Body Image Issues: How They Start, their impact on your life, and how therapy can help

Our body image is how we see our physical selves: what we feel, think and experience about our body. This idea begins forming very early in our lives and is influenced by what we see in the media, learn through societal standards and live in our personal experiences. We can sometimes emerge with negative thoughts and feelings about our bodies, which can impact our lives and self-perception in profound ways.

In this article, we’ll look at how body image issues begin, how they impact our lives and how therapy can help make a difference.

How Body Image Issues Start

It can be hard to identify exactly where our struggles with body image began. Research tells us that body image issues can begin at a very young age. Children as young as three years old can begin forming opinions and judgements about their bodies. Studies have found that almost half of children and teens report body image issues. 

Body image issues are not innate, meaning they are learned from our surroundings. The lessons we take from the media, comments from family or friends and observations we make about how different bodies are regarded all come together to form how we think about our bodies. 

Families

Comments or critiques from family members about a child or teen’s body image can have a lasting impact. These comments about a child’s body size or weight can lead to their increased sense of body dissatisfaction and can have negative impacts on the child’s overall self-esteem and mental health.  

Even when comments are not directed at children, familial perception toward body image can still cause harm. Kids pick up on what values their parents prioritize. A parent who critiques their own appearance or makes negative comments about other people’s bodies models to a child that appearance is important and certain kinds of bodies are better than others. In this way, a parent’s own insecurities regarding their appearance can be passed down to their child, even unintentionally. 

If children routinely hear negative comments about their bodies from families, they can begin to internalize that narrative. If a child begins to equate a certain kind of body or appearance with social worth, the child will often begin to direct their focus, time and attention to attaining that glorified physique. 

Society

As children grow older, their body image can be influenced by other factors like the media, peers and even their toys. One recent study measured young girls’ perception of an ideal body size and then provided them with ultra-thin dolls to play with. Researchers found that the girls adjusted their ideal body size to much thinner after playing with the ultra-thin doll. This belief of the ideal, ultra-thin body size stayed with the participants even as they played with other toys. This study highlights that what we observe to be valued in society shapes our self-perception. 

The media can also play a role in how we understand our body image. Seeing thin bodies praised on social media, entertainment and other content we consume can influence children’s perception of what types of bodies are valued. This can contribute to feelings of inadequacy as children and teens compare themselves to curated, and often unrealistic, images.

These messages from the media can be amplified when children hear it also being echoed from their friends and peers. A desire to meet the ideal body image prized by peers at school can lead to feelings of body dissatisfaction in children and adolescents as well as engagement in behaviors to strive to meet that ideal. 

Negative Body Image and Its Life Span

When a child develops a negative body image, it tends to carry over into their adolescent years. One survey found that 93 percent of respondents who developed body dissatisfaction in childhood found it to worsen during their teen years. This negative body image can carry into adulthood as well. Estimates suggest around 60 percent of adult women and 40 percent of adult men have a negative body image.

How Body Image Impacts Your Life

Studies have suggested that having a negative body image significantly impacts quality of life. The impacts of body dissatisfaction are wide-ranging and can show up in many aspects of an individual’s life. Here are some of the main ways negative body image can show up in your day-to-day life. 

Chronic Comparisons:

It is natural to compare yourself to others from time to time but negative body image can leave you in a state of chronic comparisons. If your self-worth is rooted in how well your body matches up to a societal ideal, it is easy to fall into a habit of comparing your body and appearance to those around you. 

Mental Health Struggles:

Negative body image is often associated with mental health challenges. Having a negative body image can put you at risk for developing issues like low self-esteem, depression and anxiety. Cognitive distortions like discounting the positive, all-or-nothing thinking and overgeneralization are often present in individuals with a negative body image. These negative thought patterns can worsen your relationship with your body and are also present in other mental health issues. 

Low Self-Esteem:

Frequent negative thoughts about your appearance can contribute to a negative self-perception. Negative body image often involves linking how your body looks to your self-worth. This can lead to self-esteem challenges as your opinion of your value is conditional upon you meeting those unrealistic standards. 

Disordered Eating and Exercise:

Body dissatisfaction can sometimes lead to engaging in problematic diet and exercise culture as a way to address self-criticism. For some, this can lead to patterns of disordered eating, overexercising or a full-fledged eating disorder like bulimia or anorexia. Having a negative body image is a risk factor for eating disorders as people with negative body image often overemphasize their body shape and appearance when determining their self-worth. This kind of behavior can also lead to social isolation as individuals might decline social activities in order to engage in overexercising or maintain their eating restrictions. 

Stressor in Romantic Relationships:

Studies have suggested that a positive body image is important in creating positive romantic, relational and sexual experiences. Feeling dissatisfied and critical of your body image can impact your romantic relationships, which often grow deeper through moments of vulnerability. Being unhappy with how your body looks might inhibit your ability to be vulnerable with your partner. This might show up in avoiding moments of intimacy or doubting that your partner is actually attracted to you. 

How Therapy Can Help Body Image

Therapy is a powerful tool in helping individuals navigate difficulties with body image. Through a combination of evidence-based techniques and an authentic connection with your provider, therapy can help you develop a stronger relationship with your body and build a stronger sense of your self-worth. Below are just a few of the ways therapy can help.

