If you struggle with body dysmorphia, disordered eating, or negative body image, here are 3 tips I’ve used for years as someone in eating disorder recovery. These tools will help you navigate days when you don’t recognize yourself in the mirror, feel disconnected from your body, or uncomfortable in your skin.
If you struggle with body image or disordered eating in any capacity, this video might be helpful. Here are three things that Rachel Havocost does to navigate those days. The second thing she like to do is get outside.
If you struggle with body image or disordered eating in any capacity, this video might be helpful. Hi, my name is Rachel Havocost. I am a writer and mental health advocate and I have struggled with my own mental health for the last 20 years. Specifically, I have struggled with an eating disorder and been in treatment. I still experience symptoms on a regular basis, so I have a lot of tools in my tool belt for navigating when those symptoms arise. Specifically, if I have what I call bad body days.
And this is not to say that my body is bad, nor is yours, nor is anyone's. This is just what I call a day when I'm having a bad body image or bad body dysmorphia. And I just call it a bad body day, meaning I'm not having a very good relationship with my body and I want to use some skills and tools to navigate that. So here are three things that I do to navigate those days. The first one is I make affirmations. I affirm that this is temporary. The changes that might be happening in my body, whether real or imagined, in my head, the thoughts I'm having about my body or the disconnect I'm experiencing or the discomfort I'm experiencing are temporary.
So I remind myself, this will pass. This is temporary. And these changes or these thoughts I'm having are not permanent and they're not sustaining. The second thing I like to do is get outside. So I find that if I get stuck at home, that means I'm gonna probably spend a lot of time body checking and looking in the mirror, changing my outfit to find something that feels comfortable. Because I might feel overstimulated by my clothing, scrolling on my phone and comparing myself to other people. So getting outside and getting into nature, or at least going for a walk, is a really great way for me to get out of my head, into my body and into nature and my environment so that I'm not so stuck in my head.
The third thing is I give myself permission to wear comfortable clothes. This is not a day to torture myself and wear things that maybe would trigger more body dysmorphia or feel really tight and constricting. This is a day for me to wear something comfortable. Loose fitting allows me to move, allows me to sit, allows me to eat without feeling the discomfort or the overstimulation of clothing on my body. I hope you found these tips helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know.
And if you're struggling with body image or body dysmorphia or disordered eating of any kind. Please know you're not alone. This is something I've struggled with for a really long time, and despite being in treatment, I still struggle. So please know that if you're experiencing symptoms or a resurgence of thoughts, you're not backtracking. This is all part of the process. I'll see you next time.
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