HOW TO MANAGE THOSE BODY IMAGE THOUGHTS
I love that picture. I was doing the wonder woman pose and feeling positive and laughing. Yet, when I first saw the picture all I could think about is how my body looked. It took me a little bit to recognize how happy and gorgeous I look in that picture and gather up the courage to share it with the world.
If you were to count how many times in a day you have a negative thought about your body or how you look it would probably be astounding. It’s almost shocking how poorly we treat ourselves. I should have just had joy upon seeing the picture my amazing friend Dorey Kronick shot, but instead I criticized myself.
If you like things in video format, here’s an instagram reel I made, or you can read on for more.
One of the first steps to combat those negative body image thoughts is to recognize them. It’s like seeing a fly buzzing around in your brain- oh I see you (I’m currently watching Dickinson on Apple tv, so a little poetic imagery there for you). Watching your thoughts can be extremely powerful because we finally capture how many of those bad thoughts are going through our brain and can now work to reframe them.
The next step is to see is this my thought or is this society’s expectation that I have internalized. There are some extreme societal pressures that exist on many levels but fat-phobia and fat-shaming are pretty epic. In a way it’s a little easier to dismiss those external thoughts. The challenge is we have internalized so many of those beliefs and need to then start working on body neutrality or body acceptance.
The reality is that this is not easy work. I’ve been doing it for some time and still slip into those old thoughts too easily. I credit working with a coach for helping me see that there are other possibilities and other ways to treat and talk to myself. If you are interested in examining those thoughts you can set up a free consultation with me.
While I struggle with body image due to my weight another challenging area, especially when our society is so hyper focused on ability and beauty, are scars or physical disabilities. I wore a skirt, for the first time in forever, to work the other day and a coworker said “OMG what happened to your leg”. I have some pretty odd looking scars where an external fixator attached to my leg after I shattered my fibula and tibia in a car accident twenty years ago. Plus some pretty rough scars around my ankle from where the bone popped out. When she asked the question I had no shame around it, because I was used to it and it is now just a part of who I am. Although, after my car accident I refused to wear skirts or shorts for years. I was so hyper conscious of the scars and I felt disfigured.
It took many years for me to accept those scars of a part of who I was and my life story. I was lucky that they were able to save my leg, but I do have limited mobility and sometimes it is hard to accept this is the body I am in. At the end of the day I am healthy, happy and able to enjoy life, so I’ll take it.
