Body Images Issues in Utah: Let’s Chat About It

You wanna know a topic I like to get fired up about? The wildly inappropriate and shockingly unrealistic standards of beauty that women have to live up to. There I said it. I’m not an expert on any of the other 49 states in the Union, but I can tell you here in Utah that body image struggles are off the charts. You can drive along I-15, and bam! Plastic surgery sign. Hit up next by a botox sign and chased down with a fat sculpting sign. Big old billboards inviting women and girls to look at their bodies with a critical eye, and if you don’t like them? Good news, throw down some cash money, and you can change it! Utah has got plastic surgeons for days. It’s enticing to think that everything you hate about your body can just be sculpted, augmented, tucked, and injected away. Even when a woman doesn’t want to go to those lengths to alter her body, she can still get microbladed eyebrows, lash extensions, hair extensions and spray tan. There are so many options as a woman to manipulate your appearance to hopefully arrive upon a body that you love and respect. The harsh reality of all this is that it doesn’t work that way. Self-loathing doesn’t suddenly morph into self-love After I feel that fiery anger in my gut, it becomes washed away in sadness. 

Real talk: I’m a big fan of DIY at-home lash extensions (bless up Lashify!), I love a foamy self-tan in a bottle, and you’ll see me wearing makeup 5 out of 7 days. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting and doing any of this. Nobody is better or less than anyone else if they skip out on breast augmentation and deny botox. Trust me, there’s no Nobel prize for never highlighting your hair or altering your body. The cold hard facts, though? These don’t actually lead to lasting happiness, self-love, or a permanent positive body image. Why? Because it’s not about your body as much as you think it is. 

What does it mean to have body image issues?

99 percent of women probably have struggled with negative body image at some point in their lifetime. Body image can be a pervasive and ongoing issue, yet it feels normal for women to experience it. When is it crossing the line from being the normal brand of body image issues to clinically significant body image issues? This is hard for me to answer because, to me, any body image issue is worth addressing. As with any disorder, it becomes more concerning when it impacts your daily functioning. Clinically significant body image is obsessive thoughts and behaviors around manipulating and changing your body. This leads to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, disordered eating, and eating disorders. 

What are the signs of negative body image? 

• Dissatisfaction with the way your body looks

• Engaging in body checking behaviors

• Speaking negatively about your body and appearance

• Fear of gaining weight 

• Needing reassurance from others that appearance is acceptable 

• Feeling that if your body were different, you would feel happier

• Poor self-esteem related to body’s appearance 

• Comparing your body to others’ bodies

What’s the cause of body image issues?

The cause of body image issues are complex, and it’s hard to pin down one factor or instance that led to the birth of negative body image. Several factors can lead to the perfect storm of body image issues. Here are some options. 

Social media: 

Swiping through hundreds of filtered and photoshopped images of women weekly is not helpful for anyone’s body image. Research suggests that the longer you view these images, the more it leads to body dissatisfaction. Research has also shared that those that have stopped using social media see improvements in overall well-being, depression, and anxiety compared to those who continue to use social media. Isn’t that wild? You probably didn’t realize how much social media impacts your overall mood. I know I didn’t. 

Early Childhood experiences: 

As a young child, bullying from peers about body size and shape can impact your beliefs about your body and what it’s supposed to look like. As a child at tender developmental stages, these comments can greatly impact you. Those beliefs about your body when you are younger may contribute to insecurity about your appearance and can then become a theme throughout your life. 

 Trauma and Abuse

Women who have experienced trauma and abuse may believe that their body is to blame for what happened. In our society, women’s bodies are often sexualized and objectified, making it feel like they have to hide their bodies to be protected from further trauma and abuse. Further, people who have experienced trauma and abuse develop body shame and feel disgusted and hatred toward their bodies. 

