Body image fears can take up a surprising amount of mental space. You may worry about how you look in photos, feel uncomfortable getting dressed, compare yourself to other women, or avoid situations that make you feel exposed. Even a casual comment about weight or appearance can stay in your head for hours.
These fears can affect women of any age, size, or background. They can also show up during times of change, such as puberty, pregnancy, aging, illness, weight changes, or the end of a relationship. Let’s discuss some ways to improve your body image.
Pay Attention to Body Checking
Body checking includes behaviors you may barely notice. You might look at your stomach every time you pass a mirror, pinch certain areas of your body, repeatedly weigh yourself, or take photos from different angles to see how you look.
These actions often provide a quick sense of reassurance. Then another worry appears, and you feel the urge to check again.
Try noticing when and why you check your appearance. What happened right before? Were you getting dressed? Scrolling online? Feeling anxious before an event?
A therapist may help you gradually reduce checking behaviors and learn how to tolerate the discomfort that comes with leaving the question unanswered.
Stop Treating Every Photo Like Evidence
A photo captures one second from one angle under specific lighting. Still, one picture can quickly become a reason to criticize your entire appearance.
Notice what happens after someone takes a photo of you. Do you immediately zoom in? Compare yourself with everyone else? Ask someone whether you look bad? Delete pictures you actually liked before you focused on your body?
Practice looking at photos without conducting a full appearance review. You can also focus on what the photo captured. Maybe you attended your best friend’s wedding, celebrated a birthday, or spent an afternoon with people you love.
Question the Rules You Have Created
Body image fears often come with rules. Below are some beliefs many people have internalized:
- “I cannot wear that until I lose weight.”
- “My arms need to be covered.”
- “I have to look thinner before I start dating.”
- “I cannot go swimming looking like this.”
These rules can quietly shrink your life. Write down a few appearance rules you follow and consider where they came from. You may have learned them from family, peers, social media, past relationships, or years of comments about bodies. Therapy can help you examine these beliefs and decide whether you still want them influencing your choices.
Build Tolerance for Normal Body Changes
Bodies change throughout the day and across a lifetime. Your stomach may look different after eating. Clothes may fit differently during your menstrual cycle. Your shape may change with age, pregnancy, medication, stress, or health changes.
Body image anxiety can make normal changes feel urgent. You may feel pressure to fix something immediately. Learning to tolerate change can reduce the amount of control appearance fears have over your day.
Be Careful with Appearance Conversations
Body criticism can become a social habit. Friends may talk about needing to lose weight. Family members may comment on someone’s size. Coworkers may discuss diets over lunch.
Try changing the subject, staying quiet, or saying that you are working on talking about bodies differently. Pay attention to how you feel after spending time with people who frequently criticize their own bodies or comment on others.
Getting Support for Body Image Fears
Body image concerns can affect relationships, confidence, eating habits, intimacy, exercise, and everyday decisions. You do not have to wait until these fears become severe before seeking support.
Eating disorder therapy can help you understand the beliefs and behaviors driving body image anxiety while developing healthier ways to respond to difficult thoughts about your appearance. If body image fears are taking up too much space in your life, consider booking with my office.