What is a Healthy Body Image?
Healthy body image is when you feel comfortable with your body. You may or may not always feel positive about your appearance, but you have an overall sense of comfort and more often than not feel good about the way that you look. If you have a healthy body image, you are also more likely to generally feel good about yourself and have a positive self-esteem.
People's ideas about their bodies can develop as early as in childhood and are greatly impacted by parents' feelings about their child's body but also about their own bodies. Body image continues to form in adolescence when teens really start to focus on societal messages and expectations perceived on social media and from peers. Unfortunately, many messages received result in the development of an unhealthy body image, but fortunately with attention, effort, and care, people can really improve the way in which they experience their bodies.
How Can I Improve My Body Image?
1. Think About Everything Your Body Does for You! Really think about it! Assuming you are able bodied, if it wasn't for your body, you wouldn't be able to get to work, enjoy a walk, dance with friends, or even more simply feed yourself. People who are differently abled can also identify multiple things that their bodies do for them every single day. Make a list of all the things you have done in one hour that you would not be able to do without your body and make sure to thank your body for that. If you cannot think of anything easily then start with thanking your body for breathing.
2. Wear Clothes that Make you Feel Good! We often feel pressure to wear a particular style of clothes, clothes that are the current trend or that our friends are wearing, but these clothes may not always be the best fit for our bodies. Being that human bodies come in all shapes and sizes, not all clothes are going to look the same on all people. Experiment with your style. Try various sizes and brands and wear what you feel most comfortable in rather than wearing what media or others communicate that you should be wearing. When you find your own style, you will feel more confident and comfortable with self-expression.
3. Be Deliberate About Who You Follow on Social Media! As much as we would like to believe that we are unaffected by images and posts on social media, we are very much impacted. Delete or unfollow any accounts that endorse negative ideas about certain body types or that encourage unhealthy eating, exercise, or diet habits. If you are feeling courageous, you may even want to write a letter to whoever sponsors these accounts where you can voice how the content is dangerous and harmful. Follow body positive accounts and accounts that support confidence and self-esteem building. Maybe you may even feel empowered to creative your own body positive profile and account.
4. Show Your Body Some Love! Our bodies are always taking a beating. We use our bodies all day to complete tasks or to have fun. We feed our bodies with not always healthy food, maybe we also drink alcohol at times, or breathe in unclean air. This is not kind to our bodies and can make our bodies feel run down, achy, tired, or in pain. Try showing your body some love instead! Get a massage, take a bubble bath, do some yoga, take a nap, skip alcohol intake for a couple of weeks, or anything else that you know would make your body feel nice.
5. See Yourself as a Person! When we get stuck overly focusing on our body or body parts, we dehumanize ourselves. Focus on seeing yourself as a whole person. You are so much more than your body. You have a personality, interests, sense of humor, relationships, creativity, and more. When you find yourself getting stuck on your body and appearance, make a list of things that you like about yourself. It really can be anything. Try to pick out things that you feel positive about, and if that feels too hard then try to list some things that you at least don't feel negative about. Over time, grow the list. Make this an active effort and you may be surprised with what you come up with. If you find yourself completely unable to try this activity, then it may be time to reach out for some professional help.