 Comments made by other people

This one. If you are my client sitting across from me and we are processing your body image history, and you share the comments people have made about your body, my eyes are either going to water, or I’m going to be internally angry, or both. It is common for women with body image issues to have had a mother, grandmother, or some other authority figure make negative comments about their body. This one is a heartbreaker. Women learn something is wrong with their bodies, and they need to change it. Even if these women didn’t have someone making comments about their bodies, they have witnessed other people in their lives speaking painful words about their bodies. In turn, you learn to be critical of your own body or start thinking about your body more than you did before. 

 Eating disorders and body image issues can go together 

Eating disorders and body image issues are a match made in…hell? While you can have an eating disorder without body image issues, it’s not as common. When a woman comes to therapy and says they have body image issues but no disordered eating, I have to check twice. Not because it doesn’t happen, but because it’s so common and disordered eating is so prevalent in our society that it’s hidden in plain sight. Negative body image can progress into an eating disorder. The negative beliefs you hold about yourself and your body feels like could be solved by changing your body. Often the first attempt at changing your appearance is to focus on weight loss. One in four women that diet will progress to having an eating disorder. It’s a slippery slope and is dangerous. Body image issues being dangerous is probably not the first thing that comes to your mind, but it’s the scary reality. 

 Postpartum body image issues 

What the hell is with this weird bounce-back culture to postpartum women? Sorry for saying hell, but the expectations not so kindly bestowed upon postpartum women are suffocating and disturbing. The expectations for you to get back to your pre-baby weight and body ASAP make me wanna scream into a pillow. As if sharing your beautiful body to grow another human for 9 months wasn’t hard enough, you give birth-which seems like the most painful experience a human body can go through, and then you have postpartum. Breastfeeding, hormone shifts, caring for a newborn babe, and sleep deprivation, BUT somehow you’re supposed to get washboard abs in the midst of this. This is not realistic, and it’s not ok. In Utah, this issue is extremely prevalent. Perhaps part of it is from watching social media influencers push this agenda, but this is a two-thumbs-down approach for postpartum women. 

 Why doesn’t changing your body cure body image issues?

You wanna know one of my least favorite things to see on social media? Women who have raved about their tummy tuck and weight loss surgery boosting their self-confidence. I’m not doubting this isn’t true for them, but the message that’s being shared is “I couldn’t be confident about my body without these procedures” and “If you want to be confident, get these procedures, and you’ll be confident in yourself too.” Deep breathes. This is harmful rhetoric. Reminder, if you have had these procedures done or want to have these procedures done, there is no judgment at all. This isn’t a moral issue, and it’s not right or wrong. I am addressing that passing this type of message on is damaging. These procedures are treating symptoms and not the real problem. What’s underneath all of this? What beliefs are you holding onto about yourself and your body that is resulting in all this self-hatred that makes you feel like you have to change yourself and your wonderful body? Beneath every procedure is still that wounded part of you that thinks your appearance is the most important part of you. Those feelings don’t miraculously dissolve because you change your body. I’m not arguing that you won’t be more self-confident, but I am arguing it won’t make you happier. It will never be enough. There will always be another procedure to try, and you will always be focused on your body. This doesn’t have to be your life. You can make peace with your body without focusing on changing it. Your body will change throughout time, and it’s a good body no matter what. I just want you to believe that. 

 How do I support someone I love with body image issues?

Listening to someone you love to pick apart their bodies can be bruuuuutal. It can be frustrating when no amount of reassurance seems to make a difference. Reassurance that their body is attractive actually can feed into the cycle, and often feels like you are wasting your breath. Here are some options to consider: 

1. Share with them the qualities and attributes you love about them that have nothing to do with body and appearance. 

2. Listen without judgment. You don’t need to try and fix what they feel. Please also don’t suggest eating healthier or going to the gym. Never do that, please and thank you. 

3. Avoid making statements about your body and other people’s bodies' appearance. This reiterates the importance of what a body looks like. 

4. Redirect to talking about their feelings and what’s bothering them instead of making negative comments about their body. 

