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Last updated on June 23rd, 2024 at 08:39 pm
Are you struggling with your body image? Having a list of thought-provoking body image question can help you to dig into some the core beliefs you have about your body.
The root of poor body image can stem from:
- Diet Culture
- Food shaming
- Pressure to bulk up
- Eating disorders
- Body dysmorphia
- Ableism
- Racism
Repairing your body image is tricky. Trying to improve body image with attempts to change your body such as losing weight, bulking up or cosmetic surgery might work temporarily but will not improve body image in the long term.
This article explores questions to ask yourself to improve your overall body image for life.
What Are The Problems of Body Image
Everybody on earth has a body, and yet most people you meet will report they are unsatisfied with their body or that their are parts of their body they are actively trying to change.
Why is that?
Problems with body image come about when:
- You start to base the worth of your body on the opinions of others
- You view the purpose of your body as an object to be desired
- You fail to recognize that body changes are normal
- You compare your body to other people
- You’re constantly body checking trying to decide if you’re body is “okay”
- You try to change your body in order to please other people
The problem with body image is that we often base how we feel about our bodies on other people’s opinions of how our bodies should look. This is always a losing game!
The beauty industry has made sure to set forth impossible standards so that people will spend their entire lives investing money and energy into the system.
The only way to improve body image is to base the worth of your body on your own internal standards. You must practice respecting your body daily, regardless of how you feel about your physical appearance.
Why Is It Important To Heal Body Image
Good body image is an important part of our overall wellbeing.
Poor body image can lead to:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Low self-esteem
- Eating disorders
- Compulsive exercise
- Diet pill addiction
Healing your body image can help you improve your relationship with yourself and others. It can also help you heal your relationship with food.
Body Image Questions
- How has your body, just as it is, helped you survive in the world?
- Where do my beliefs about beauty and attractiveness come from?
- What is your inner critic trying to protect you from?
- How do you set boundaries around your body? Why are these important for you?
- How does my body image influence my behaviors, such as eating habits, exercise, and self-care?
- How can I practice gratitude for my body, regardless of its appearance or perceived flaws?
- How do I talk to myself about my body? Are my inner thoughts compassionate and supportive, or critical and judgmental?
- If no one would ever judge your body, what are some of the ways you’d take up more space and be more visible?
- What are some ways that you were taught to distrust or disconnect from your body?
- Are there ways you override or ignore what your body is telling you? How has this hurt you?
- How is the worry about being fat, ugly, or unattractive a powerful way for a system to maintain control over groups of people?
- What are some things about your body that you used to dislike but have come to be neutral about or enjoy? How did that transition happen?
- Are you comfortable with making people uncomfortable with your body when it comes to how you look or how much space you take up? Why or why not?
- Trying to change your body can be a form of people-pleasing. How have you sacrificed your time, money and energy in order to try to please other people by changing your body?
- In what ways has your body shown you strength and resilience?
- Are you comfortable making other people uncomfortable when it comes to your body?
- Diet culture teaches us to ignore and override the body. What are some way you have been taught to ignore your body?
Body Image Healing
Healing your body image can take time. Sometimes it can be helpful to work with a trained professional such as HAES dietitian and/or therapist. True body freedom is possible and worth the investment.
Tools that can help you heal your body image include:
- Journaling daily
- Challenging internal fatphobia
- Getting rid of any food restriction
- Doing a physical activity you enjoy
- Having good coping tools for stress
- Wearing a swimsuit you love and participating in water activities if you enjoy these
- Thinking of your body as an instrument rather than an ornament
- Ditch attachment to conventional beauty standards
- Grieve any loss of the thin ideal
Healing your relationship with your body and improving body image is not a one-and-done. You will likely have bad body image days long after you become more body neutral or body positive.
As the body changes, you may have to heal your body image again an again. Keep a list of body image questions on hand for when you undergo big life or body changes and face emotional challenges.
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