Body image is the term which describes how one mentally defines the way he or she looks. It is the personal relationship one has with his or her body and the feelings and beliefs they hold about their physical appearance. Negative body image refers to one’s unhappiness with their looks. Often, this mental image of oneself does not align with the actual way a person looks or how the world sees them. A preoccupation with physical appearance can have major lasting effects on one’s physical and mental health, along with their overall well-being and can even result in suicidal ideations and death (Body Image). Therapy is crucial for empowering men and women to accept and love their bodies and to resist societal pressure of beauty standards.
Around the age of 3, children can start forming first opinions about their bodies, which are often directly influenced by parents. At approximately 8 to 9 years of age, body awareness starts to establish and children are susceptible to peer pressure. The pre-teen stage is the time when distorted thinking about ones’ body can first emerge. Overall, women are much more likely to suffer from negative body image in comparison to man (Body Image).
Doubting one’s own beauty and self-worth can be influenced by a variety of factors like social media, societal beauty norms and peer pressure. Social media consistently pushes unrealistic societal beauty standards on users. Only the best photos with the most suitable filters for flawless and young looks are shared on social media, giving unrealistic examples of how others appear to look like (McLean at all, 2015). This leaves users with peer pressure to look young, slim, have no wrinkles and to strive for overall societal perfection.
Negative body image can manifest in a variety of ways and severities, starting with things as little as longing for thicker hair or curls all the way to starving oneself to be slimmer and engaging in self-abuse. Others endure cosmetic surgeries to have bigger breasts, a smaller nose, less wrinkles, etc. If not challenged and treated, these thoughts can easily turn into obsessions and no matter how much they do to change their physical appearance, it will never be enough. There will always be one more pound to lose or another flaw or cosmetic detail (likely unnoticeable to others) that must be perfected (Johnson, 2022).
Having a negative body image can lead to low self-esteem, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder, and obsessive thoughts about improving one’s appearance; all of which have a detrimental impact on overall quality of life (Johnson, 11 February 2022).
Societal standards of body perfection and beauty ought to change in order to provide a healthy environment for growing adults to accept and love their bodies. While this would be an ideal solution, it is unrealistic to be able to change idyllic standards of an entire society.
However, if one suffers from distorted body image and low self-esteem, he or she can seek therapy. A counselor can aid in changing thoughts, feelings and behaviors about one’s body and assist them to accept themselves as they are. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been proven to be an evidence-based treatment modality for eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorder and negative body image. CBT is used to target distorted thoughts and beliefs about one’s body, and to restructure their thoughts / beliefs to encourage body positivity and self-acceptance. The behavioral part of CBT then teaches clients to disengage from harmful behavior toward their body, and teaches resiliency and coping skills required to withstand peer and societal pressure (Bernstein et al, 2023).
References
Bernstein, E. E. et al. Mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral therapy effects on symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder: a network intervention analysis. Psychological Medicine, [s. l.], v. 53, n. 6, p. 2531–2539, 2023. DOI 10.1017/S0033291721004451. Disponível em: https://research-ebsco-com.proxy-commonwealthu.klnpa.org/linkprocessor/plink?id=ac9d61b3-1499-3545-adba-1efc8688907c. Acesso em: 17 Feb. 2024.
Body Image. Counseling Today. 16 February 2024. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/body-image.
Johnson, M. (February 11, 2022). 4 components of Body Image. Counseling Today. 16 February 2024. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-savvy-psychologist/202202/the-4-components-body-image.
McLean, S.A., Paxton, S.J., Wertheim, E.H. et al. Selfies and social media: relationships between self-image editing and photo-investment and body dissatisfaction and dietary restraint. J Eat Disord 3 (Suppl 1), O21 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/2050-2974-3-S1-O21.