How You View Your Body Matters

by Melinda Seley, PLPC

In 2016, more than 10,500 females between the ages of 10 and 60 and from 13 different countries around the world were surveyed as part of “The Dove Global Beauty and Confidence Report”. The results of this study show that low body esteem is a common challenge shared among women and girls around the world, without regard for age or geography. Nearly all women (85%) and girls (79%) said they opt out of important life activities – such as trying out for a team or club or engaging with loved ones – when they don’t feel good about how they look.

And though the statistics may look somewhat different if men had been included in this study, I believe it is safe to say that the struggle with body image is shared among just about all of us. The impact of advertising and media showing unrealistic standards of beauty, an “always on” social media culture pushing for perfection, and our own personal experiences of shame and beliefs about our body leave us overly fixated on appearance and the believing that any imperfection is something to be hidden.

Are you aware of how you relate to your body?

Often our relationship to our body happens subconsciously, but as the Dove study showed, it can have significant impacts on the choices we make and how we engage with the world around us. If you find yourself unsure of your relationship to your body, perhaps the questions below can serve as a helpful self-assessment:

  • Do you constantly weigh yourself, check yourself in the mirror, or obsess about a body part that isn’t the way you want it to be?
  • Do you continually use negative terms to describe the way you look?
  • Do you believe everything would be better if your body was different?
  • Do you feel that you have to do something to change your appearance before you can have fun, go on vacation, etc.?

If you answered yes to any of the above, it might be helpful to consider where your ideal body image came from. Who has defined that for you and what does it mean if it is not achieved? And what do you believe is needed in order to achieve that body? The reality of living in this world is that our bodies will fail us – either through sickness, injury, chronic disease, hereditary issues, bad choices, or age. Is there a place you need to grieve your broken body?

And what is keeping you from accepting the body you have and being free in your body – to live and engage fully in life?