 Body image therapy can help 

If you have identified yourself somewhere in this post, first of all, welcome. You’re safe here, and you aren’t alone. Many women feel shame for how they feel about their bodies because they believe they should just be thankful and not feel like they do. If only that would resolve everything. Using logic to outsmart your body image issues will definitely not be sufficient to work through it. Body image therapy is an important step in stopping the war and fight you have with your body. Therapy for body image issues is an effective approach to being able to feel better about yourself. You may not realize how much your experiences, early childhood, and trauma may be impacting how you feel about yourself. Body image therapy can help you work through these experiences and challenge the beliefs you hold about yourself. 

Start working with a body image therapist in Utah 

Oh hey! As it turns out, I am a body image therapist and would love to help you heal. You don’t have to keep hating your body and make peace with it instead. At this Utah County Counseling Clinic, I offer in-person therapy in my office in Spanish Fork

Through online therapy in Utah, I can work with you wherever you are located in Utah. We can work together if you are in St. George, Logan, or Salt Lake City. Richfield? Panguitch? I got you. 

How to begin body image therapy?

1. Book a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Complete online forms and schedule the first session with a mental health expert

3. Begin body image therapy

Other mental health services at Maple Canyon Therapy

Body image therapy isn’t the only mental health service I provide at this Utah Counseling Center. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include anxiety therapy, EMDR and trauma therapy, eating disorder treatment, and binge eating disorder treatment in Utah.

About the Author

Ashlee Hunt is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and owner of Maple Canyon Therapy in Spanish Fork, Utah. Ashlee is a body image therapist specializing in body image issues. She is passionate about helping women get to a better place with their bodies by learning to use body kindness and body respect. Ashlee wants to instill hope into women that they don’t have to spend their lives hating their bodies but can stop thinking about them. Ashlee holds two bachelor's degrees, one in psychology, and one in family life and human development, from Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah. She received her Masters in Social Work from Utah State University in Logan, Utah. Ashlee has helped many women have more self-compassion and improve their body image.

Body Image Issues: 4 Ways to Cope

You and I have talked about before how it seems like warmer weather brings on bad body image. For some people, it is easier to hide in layers of clothing that are cozy and comfortable, and when the weather warms up, the layers have to be shed. The women I work with often want to hide their bodies and when temperatures spike it feels like they have no choice but to expose more of themselves than they want to. I get it. I imagine it’s difficult to be in this struggle and in your own skin. There’s nothing wrong with you for feeling the way you do. 

Body image issues are a struggle for the majority of women. It’s a sad truth, and I wish it weren’t that way, but it is. It’s hard not to struggle with body image when we live in a world that is obsessed with women’s bodies being thin, sculpted, and beautiful. I’m sure you have your own experiences personally where perhaps someone in your life made comments about your body and appearance that made you realize you should be worried about what you look like. These are challenging experiences to let go of.  Much of the media that we experience is filtered images of women that don’t even look the way we think they do.

Dealing with body image issues is hard

We also don’t have many people out there preaching body positivity and radical acceptance of your body. It’s still an unpopular movement to think of all bodies as good bodies that don’t need to be altered or shrunk. Unfortunately, many women attempt to improve their body image by losing weight or changing their image. You may be surprised to know that body image is contingent upon your weight, the size of your jeans, or the color of your hair. Changing all of that isn’t going to make a long-term difference in how you feel about your body. There are other ways to manage body image.

Before I give you some tips on how to cope with your body image, I want to tell you that you don’t have to feel guilty or stupid because you don’t like your body. I know when we open up about how we think about our appearance, loved ones might dismiss these emotions or even make us feel bad for feeling that way. You don’t need to feel embarrassed or ashamed because this is your struggle. You are already struggling enough and don’t need to feel worse. Let’s talk about what might help you feel better. 

Ways to cope with body image issues:

There are ways to help you deal with body image issues and not have to think about what your body looks like all the time. Here are some suggestions on ways to cope with body image:

Stop looking in the mirror 

Be honest with yourself about how long you are spending looking at yourself in the mirror, checking your appearance, or making sure your clothes aren’t showing too much. There is no moral value in you using a mirror at all BUT there’s a good chance that you are feeling terrible about yourself the more you body check in the mirror. It’s fine to use a mirror but I would certainly work on decreasing how many times you are checking out your appearance in the mirror. Believe it or not, the act of checking yourself out over and over in the mirror increases feelings of depression and anxiety. 

