Trigger warning: this article discusses body image and mentions suicidality.
Your body image is how you perceive your body. It may or may not match your body’s actual shape and size. A healthy body image is essential for maintaining self-esteem, as well as good mental health.
The Role of Society
Body image is often built by society. The media encourages a certain ideal which, in turn, reinforces our own beliefs of what an individual should look like. Social media, in particular, is a medium which triggers body image concerns such that likes are used to reinforce one’s appeal. Moreover, pictures of others are used to draw comparisons, especially in terms of models. Though we do realize that these pictures are edited, and everyone has imperfections, we often still develop a negative self-image by comparing ourselves to such superficial photos.
YouGov poll of 4,505 UK adults found that 57% of 18- to 24-year-olds surveyed admit to having felt anxious because of their body image, compared with 30% of 45- to 54-year-olds and 20% of those over 55.
Body image concerns are associated with the development of depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts when one is extremely dissatisfied with their appearance. A negative body image can even lead to the development of other mental health disorders, particularly eating disorders. The main disorder that is seen as a result of negative body image is, in fact, body dysmorphia.
We have all heard the phrases ”you look good, have you been on a diet?” or “you do not look that old, tell me your secret” sometime in our life. The phrases cause more harm than good as they reinforce our obsession with body image.
Normalizing an ideal body type, especially with the obsession of size-zero models and encouraging fad diets, which play a significant role in developing a negative body perception.
Body positivity movements are working to combat this issue of negative body image by pushing the idea that all bodies are beautiful and to find comfort in your own and cherish your own body.
Negative Body Image Signs
Some of the warnings you must watch out for in terms of when one is developing a negative body image is when someone is constantly criticizing their body, when one continually compares their body to others, when one does not want to leave the house due to their appearance, avoiding activities they would have liked prior to this due to their body, and linking food with guilt or shame and spending time looking in the mirror for imperfections. Another crucial thing which is commonly seen is when one obsesses about losing weight or changing a specific body part.