Identifying and Challenging Thought Distortions:

Negative body image is often reinforced by cognitive distortions, which are defined as exaggerated or irrational thought patterns. This is the way in which we tell ourselves what isn’t necessarily true. Cognitive distortions can sound like, “I never look good in anything I wear” or “That person just glanced at me—I know they are judging my appearance.” These kinds of thoughts are not rooted in reality and can make you feel worse. Therapy can help you address these thoughts through a process called cognitive restructuring. This powerful tool is part of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and aims to challenge and reframe negative thought patterns. Cognitive restructuring empowers individuals to break free from the cycle of self-criticism associated with negative body image.

Your therapist can help you notice the situations where these kinds of thoughts arise and pinpoint the automatic negative thought. From there, you can name the emotions present when that thought comes up. Your therapist will support you in beginning to identify any distortions that are present in your thinking (e.g., if you are using all-or-nothing thinking or discounting the positive, etc.) and work with you to actively challenge them. This can look like examining the evidence for and against this negative thought. Working with a therapist on this kind of exercise can help you learn to challenge and reframe these negative thought patterns so they are more fair and in line with reality. This process allows you to develop a more balanced and positive self-perception and a stronger relationship with your body.

Building Internal Self-Worth:

Negative body image often links your self-worth to your appearance. Valuing your physical appearance as a foundation for your self-worth can lead to a fragile self-esteem. It can leave you feeling momentarily good when your body looks like the certain aesthetic you desire and terrible when you feel further away from it. Therapy can help you build self-worth from within. This can look like focusing on your strengths, your accomplishments and your values as a bedrock for which to build your self-esteem. It can look like embracing the reality: you have inherent worth and value. Therapy can help you develop a positive and realistic perception of yourself that goes beyond just your appearance. 

Exploring and Identifying Root Causes:

Negative body image often stems from deeply ingrained thought patterns and beliefs. Identifying where these beliefs and thoughts come from can help you begin to shift these patterns. Therapy can help you draw connections between your past experiences and your relationship with your body today. This can look like processing the body image messages you heard while growing up, what media representations of body image you see, what kind of body image issues were modeled by others and more. By doing so, you and your therapist can begin to build a timeline of your own relationship with your body.

Through this comprehensive process, you can begin to identify the root causes of negative body image thought patterns. Therapy can offer a safe space for you to process these experiences and their associated emotions. Challenging negative thought patterns at their source can help break their hold over you and support you in making lasting changes. 

Coping Techniques:

Therapy can help you develop coping strategies to lean on in moments that might feel activating. Through reflection and processing, you can begin to identify situations where you often engage in negative thinking regarding your body. Coping skills can help you manage and navigate through these challenging moments. Therapists often introduce a variety of coping strategies tailored to the unique needs, strengths and experiences of each person. These can include mindfulness-based techniques, engaging in meaningful activities, self-compassion exercises, body acceptance affirmations and more. Creating your own personalized coping tool kit in therapy can help you diffuse negative thoughts and develop a more positive, resilient mindset. 

Body Acceptance:

A key component of body image therapy is fostering body acceptance; this doesn’t mean you need to believe your body is perfect but it does mean you accept your body as it is and appreciate all it can do. This could look like supporting you in shifting your focus from appearance-based criticism to an appreciation for your body’s amazing abilities and functions. This can reduce the emotional charge that often comes with our perception of our bodies and help you develop a more neutral and body accepting mindset. Body acceptance therapy can also help you identify and call out the societal pressures you have internalized. It can help you lean into treating your body with respect, care and love.

As with all aspects of therapy, your therapist will work with you to develop an approach that works best for you. If body acceptance feels too daunting, you might start with a different approach: body neutrality. This allows you to work on accepting the idea that your body image is not the most important component of your life. You don’t have to love or accept your body if you aren’t ready. You can instead focus on neutrality: your body is just one element of the holistic you and you don’t need to overly focus on it. 

FIND FREEDOM FOR NEGATIVE BODY IMAGE FOR WOMEN IN BROOKLYN & MANHATTAN, NEW YORK

At Manhattan Wellness, we understand that your relationship with your body can be complicated. With all the messages and images we are bombarded with on social media, it can be difficult to navigate a positive relationship with our bodies.  That’s why our female therapists want to support you in tackling your body image issues with compassion and care. Let us help you create an empowering narrative that will benefit all aspects of your life. If you are interested in beginning counseling for women:

1. Submit a Contact Form or Email Us at hello@manhattanwellness.org
2. Learn More About Our Team and Our Areas of Expertise
3. Make peace with your body and accept yourself as you are

OTHER THERAPY SERVICES AT MANHATTAN WELLNESS IN MANHATTAN, WESTCHESTER, BROOKLYN & THROUGHOUT NEW YORK

Our therapists understand that life in New York City is not always easy, and that other issues can come up along the way. To better support you, we offer a variety of services to cater to your individual needs. The therapy services we offer are Therapy for Self Esteem, Anxiety Treatment, and therapy for dating and relationship issues. As well as therapy for college students, support for maternal mental health, body image therapy, and so much more. Are you feel like you’re not living the life you want and need to make changes? Let’s talk about it.