have improved mental health.

And trust me. As you start exercising, you will see a sea of changes in your body image. You will be more confident and prouder of your body.

Final Thoughts

Girls, we all have a certain body image in our minds. Let’s keep the thoughts positive and work toward realistic goals of being a better version every day.

If you need to shed weight for health reasons, sweat it out and change your diet with professional help but do not set your worth on what the weighing scale tells you.

And once we give up to unrealistic body standards and do nothing about bringing healthy changes to our bodies, we will be at a higher risk of succumbing to eating disorders and depression.

So, let’s take charge and allow no one to depict how our body looks and how it should be.Be the best! Be you!

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