Reexamine who you follow on social media

Social media is great for connecting with other people and maintaining and building relationships. It opens up more opportunities to have connections regardless of physical distance. It can be a wonderful tool and support for people. It can also be a downfall. If you are following people that are body-focused regardless of their body size, people that are counting their macros or are on a “health” journey, it will likely lead to you thinking more about your body and what you eat then is probably helpful. I would urge you to pay attention to the accounts you are following and notice how you are feeling after scrolling. It’s ok to mute and unfollow anyone who makes you feel negative about yourself, and in fact, I would encourage you to do just that. 

Dress comfortably and get rid of clothes that don’t fit

This may seem to be pretty obvious but the way you dress matters. If you are constantly wearing clothes that are too big or too small, it’s going to keep you focused on your body size. You absolutely do not deserve to be or feel uncomfortable in your clothes. That may mean getting a different size of clothes. You might have unspoken rules in your head about what your size is allowed to be or you may feel anxiety about changing sizes, I want you to know it’s normal, and it’s ok. When you get the courage to do it, I would recommend getting rid of the clothes that don’t fit you anymore that have been hanging in your closet for “one day”. Take someone you trust shopping with you and let them pick the sizes for you so you don’t have to see them. Finding clothes that fit you properly is important when coping with a negative body image. 

Practice gratitude for your body

I tell all of my clients who are struggling with their body image that my goal is not to get them to love every part of their bodies. My goal is to get you to have respect and gratitude for your body. I want you to be able to move to a place of acceptance of what your body is rather than trying to get your approval of it. I don’t expect you to hold any body-love rallies, but I want you to think about your appearance much less than you are now. One of the tools to do this is finding things you are grateful for about your body. As they say, “Your body is an instrument, not an ornament”. Focusing less on what it looks like and more so on what allows you to do can help you feel more positively about your body. 

Body-image therapy can help

Using coping skills might not cure your bad body image, so don’t beat yourself up if you still struggle at times. These are tools to help you cope with how you feel about your body and to work towards having a more positive relationship with yourself. Therapy is a critical tool in helping you really dig in and rewrite the story of what you tell yourself about your body. Therapy is also an important step in healing from the past messages you’ve been given about yourself and your body. It’s important to address the underlying issues that have contributed to an emphasis on your body and help you develop a healthier view of yourself.

Trauma, comments made by others, and early childhood experiences contribute to developing a negative view of your body. It might seem like something you should be able to shake off, but our brains aren’t wired that way. Many women feel embarrassed that they care about something as “stupid” as what their body looks like. They have shared that they’ve tried to talk about it with other people and it has been minimized or they have been reassured that they look good, an dthere’s nothing wrong with their bodies. They begin to wonder if something is wrong with them because the words of their loved ones fall flat. The truth is nobody is going to be able to persuade your or convince you with words that your body is ok. The most important part of healing is you learn to accept yourself and your body for what it is.

Body image therapy is not just learning coping skills, but it’s actually learning to find healing from the comments people have made about your body that have been painful. Body image therapy is learning to respect your body and treat it with kindness. It doesn’t mean you’re always going to be stoked to look in the mirror or you’re going to love what you look like. The most important thing you can learn is how to show gratitude and kindness regardless of how you feel about your appearance. The overall goal is to feel better about yourself, which you can expect to focus on in therapy.

Start working with a body image therapist near Provo, Utah

You don’t have to keep hating your body forever. Therapy can help you stop the war you have with your body. This Provo Utah Area Counseling Clinic has a body image therapist that can help! To begin body image therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation with Ashlee Hunt

2. Complete online forms and book the first session with a mental health expert

3. Begin body image therapy

Other mental Health Services Provided by Maple Canyon Therapy

Body image therapy isn’t the only service I provide at this Utah County Counseling Clinic. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy Services include anxiety treatment, EMDR and Trauma Therapy, Eating Disorder Therapy, birth trauma therapy, and binge eating disorder treatment in Utah.

