Our bodies do so much!

They carry us throughout our days, carry new life and carry the marks of living through scars, stretch marks, laugh lines and wrinkles. Our bodies are also completely and unwavering designed to solely serve us from beginning to end. Nothing else in life is designed with such a singular attention to your own wellbeing like your body. And yes, our bodies are also marked as a target.

When talking about body image it’s important to note that one’s own body image might have little to do with their actual body aesthetic. Oftentimes, when working with individuals struggling with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia, I have seen how one’s body has become the scapegoat for uncomfortable feelings and emotions and a means of control. This can be a difficult concept for the individual to understand because their feelings about their body feel so real and so significant. Someone might be dangerously underweight and as they look in the mirror and they only see a body too large and too big. It is imperative to ask “how does this happen?”

Diet culture insists upon changing our weight, shape and bodies and does so at any cost necessary. Diet culture pushes extreme diets, exercise regimes, surgeries, products and potions to make sure you look good. And, just like magic, diet culture promises that once you look good you will be received as such. You will be good. Diet culture spins a tale that once you lose that last 5# and once you rid your body of stretch marks acquired through natural growth and development and once you contour your face to look sleek and refined you will be the next “It Girl”. Diet culture sends a message that if life is not going well all you need to do is turn to your body. This is where negative body image and body dysmorphia stems from for many.

Through unhealthy and negative messaging about our bodies and the promise that a “better body” will produce a better life we often entangle our self worth and value with our waistlines and looks.

These should be two entirely separate things, yet diet culture does not see it this way. And why would it? Diet culture is producing a $72 billion dollar annual profit. SEVENTY-TWO BILLION DOLLARS?! (insert shock and awe please). This monster of mass destruction is not slowing down and our bodies, the vessels that only want to love and serve us, have been put on the chopping block.

I have seen so many struggle with body image due to their bodies being the scapegoat for uncomfortable feelings and emotions. Someone might be having a stressful week with the general complications of life and parallel to those feelings they have an uptick in negative thoughts about their body. And this serves a purpose. Since our bodies are always with us our bodies do make the perfect scapegoat. If we cannot fix what is going on in our lives we then turn to fixing the perceived problems we see in our bodies. For example, if someone is struggling with a difficult roommate they might realize that they cannot control or force the roommate to change. This can be very distressing not only because of the roommate struggles as face value but also because of the sense of a loss of control. And this is where body criticism can be so powerful. Through use of eating disorder or diet culture behaviors the individual can not focus all attention on their body. They distract from the feelings with behaviors like calorie counting, body checking and countless scrolling on social media comparing to influencers and what that influencer might be eating, wearing or doing at the gym numb out with behaviors like restriction, exercise abuse, binge eating or purging. This can give the allusion of control and hope that “all will be well.” Unfortunately, this only makes things worse. Use of eating disorder behaviors to improve quality of life and body image does not work and the individual is left with the original problem at hand (perhaps that roommate conflict) and worsening mental, physical and emotional health. As a clinician this is beyond devastating to witness and so frustrating to know that with diet culture running rampant the reality of this continuing is a sad truth.

There is hope though!

The negative thoughts you might have about your body are learned. There is the potential to change your thoughts! Seeking professional treatment to challenge unhealthy thoughts and actions can be effective!

I too can sometimes be swept up in the chaos of diet culture and body image. I recently went on a trip with girlfriends. I found myself putting pressure on my body and pressure on myself to “look good.” This was taking a trip I was looking forward to and turning that anticipation into stress. Fortunately, I was able to recognize that and took a pause. I was able to stop and process these feelings and reminded myself that 1) who I was going on the trip with would not care about me more or less because of how I looked or what I wore and 2) I stopped the behaviors. I took a break from the planning of what to wear. I took a break from trying on clothes and online shopping. Shopping and clothes are usually so fun for me, but I needed to take a break and recenter. Once I did that the fun came back. The anticipation for the trip returned to excitement and not stress and I let down the pressure I was putting on myself. And, the trip went wonderfully and the memories that stand out are more of the feelings of happiness and fun with friends and not waistlines and outfits.

Remembering that body image very rarely has anything to do with your actual body is a great start to combating the pressures of diet culture. Finding healthy outlets for stress can keep our bodies from becoming the scapegoat of uncomfortable and avoided feelings and loving your body the way your body loves you can allow a focus on actual health and wellness and not weight and shape alone.