Here are three things I like to do on days when I’m experiencing body dysmorphia or negative body image.
Rachel Havocost has struggled with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia for almost two decades. Here are three things she likes to do when her body image starts to get negative again. If you're struggling with negative body image, you are not alone.
How to Cope with Bad Body Image Days Hi, my name is Rachel Havocost. I'm a writer and mental health advocate. And as someone who has struggled with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia for almost two decades, these are three things I like to do when my body image starts to get negative again. The first thing I like to do is affirm that this feeling is temporary. Oftentimes, we can create a layer of shame around experiencing negative body image or experiencing thoughts about our bodies in a negative way when we've worked really hard not to.
So it's really important for us to remind ourselves that this thought process and these thoughts that we're having are not permanent and they're not us. So I like to affirm for myself that what I'm feeling, what I'm thinking, whether it's connected to a real change in my physical body or simply a different, distorted way that I'm looking at my body, that it will pass. The second thing I like to do is get outside. First of all, by being in nature, we can connect with something bigger than ourselves, and it oftentimes will help us remember what's really important in life and that our physical bodies are really just these material physical vessels to bring us out into the world and so that we can experience things.
And I find that connecting with nature, seeing plants, animals, wildlife, flowers, trees, things that grow, and things that look in different ways and are still beautiful even though they look different is a reminder to me that my body is not bad or good, it's just my body. Being outside also helps remove us from triggering environments like social media on our cell phones, mirrors in our apartment, the television, things that sometimes might bring up or reinforce some of that negative body image.
The third thing I like to do on negative body image days is wear comfortable clothing. Sometimes I find that by wearing something that feels a little bit looser or isn't as tactile can help kind of remove some of that physical trigger of experiencing things touching my skin. Oftentimes it can feel overwhelming or overstimulating to have too many tight things or maybe like itchy or scratchy textures, which kind of only keeps us very present and focused on our physical body. So allowing myself to remove anything that brings my attention to my physical body so that I can stay focused on other things and remind myself that there are a lot of other things in the world that are much more important than my physical state.
I hope this was helpful. If you're struggling with negative body image, you are not alone. It is something that I continue to battle and am working through in therapy right now. So please know that even if you've worked hard to not feel these ways, it's okay if these thoughts come up. We live in a culture that is very much about how we look and our appearance, and it's very difficult not to let those messages infiltrate us. So please be gentle with yourself. I'll see you next time.
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