All services are available through online therapy in Utah. This means if you are located in St. George, Cedar City, Logan, or Heber City, I can still help you.

About the Author

Ashlee Hunt is a licensed clinical social worker and owner of Maple Canyon Therapy Services in Spanish fork, Utah. Ashlee holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a bachelor’s degree in family life and human development from Southern Utah University, and a masters in social work from Utah State University. She has worked with women with eating disorders and body image issues since she was a graduate student. Ashlee is passionate about working with women who are committed to developing a healthier view of themselves, food, and their bodies.

Other helpful blog posts from Maple Canyon Therapy Services:

• 4 REASONS NOT TO APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR BODY

• WARMER WEATHER AND BAD BODY IMAGE

• SELF-COMPASSION: WHY YOU NEED IT AND WAYS TO PRACTICE IT

• WHY YOU SHOULDN’T COMMENT ON ANYONE’S BODY

• 5 REASONS NOT TO COMPLIMENT WEIGHT LOSS

Warmer Weather and Body Image Issues

When we think about winter in Utah, I think there is some mutual understanding that people’s moods can drop. The sun isn’t out, we are vitamin D deficient, the snow is difficult to drive in, and so on. We get each other for not liking Winter and for feeling a little more depressed. What may be a surprise to some is that my clients feel an onset of a new kind of emotional upheaval in the Spring and Summer. Depression and anxiety increase along with the temperatures.

Warm weather in Utah can lead to more body images issues

My clients have to wear fewer layers in the warmer months, and they hate it. Warmer months mean no layers to hide behind. It means shorts, tank tops, short sleeves, and worst of all, swimming suits. It also means seeing other people’s bodies in these types of clothes, which makes the comparison. Comparison, as we know, is a black hole where nobody wins. It’s a rough time for my lovely people.

The goal may not be to love your body but to feel neutral about it

My approach to body image in working with clients is often to refer them to resources in order to manage it better and focus more on getting to a place of body neutrality. However, I don’t like to spend sessions focusing on your thoughts about your body, but I like to go straight to the heart and go a little deeper It’s not just about you not having a thigh gap or hating your waist size. It’s that desire to hide and how you feel unacceptable to others. I think that goes a bit deeper than the number on your jeans, and we won’t get very far if we focus all of our attention on this.

The beliefs about your body are the problem, not your body

It’s the emotions and attitudes attached to how you feel about your body. It’s about those earlier experiences where you got the message that you needed to hide or change your body or else you aren’t acceptable. Somehow those have shaped your life, and now you have a rule that you can never wear shorts (insert another item of clothing), and that’s not fair. That’s what I’m here for. Not to battle you over if you can wear shorts or not but to help you heal from your unhelpful beliefs about yourself.

Body image therapy can help

You don’t have to keep living this way. You don’t have to spend your life avoiding the mirror or trying to hide your body. I don’t want you to feel ashamed of your body or force it into discomfort to change it. There are many things you might feel or think that you don’t have to keep dealing with. Body image therapy can help you learn to cope better and to address the underlying issues of why you hate your body. Surprisngly it’s not just about what you look like but what you believe about yourself that might be contributing to the problem.

Start working with a body image therapist in Utah

You can feel better about your body, but more importantly, you can feel better about what’s happened to you and who you are as a person. That truly is what counts. I know that’s hard to do on your own. I would that you’ve tried to feel better about your body on your own but haven’t been able to be successful. I want you to feel more at peace and at home in your body, and therapy can help. This Provo Utah Area Counseling Clinic has a body image therapist to help. To begin therapy, follow the steps below:

1. Schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation

2. Complete online forms and schedule the first session with a mental health expert

3. Begin getting body image help

Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy

Body image therapy isn’t the only therapy service I provide at this Utah County Counseling Center. Other Mental Health Services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include anxiety therapy, EMDR and Trauma therapy, binge eating disorder treatment, birth trauma therapy and eating disorder treatment.