The way we perceive our bodies can impact how we think and feel about ourselves. Our body image may influence everything from the clothes we wear and the activities we do to the careers we pursue and the people we surround ourselves with. If we have a negative body image, our quality of life will suffer.
We may try to fix our body image issues by attempting to control and change our bodies through diet, exercise, or cosmetic procedures. But body image issues typically don’t disappear as our appearance changes. In fact, we’re often left even more dissatisfied with how we look.
Body image issues may seem like vanity problems, but they cause real distress and damage when we don’t know how to cope with them. It’s important to understand how body image issues impact our lives and what we can do to work through them.
What Is Body Image?
Body image is more than how we see ourselves physically. It’s also about how we react to that perception and how it impacts our daily lives. We can look at body image as having four components:
Perceptual body image: This is the way you see your body. Your view of your body may be distorted, meaning what you see in the mirror is different from what others see.
Affective body image: This is the way you feel about your body. If you have a negative view of your body, your body image may bring up feelings of disgust, shame, or embarrassment.
Cognitive body image: This is how you think about your body. If you suffer from body image issues, you may struggle with obsessive thoughts about your weight, body shape, size, or individual parts of your body.
“Part of healing from poor body image involves moving the focus of one’s anger from their body to the systems that tell them that their body isn’t ok as it is.” – Marcella Cox, Founder and Executive Director of Kindful Body
Behavioral body image: This is what you do in response to how you think and feel about your body. Body image-related behaviors may include body checking, dressing in ways that hide your body, dieting, seeking constant validation or approval, pursuing cosmetic procedures, and avoiding social events.