Body Image

Vibrant colours, puffed out chests and strutting behaviour can be viewed as signs of flirting to attract a mate. I’m talking here about the animal kingdom! This behaviour is often seen in tropical birds. What a show they put on as competition is often fierce. What’s the relevance of this to us humans you may ask. Whether we are trying to attract a mate or not, presenting ourselves in the best possible light is and perhaps always has been an art. When we chose our clothes, have our photo taken, or meet someone for the first time there is something built into us that wants to make a good impression or been seen in the best light.

Body image is strongly connected to how we feel about our self as a whole. We may want to separate ourselves into parts – our personality, physical body, mind, character, emotions and spiritual self - liking some aspects and not others – but we are one person and each part of us affects the other. Is there an over emphasis on body image in our current culture with the pressure of getting it right, so much so that we can neglect the other parts of us?

Being critical of aspects of our self can damage how we feel. This does not mean to say that we shouldn’t assess our health and fitness and work on our physique. Similarly, it doesn’t harm to soberly assess whether we can learn to manage our emotions or behaviour better. Comparing our self to others, particularly social media images, can lead to setting unrealistic expectations. Perhaps a better approach would be to set realistic goals for our self, knowing that we are not perfect. Achieving small successes this way can build our self esteem; it can help us feel that we are in control rather than feeling dictated to by anonymous sources.

The National Eating Disorders organisation has suggested 10 steps to building positive body image which can be useful for anyone wanting to make changes in how they feel about themselves: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/ten-steps.

Poor Body image, low self esteem, problems or issues around food, eating, and weight can impact everday living. Talking to family, friends or a Counsellor may be the starting place to finding improvement in these areas.

If you are worried that your body image has impacted you relationship with food do take a look at the links below:

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/ten-steps

https://stem4.org.uk/eating-disorders/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAjKqABhDLARIsABbJrGk5hXeU6PWtni0_cCvjp57nQnU288wl_RwCaPbSTvrkTcORhJ6_dXMaAnmnEALw_wcB

https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/

by - Diane EWG counsellor