Understanding
Negative Body Image
Causes and Treatments
by Kathryn Yarborough, MFA, BC-DTR The impact of a negative body image on a person’s life can be frustrating - or debilitating - depending on the severity of the disturbance. Check out the statistics on this video...
Understanding Body ImageFour Factors of Body Image - Visual - the picture of your body in your mind's eye
- Emotional - how you feel about your body
- Kinesthetic - the way you move, experience and sense your body
- Historical - the messages you received about your body or bodies in general.
These factors work together to form a multi-dimensional image of your body that includes a visual picture, feelings, sensations, and memories. Negative Body Image
There are two general types of body image disturbances: distortion and dissatisfaction. - Body image distortion is characterized by an inaccurate visual image or kinesthetic sense of the body.
Both... thin people who see themselves as fat and... ... thin people who can see themselves as thin when looking in a mirror, but feel fat... ... experience a body image distortion. Starvation can result in confused and distorted thoughts. People struggling with anorexia nervosa may experience a body image distortion as a result of starvation. Re-feeding is a necessary treatment for this type of body image distortion. - Body image dissatisfaction occurs when a person feels negatively towards his/her body or towards specific parts of his/her body.
Negative Body Image affects Behavior
The extent of the dissatisfaction influences the impact it has on a person’s life. For example, many people with eating disorders hate their bodies so much they wish they were invisible. Many hide in baggy clothes. Some are unable to tolerate loving or affectionate touch. Others actually retreat from social interactions. Many individuals can be so affected by their dissatisfaction that they choose to not participate in activities that involve wearing revealing attire such as bathing suits or leotards. Body Image and Self-esteem
Studies indicate that regardless of actual attractiveness, the better a person feels about his/her body the higher his/her self-esteem, and vice versa. Body Image Development
Though research is limited on body image, information suggests that body image develops as a person develops. In other words, we are not born with an intact body image, but instead it develops over time. It is between eighteen and twenty-four months that infants firmly establish images of themselves in their minds. Boundaries and body image
Literature suggests that there is a relationship between the development of boundaries and body image. Boundaries are the physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual edge of a person. Our skin is our most concrete physical boundary. It distinguishes between "me and not me." Our boundaries develop in response to how we are treated. In particular, how we are touched and whether or not we are allowed to develop independent thoughts and feelings. Touch
A person, who is not touched as an infant or child, may not have the sensory information needed to distinguish between "me and not me." As a result, boundaries may be unclear or unformed. This could lead to the development of a negative body image. The individual might be unable to have an accurate representation of his/her shape and size. Or, in response to not being touched, the person may feel unlovable and find his/her body repulsive. Emotional boundary incursions
A child whose thoughts and feelings are intruded upon may develop unclear or vague boundaries - unable to distinguish between his/her own feelings and the feelings of others. An example of this is when a child feels sad and cries, and the mother responds by saying, “You’re not sad. There’s nothing wrong.” As the body is the container and vehicle of expression for feelings, this type of boundary violation can affect the body image. Abuse and body image
In situations where a person is sexually or physically abused, gross violations of boundaries occur that may result in a negative body image. In many cases, the victim/survivor perceives his/her body as repulsive and suffers from intense shame. These victims/survivors tend to have a difficult time tolerating themselves or their bodies and cope by hating their bodies and possibly developing eating disorders. Emotions and body image
All feelings are normal, natural, healthy and experienced by all children. In many homes, expression of anger and other “negative” feelings is not tolerated. If a child is not allowed to express these feelings, they may be displaced on to the body... For example, instead of getting mad at mom for yelling, the child may think, “My body is disgusting and fat. I hate it.” Family Values about Body Size
Whether or not a person develops a negative body image may be related to the family values about appearance and food. In fact, there are studies that suggest mothers communicate messages verbally and non-verbally about the female body. Daughters internalize these messages sometimes without consciously understanding the message or where it came from. Though the mother may never say to the daughter, "You are fat and this is bad," her behavior towards herself, and possibly towards the daughter, may teach this message. Media and Negative Body Image
It is hard to not develop a negative body image when the media bombards us constantly with the message, "Thin is in!" On TV commercials we are told to "lose weight fast" or "exercise for thirty minutes" to have a beautiful body. Magazines displaying thin, attractive women try to convince us that we are not okay until we "slim our thighs." The overriding message is that we need to change something about ourselves in order to be loved or successful. In particular, if we have thin, fit bodies, "our lives will be perfect." Experience has demonstrated that this message is not true. In fact the constant striving for something other than what we are is part of what can keep us dissatisfied with life. Reality about body size
The reality is that genetically we are all born with varying shapes and sizes. Less than five percent of the population, healthfully and genetically, can expect to achieve the shapes and sizes the media portrays as ideal. The media holds this unrealistic goal up to us and suggests that we try to reach it. No wonder so many men and women are struggling with a negative body image. Treatment of Negative Body ImageTreatment of body image disturbances includes... - Identifying and differentiating between the ideal body size and shape, the perceived body size and shape, and the actual body size and shape.
- Increasing body awareness and sensory awareness in order to feel more comfortable in and about the body. Mindful movement is a great tool to help develop these skills.
- Acknowledging the negative thoughts a person has about his/her body and challenging these thoughts.
- Assertiveness training can help to strengthen boundaries.
- Stress management facilitates improved coping styles.
- Acknowledging and feeling the full spectrum of emotions diminishes the need for displacing negative feelings onto the body.
- Acknowledging the messages received about the body and healing the resulting pain can allow a person to let go of the past and take care of his/her self in the present.
- Receiving support and treatment for any physical, sexual, or emotional abuse provides an opportunity for the pain to become less powerful.
Dance/movement therapy and art therapy are psychotherapeutic modalities that use non-verbal and verbal processes to treat the whole person including body, mind, and emotion. Other body centered approaches such as Yoga, Feldenkrais, and Body/Mind Centering can help a person increase body awareness and reduce stress. Cognitive therapy uses thought restructuring to challenge and change negative thinking about the body. Other verbal psychotherapies are helpful in identifying and healing emotional pain, and learning new coping styles. Recovery from a body image disturbance is multi-faceted. Treatment by a trained professional is recommended for a person with a severe body image disturbance. If a body image disturbance accompanies disordered eating, a psychiatric evaluation is advised. The following books are useful resources for more information about body image: © Copyright 2009 (Revised Version) Kathryn Yarborough Return from this article about negative body image to Articles page.
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