You cringe thinking about having to have your picture taken or to have to go shopping for clothes because you can’t stand to look at yourself. Whether it’s been recently or for a long time, dealing with body image struggles is hard. It seems to take over your life and prevents you from enjoying your experiences. You wish that you didn’t even have to think about your body but as of right now it seems to take up too many of your thoughts. You feel kinda dumb for struggling with these things because you think people have real problems and hating your body doesn’t seem like a big enough problem to you. Despite all of that you can’t seem to change how you feel. You’ve tried over and over to change your body. You’ve lost weight, dyed your hair, contour your cheeks, and more but regardless you still struggle.
Worrying about your body feels like a never-ending cycle for you. You have tried to solve it all on your own but it doesn’t seem to change long-term for you. Do other people feel this way about their bodies or are you the only one?
I totally get it. You’ve done everything you possibly could think of try and feel better about your body but you haven’t been successful. You’re tired of feeling this way but aren’t sure there is the hope of feeling better. As a body-image therapist, I have worked with many women who feel just like you. They’ve been able to make peace with their bodies through body image therapy and you can have this too. It’s not unreasonable to expect that you can have a life you enjoy that’s not completely plagued by tugging and pulling at your clothing, thinking about your next diet, or cosmetic procedures to change your appearance.
What is body image therapy?
Body image therapy is a mental health service focused on body positivity or body neutrality with the help of a body image therapist. Body image therapy focuses not only on how to develop coping skills to deal with body image issues but to heal from the underlying issues contributing to negative body image. Women aren’t born hating their bodies but they learn how to do it somewhere. Many women have seen family members be critical of their bodies or other people’s bodies. They’ve learned that it’s important to be a certain size or look a certain way or else they don’t feel worthy. Body image therapy helps women heal from these experiences and change the negative beliefs they have about their bodies. Body image therapy helps women to utilize more helpful and positive behaviors when they are feeling triggered by their appearance.
How does body image therapy help?
Working with a body image therapist can help you change your overall view of your body. It can help you recognize triggers to think negatively about your body and challenge you on how you compare yourself to other people’s bodies. Body image therapy can help you recognize the impact social media has on how you feel about your body and how to manage those thoughts. Being able to verbalize the thoughts and feelings that you’ve never been able to share out loud before can be more cathartic than you realize. Body image therapy helps improve your overall mental health and helps you stop fixating on all your flaws but helps you focus on the things your body can do and how it helps you live your values regardless of what you look like.
How do body image issues impact mental health?
Women with body image issues often have higher rates of depression and anxiety. They have lower self-esteem and are more vulnerable to developing disordered eating and eating disorders than women who don’t have a negative body image. Body image issues are often minimized because they seem like a “first world problem” but it impacts a woman’s ability to function in her daily life. Not only do body image issues impact mental health but they also impact intimate relationships. Body image issues impact overall mental health when you are consumed with thinking negative thoughts about yourself and engaging in behaviors to change or alter your body. Behaviors to alter your body might offer temporary relief but long term they are damaging, and require these behaviors to be effective.
What therapy is best for body image issues?
There are several different therapy types that can be helpful in dealing with body image issues. The three therapy styles that I use in working with body image issues are these:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on utilizing mindfulness and acceptance with committed behavioral techniques to be able to change. ACT focuses on something called psychological flexibility to change behaviors that are consistent with your values. ACT helps focus on distancing yourself from the thoughts you have about your body image through cognitive diffusion.
EMDR Therapy
Eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR) is a trauma therapy that helps reprocess traumatic experiences. EMDR is helpful to anyone who has a negative body image but especially to those who have traumatic experiences that involved their bodies. EMDR not only helps with trauma but it also helps change negative beliefs held about your body
IFS
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is not a family therapy contrary to the name. IFS focuses on recognizing parts of the mind that function as a system and how to give each of these parts what they need in order to overcome mental health issues.
How can a therapist help with body image issues?
A body image therapist is trained in therapeutic approaches that can help you combat negative thoughts about your body and go to the root of the issues. As a body image therapist, I am able to see an outside perspective of your experiences and help you make connections about your body image. It might be hard to believe that your body image has less to do with your body size and appearance than you think it does. Working with a body image therapist can help you recognize this and make lasting changes to how you view yourself.
