How Can You Treat Body Image Issues Effectively?

“Body image” means how you think and perceive your physical selves. As in present digital era everyone have exposure to digital media where the perfect form is continuously portrayed. In this era due to media, people of all ages are struggling with how they look in their society. Sometime beyond simple dissatisfaction from body image, people are struggling with their mental health, self-esteem, and overall well-being.
Here we will discuss about treating body image issues effectively by managing your negative thoughts.

 
How you can identify Issues with Body Image?

Body image issues are influenced by physical appearance. People sometime feel more conscious about their appearance even if they don’t have any noticeable flaws. Sometime a person with mild body problems seems unhappy with his or her body size or specific body parts. When this dissatisfaction gets continuously out of control, it can lead to negative body image. This body image dissatisfaction can lead toward mental issues. Here we will discuss about treating body image issues effectively.

 
What are the causes of issues with body image?

To begin treating body image issues, it is very important to understand its causes. Some cause that cause body image issues are:

1. The Influence of Media

In today’s digital era people are continuously exposed to their ideals which build unrealistic expectations. On social media platforms, where by different filters and editing apps influencer create unrealistic body types, make the societal body image standards more high.

2. Negative Comments

Peer criticism on one’s size and weight is not a joke it can cause lifelong harm. Such derogatory criticism can cause lifelong body shaming and harming thoughts.

3. Emotional Aspects

Due to unnecessary criticism, harming body shaming various psychological issues like lower self-esteem, and poor self-image start to develop in a person. This rejection based on look cause persistent disturbance in body image.

4. Genetic Factors

Sometime genetics also play important role developing body image issue. Depression, anxiety run in family can leads toward poor self-image in mind.

Implications of Body Image Issues

Body image issues not only affect just surface-level anxieties but also harm many aspect of life including:

1. Emotional health:

If you keep constant comparison of self-body image with others it will aggravate anxiety. These persistent body image thoughts will cause hopelessness and feelings of body shame.

2. Relationships:

If people have persistent negative body image thoughts this will lead toward withdraw from society and relationship. This withdrawal will affect the personal relationship of the person.

3. Physical Health:

Negative body image perceptions will affect the eating patterns of the person. The person will be more body conscious to keep him or herself more fit and smart in society. People with such thoughts have restricted diet patterns, can have binge eating as well.

4. Day-to-Day Operations:

Excessive beauty concerns can have a negative impact on the quality of life. Treating body image issues is crucial for physical and mental health of a person.

Treating Body Image Issues:

There is no specific treatment method for improving one’s body image. Many treatment strategies are used. Treating body image issues needs combination of personal strategies, environmental factors and professional care as well. Here we will discuss how treating body image issues can be performed for better mental health.

1. Look for Professional Help

To treat body image issues professional help is a crucial step. To seek professional help is mandatory in many cases for the people struggling with body image issues. Therapists, Psychologists and counselors are available to provide practical evidence based treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy CBT helps people to change wrong beliefs and misconceptions about body image and size. Therapists and psychologists help people to cope with their body image thoughts by reformulating their thoughts. Some severe psychological disorders relevant to body image like Body dysmorphic disorder, Eating disorder like anorexia and bulimia nervosa specialized therapies are needed. To treat such severe body image issues people need dietary counselling and medical monitoring as well.

2. Address mental health issues

Persistent negative body image thoughts can cause anxiety, depressions and poor self-esteem. So, to treat negative body image treating depression and anxiety can also be an important step for treatment process. Sometime metal health professionals have to use medications to treat these mantel health issues.

3. Promote physical acceptance

As we have discussed that all body image issues are due to the reason that person is unable to accept his or her physical appearance physique. The challenge for mental health professional is to change the point of view from negative perception to accepting or embracing one’s own body image. As person have more concentration in body flaws so it is necessary for mental health professional to improve body image. Embracing body image means that a person eliminates all harmful stereotypes about perfect body shown on social media by influencers. The person have to focus on appreciation of body for its practical attributes instead of its appearance. Some psychological techniques like mindfulness, and journaling can help person to reduce self-critical thoughts and initiate the cultivation for a perfect positive body image.

4. Supportive Environment

As we have discussed that peer pressure is also a source of creating negative thoughts about body image of one self. So social support is very supportive and crucial for a person for a better wellbeing. Our society should have more focus on body acceptance and worth instead of causing negative comments on weight or appearance of someone. Mental health professionals organize group therapies and support groups to resolve these type of mental health issues. Participating in support group can help to reduce the negative perception of body image. These support group are designed by mental health professionals consisted of individuals struggling with various issues regarding body image or self-perception. In these support groups participants discuss about their own experiences with body dissatisfaction and the feelings of emotional loneliness. Support groups are formed in which people discuss that how and when they reduce their negative feelings.

5. Reduce the Media’s Pressure

As we all now that in today’s life every one have exposure to media and specifically social media. Our youngsters are more active of all these social media platforms. These social media platforms are promoting the perfect body image thoughts. Influencers of these social media platforms persistently showing their body’s perfection on their timelines. These have raise the standards of beauty in society and cause the society to be more focused on appearance instead of personality. But we are getting more impressed by these apparent beauty standards. So if you reduce the exposure of media and false internet images of beauty you can significantly reduce triggers for negative body image of yourself. You must be focused on following accounts that are promoting inclusivity, body acceptance and diversity instead of those promoting negative body image standards. Follow such type of social accounts will increase rethinking beauty standards and cultivate more positive perspectives.

6. Healthy Lifestyle

Mental wellbeing is associated with physical wellbeing as if you are physically healthy and fit you will be more active mentally. Physical and mental wellbeing both are associated with intake of balance diet of a person. There are many other factors contributing to physical and mental wellbeing of person like exercise, adequate sleep and diet. Some factors like eating unhealthy food harm the body, mindful eating and enjoyable physical activity are helpful in promoting wellbeing. All these wellbeing factors have no preoccupation with beauty.

7. Focus on Strengths, Not Appearance

To resolve issues related to body images it is required to make people see their beauty beyond appearance. Instead of just considering the appearance as a whole personality skills, accomplishment and passions should be point of focus.

Benefits of Treatment for Body Image

Improving appearance is just a single benefit of treating body image issues. As body image issue can cause many other mental health issues like if a person is more conscious about physical appearance he or she will be more conscious about eating which can cause eating and feeding disorders. So treating the body image issues will decrease the risk of such type of disorders.

More resilience can improve the relationship with exercises and food and will decrease the risk of such disorders. As we have also discussed earlier that negative perception of one self-body image can affect the social life of a person. By treating body image the social life and personal relationships of a person can also be improved. The treatment of body image can also have great influence on the mental wellbeing of a person. Most important effect of positive body image perception is that it allows person to live freely and break all obsessive thoughts of the person.

Getting Past Challenges

Sometime the negative body image perception is not single cause it may have many other factors in the background. So a straight line isn’t always the case. People who are working to improve their body image may relapse, especially if they are among triggers or hear negative comments. When people view these setbacks as an essential component of the journey rather than as failures, they can continue on. Self-compassion, professional assistance, and ongoing therapy are all very helpful in maintaining improvement.

Conclusion of Discussion

Given how much emphasis society places on appearance, it is not surprising that so many people experience body image disorders. However, with the right help, body image issues can be addressed. By combining professional therapy, resolving underlying mental health issues, practicing body acceptance, and developing better behaviors, people can replace body shame and body dissatisfaction with confidence and empowerment.
Accepting oneself and learning to look past one’s apparent flaws are essential components of healing. A step toward self-love, independence, and long-term wellbeing is improving one’s body image.