All About Body Image: How Psychologists Define It and How It Affects Health and Well-Being
How do you feel about your body? What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see imperfections? Do you see strength? Do you feel appreciation? Do you feel shame? Do you feel frustration? Do you feel capable?
That internal chatter and the tone you use when thinking or talking about your appearance (the positive and the negative) is all part of your body image.
What is body image exactly? Read on to learn what it means to have a positive or negative body image, how body image affects your mental and physical health, and what you can do to improve your body image.
“Body image is the way we view ourselves physically — the way we internally and externally talk about ourselves based on how we look, the reflection we see in the mirror,” says Jessica Cortez, RD, a dietitian with Connections Wellness Group in Denton, Texas, who specializes in eating disorders and body image.
She adds: “Are we neutral, kind, or mean to ourselves? Do we find ourselves being critical or neutral about the observations we make about our body and appearance? Do we find ourselves making strong judgments about our body that leave us feeling unworthy, less than, or undeserving?” How we answer those questions is all part of our body image.
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It was originally an effort started by fat activists to center and liberate marginalized bodies from oppressive forces such as fat phobia, racism, and ableism, says Samantha DeCaro, PsyD, the director of clinical outreach and education with the Renfrew Center in Philadelphia, a residential eating disorder treatment facility. “The movement was designed to challenge the conventional definitions of health and beauty.”
Body neutrality is a different concept. “It encourages taking a neutral approach to our bodies,” Dr. DeCaro says. “The term reminds us that we do not have to love our body to respect it, to nourish it, listen to its cues, or to have gratitude for what it can do.”
Embracing body neutrality rather than body positivity may be a more achievable goal for people with body image issues and those struggling with eating disorders. “It creates the space to cultivate an authentic identity that focuses less on the physical self and more on our core values,” DeCaro says.
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The foundation for a positive or negative body image starts early.
“Young kids and adolescents are very impressionable,” says Paakhi Srivastava, PhD, an assistant research professor at the Center for Weight, Eating, and Lifestyle Science (WELL Clinic) at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
Their body image is shaped by what they consume in traditional media and on social media, as well as via the messages they receive regarding body and appearance from adults, Dr. Srivastava says. If these messages are positive, chances are greater that the young person will establish a positive body image.
A positive body image means you feel good in your skin, regardless of whether your body meets the definition of what those around you would consider the ideal shape. “It’s a feeling of satisfaction about one’s body irrespective of the societal ideal being forced at any given time,” says Jennifer Kelman, LCSW, a therapist in private practice in Boca Raton, Florida, who specializes in eating disorders and body image.
For example, consider how you would feel if you tried on shorts from last year and they fit more snuggly than you remember. “A body positive way to respond would be: ‘Wow, I guess I grew this past year, but that’s okay. Bodies are made to change and adapt. I’ll find some different shorts instead so I can enjoy the summer and feel comfortable,’” Cortez says.
A negative body image is the opposite of a positive one; it’s feeling bad or beating yourself up for the way you look. “A negative body image can mean being highly critical of yourself physically and being judgmental about yourself to the point that you start to believe an internal dialogue, which in turn impacts the way you view your worth and value as a person,” Cortez says.
Consider the scenario where you’re trying on that pair of shorts from last year that no longer fit. Someone with a negative body image might react to that situation by thinking that they’re a failure for gaining weight or for not being as lean as they were in the past, Cortez says.
But no matter how negative body image issues began, they can certainly outlast someone’s teenage years. “I think it can be an issue across the life span — teens grow up to be adults who continue to have issues with body image,” says Jennifer Engler, PhD, a professor and the psychology chair at York College of Pennsylvania, who researches adolescent identity development. Adults can also develop a negative body image, especially if they’re prone to comparing themselves with others and feel pressure to meet socially prescribed beauty standards, she says.
A negative body image can affect both physical and mental health.
“One of the most significant mental and medical issues that comes along with having a negative body image is the connection to the risk of developing an eating disorder,” Dr. Engler says.
A negative body image can influence other behaviors as well. “You can see people who have negative body image engaging in other types of behaviors and activities to try to fix what they perceive to be problematic,” Engler says. “So maybe smoking or substance abuse to manage weight, or excessive exercise, which can lead to health issues down the road.”
Engler says there are some connections between depression and bulimia nervosa, as well as between anxiety and anorexia.
Today, social media is a factor that can have a big effect on someone’s body image.
For many people, social media shapes what defines beauty and attractiveness. And there are countless examples of people using social media to define themselves as individuals, Srivastava says. “It’s placing more importance on the body and almost objectifying it.”
Social media can lead people to judge themselves harshly, if their bodies don’t resemble what they see online. “Being bombarded by images on social media can have a negative impact on body image, because in real life nobody will ever live up to the photoshopped or perfectly curated ideal they see in their Instagram feeds,” Kelman says.
