Body image is a vast and intricate topic in psychology. It’s also a rapidly growing field since many people’s body image issues are impacted by images they get from society and the media, both of which have grown at a breakneck pace in recent years. While there is too much to discuss in a single blog post, we’ve compiled some sound advice, including image statistics and strategies for feeling better about your body.
Contrast and despair not
Before the internet’s advent, the argument was centered on fashion and leisure periodicals. Everywhere we go, we are confronted with alleged body ideals. When we are concerned by comparisons, it is worth examining our intentions, which brings us to the following point.
Examine your motivations
Many body image concerns stem from our need to compare ourselves to others, whether individuals in our immediate vicinity, celebrities, or photographs on social media. According to the tripartite impact model of body image and eating disorders, we compare ourselves to others for three primary reasons: self-evaluation, self-improvement, and self-enhancement.
Self-evaluation occurs when we need to understand our place in the scheme of things – to ascertain our position in the tribal hierarchy. We want to know whether we’re keeping up with the people around us and if things are becoming better or worse for us.
Self-improvement occurs when we desire to be better versions of ourselves by emulating or interacting with prominent persons. We attempt to resolve conflicts on our own by referring to established social models and allowing ourselves to be affected by the behavior or appearance of someone we consider to be more successful.
Self-enhancement stems from basic pleasure-seeking. We desire a hit or a pleasure when we believe we outperform another individual, which boosts our self-esteem.
It’s prudent to consider what we believe we’re getting out of it when we compare our bodies to the people and visuals we see around us. Comparing ourselves to others may either give us a boost of feel-good endorphins or bring us down. Either way, it is not the healthiest method to determine our self-worth.
There is no such thing as the ideal physique.
There is an increasing assumption that everyone should strive for an “ideal” body form. This notion is reinforced on social media, where a minimal variety of physical shapes is attractive. While it’s admirable to strive for fitness and health, the way you appear when you’re fit and healthy may be very different from how Mo Farah or Serena Williams look when they’re in top physical form. The fact is that each person’s physique is unique, and there is no universally desirable body shape.A healthy body image represents our true selves and our perceptions of ourselves, not an unachievable ideal. Even if the magazine girl does not look precisely like the magazine girl, don’t make assumptions based on her appearance alone.