How will body image therapy help with body dysmorphia?
I need to clarify that negative body image and body dysmorphia are not the same things. I see on social media that these two things are often confused. Negative body image is being critical and unsatisfied with your appearance. Body dysmorphia is a hyper fixation on certain body parts resulting in severe emotional distress. Body dysmorphia is a significant mental health issue that goes beyond negative body image. Body image therapy can help but what helps the most with body dysmorphia is medication and Exposure and Response Therapy. To be diagnosed with body dysmorphia these are some of the symptoms:
Symptoms of body dysmorphia
Abnormally concerned with a small or non-existent flaw
Thoughts about these flaws are severe enough to significantly impact your daily functioning
A strong belief that you have a defect or deformity in appearance that is not real
The belief that other people are judging and mocking you for your appearance
Why should I work with a body image therapist?
You should work with a body image therapist because you deserve to feel better about yourself. You deserve to enjoy your life and create memories with the people you love without having to be consumed by what your body looks like. There is a life for you that you can enjoy without having to feel anxious and self-hated. Working with a body image therapist can help you achieve those goals. You might not know this because you don’t know anything different than being consumed by what you look like. There is hope for you to find relief from your struggles, and working with a professional who knows exactly how to help you can make a big difference. You deserve to do this for yourself so you can keep showing up for the people in your life that you love so much.
Maple Canyon Therapy’s Approach to Body Image Therapy
The primary goal that I have for the women I work with in body image therapy is for them not only to stop hating their bodies but for them to just stop thinking about their bodies in every situation. I don’t try and tell my clients that once they are finished with body image therapy they will be in love with their bodies. I can’t promise that, and to be honest many women never get to the point of loving their bodies. It’s ok not to love your body all the time but the most important thing is that you start to feel neutral about it and learn to give it respect regardless of what it looks like. The thing I want the most for you is for you to stop actively trying to change your body. I want you to heal from all of the messages you’ve received that your body is the most important thing about you when it’s not. You are much more than your body.
My focus in body image therapy is to help you heal from the trauma that your body has been involved in. Many women have been told hurtful and horrible things about their bodies. Many women have experienced trauma around their bodies and this contributes to how they feel. I want to help you heal from all of that so you don’t have to spend so much of your energy trying to avoid thinking about it. I want you to be able to enjoy the activities you love without worrying about what your body looks like and what other people must be thinking about you. I want you to make peace with your body.
Ready to start working with a body image therapist in Utah?
You don’t have to keep hating your body and repeating the cycles of hating everything you wear and avoiding the mirrors. There’s a better and more balanced way of living, and body image therapy can help. This Utah Counseling Clinic has a body image therapist specializing in body image therapy. To begin counseling follow the steps below:
Meet with a body image therapist in Utah
Start making peace with your body
Online Therapy in Utah
It’s easy to put therapy on the back burner and put it off because you have a busy schedule or get anxious about trying to find a therapist’s office. I totally get that it’s hard to prioritize yourself. I also believe you deserve it because therapy can and should change your life. I can’t solve all of these problems but I want therapy to be more convenient and accessible to you which is why I provide online therapy in Utah. Online counseling is just as effective as in-person therapy but is more convenient for you.
Online counseling allows me to work with clients who are struggling with body image issues in Utah. I work with clients in Cedar City, St. George, Logan, Salt Lake City, Heber City, and more. Reach out today to make an appointment.
Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy
Body image therapy isn’t the only mental health therapy service provided by this Utah Counseling Practice. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include anxiety therapy, eating disorder therapy, EMDR therapy, birth trauma, and binge eating disorder treatment.
About the Author
Ashlee Hunt is a licensed clinical social worker and owner of Maple Canyon Therapy in Utah. Ashlee has a bachelor of science in psychology and a bachelor of science in family life and human development from Southern Utah University. Ashlee received her masters in social work from Utah State University. She enjoys working with women with eating disorders and negative body image. Ashlee loves helping women see what’s under their body image issues and to stop believing they need to change their bodies to be happy. When Ashlee isn’t doing therapy, she likes spending time with her Goldendoodles and exploring Southern Utah.