That said, the body image conversations on social media aren’t all negative. “Social media can serve as another mental health resource when used mindfully and consumed critically,” DeCaro says.
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Members of LGBTQ+ communities may have unique experiences with body image.
“There are overarching body issues [for all groups], and for each little pocket of ‘L’ and ‘G’ and ‘B’ and ‘T,’ there can be very specific challenges as well,” says Paula Atkinson, LCSW, a Washington, DC–based psychotherapist who focuses on helping people with eating disorders. “I work with a lot of male-identifying gay men, and unfortunately fat phobia is rampant in that community,” she says.
Another example Atkinson gives is people with gender dysphoria, which is the psychological distress that results from the desire to be another gender. Body image issues in this case can be people feeling like they’re not as feminine or as masculine as they’d like to be.
People from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities may have their own body image struggles, including feeling stuck in between mainstream Western beauty standards that glorify thinness and other body types that are celebrated within their culture, says Tigress Osborn, the executive director of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
That can lead to some confusion. “BIPOC people are contending not only with mainstream body ideals but also with our cultures’ specific body and beauty ideals,” Osborn says. “Those ideals can be contradictory, leaving BIPOC people feeling left out of one or both standards.”
These body image issues can be exacerbated by the fact that people of color often don’t see people who look like them in the media, Osborn says.
Finally, body image problems facing people in BIPOC communities are sometimes brushed aside. “BIPOC people also face having our body image struggles belittled or dismissed by those who believe that our cultural backgrounds protect us from anti-fatness,” Osborn says.
“There is sometimes a narrative that worrying about body image, especially weight, is a white-people problem, one we either don’t have the luxury of worrying about because our communities have more urgent needs or one we simply don’t need to worry about because our communities are allegedly more accepting of larger bodies,” she says.
“A person who is differently abled or has a chronic illness can experience even greater feelings of ‘my body has betrayed me,’ something those affected by diet culture and thin idealism already feel when their body doesn’t ‘behave as it should’ and get thin or stay thin,” Atkinson says, adding that she doesn’t speak for people who are differently abled or diagnosed with a chronic illness, but that these are sentiments reported to her through her work.
“A large part of finding freedom and sanity around [body image] issues is committing to rebuilding a relationship with one’s body, which requires trusting that it is doing the best it can,” Atkinson says. “When one is struggling with a disability or chronic illness, that trust can be harder to come by.”
Another tip: Don’t expect to feel 100 percent great about your body 100 percent of the time. “It’s almost impossible to be sane around your body and food in this culture,” Atkinson says. Accept that you’re going to have uncomfortable moments, and don’t be mad at yourself when you do, Atkinson says.
It’s when these negative thoughts about your body interfere with daily functioning (for example, if you’re engaging in excessive dieting or exercise or avoiding social activities) that it may be time to consider seeking professional help from a mental health provider, Kelman says.
“Everyone has negative thoughts about how they look from time to time, but when these harmful behaviors are the response to those kinds of thoughts, it’s time for professional help to work through it,” she says.
If you are actively in crisis and need immediate support, call 911. You can also call the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or text 741741 to reach a trained counselor with Crisis Text Line. These resources are available 24/7.
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
An estimated 28.2 million Americans will suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their lives. NEDA is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting those affected. It offers programs and services, including eating disorder screenings, treatment, support groups, and even a blog filled with helpful articles aimed at patients, parents, caregivers, and activists.
National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA)
People with larger bodies are often discriminated against. For over 50 years, the NAAFA has advocated for big-bodied people. This social justice organization provides virtual events, anti-racism resources, newsletters, research on fat bias in the media, and more.
Founded in 1996, The Body Positive is a nonprofit organization that teaches people to replace body dissatisfaction with “positive embodiment” and critical thinking skills to address appearance-based dissatisfaction. This organization offers online training courses for middle schools, high schools, and colleges, therapists, and individuals interested in developing a healthier body image.
The activist, award-winning artist, and thought leader on body liberation Sonya Renee Taylor outlines her vision for radical self-love in The Body Is Not an Apology . She writes that everyone is born in self-love, internalizing messages of self-hatred from systems of oppression as we age. Healing, Taylor argues, requires radical changes to the way we live and relate to our bodies.
In The Art of Body Acceptance, the registered art therapist Ashlee Bennett helps you counter the negative messages telling you you’re not enough. She offers creative exercises appropriate for people with no artistic background, helping you use art to develop a more compassionate connection with your body.
Hosted by the body image coach Summer Innanen, Eat the Rules covers various topics, including body positivity, self-esteem, intuitive eating, and eating disorder recovery. The podcast features interviews with experts and practical advice to help listeners foster a healthy body image.
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