Five Tips to Help you Get Over Body Dissatisfaction

The thoughts and feelings we have about our bodies form part of our body image. These thoughts and feelings can be negative, positive or a bit of both. We are more likely to have a negative body image when our thoughts and feelings about our own bodies are mostly negative. Body dissatisfaction can be very distressing and emotionally painful, and might even make us fixated on changing things we don’t like about our bodies. This can also cause some people to engage in very unhelpful and even dangerous behaviours with food and exercise in order to change their body shape, thinking it will alleviate those painful emotions. Unfortunately, these behaviours don’t often work, and can actually cause more intense negatives emotions like disappointment and guilt.

If you think you have a negative body image, then it’s worth taking steps to change this. Positive body image is associated with higher self-esteem, greater self-acceptance and a more balanced lifestyle with healthier attitudes to food and exercise. Here are things you can try to improve the way you see and think about your body.

1. Change the way you look in the mirror

When we look in the mirror, what we see depends a lot on how we look. We tend to focus on parts of our bodies that we dislike, so that our “flaws” become magnified.So, next time you look in the mirror, instead of focusing on what you don’t like about your body, try looking at the rest of your body, including parts of your body that you might feel more neutral about like hands, feet, knees and hair.

2. Spend less time in front of the mirror

Checking yourself too often in the mirror can be problematic because it adds to the preoccupation about your body. Ask yourself how often you look in the mirror, and for how long. For most people, there’s no need to look in the mirror more than once or twice a day to check hair, clothing and apply or re-apply makeup.

3. Don’t make unfair comparisons

When we compare ourselves to others, we usually do this in a superficial and biased way that means we are always falling short. For example, choosing to compare your shape and weight with only people who are thinner than you. So spend less time comparing yourself to others, and when you do compare, try to observe neutral features such as hair and feet as well as other characteristics such as a person’s behaviour.

4. Speak kindly, change your “body language”

Try to be more accepting of what you see in the mirror by changing the language you use to describe yourself. Notice how often you use judgmental words about your body and how this makes you feel. Ask yourself whether you would speak to a friend in the same way or a young child, and consider whether you are holding yourself to double standards. Practising speaking more kindly to ourselves and avoiding using judgmental language can lead to more self-compassion which is linked to positive body image. It’s also important to remind yourself that when it comes to body shape or appearance, there is no such thing as right or wrong.

5. Focus on what your body can do

Try to focus on what your body has allowed you to do, rather than on only its physical appearance. For example, being grateful for the legs that allow you to walk, or the arms that allow you to hold your child or your partner’s hand. Thinking of your body in this way can help you gain greater perspective on what your body is actually for, and that it is so much more than what it looks like on the outside.