Improve Your Body Image and Mental Health: Take the Challenge

Can you improve your body image and mental health at the same time? How often do you hear people complain about their body shape and size? Are you the one complaining?

Was it always this way?

Did Eve complain to Adam that she thought her butt was too big, or that her ankles were too fat?

I think she had bigger things to think about back then than worrying about her size and shape. I mean, it’s not like she had any competition for Adam’s affections, right?

Ok, that was a lot of questions!

Let’s move on.

What is body image?

(Yes, I realize that’s another question…)

Body image can be healthy and positive, or unhealthy and negative. It might seem like a simple concept, but we make it mighty complex, don’t we?

Body image is how you think and feel about yourself. It’s how you feel about your height and weight, your skin, hair, and eye color. It also includes your thoughts and feelings about yourself.

We aren’t born with a negative body image, we’re conditioned that way.

This is often caused by the people around us and what we see and hear on TV and the internet. Family, friends, celebrities, and the media all affect the way we see ourselves.

Healthy body image

A healthy body image is feeling comfortable in your skin and feeling good about the way you look.

People with a positive body image tend to have better physical and mental health than those with a negative body image.

Body positivity (or body satisfaction) involves feeling comfortable and confident in your body, accepting your natural body shape and size, and recognizing that physical appearance say very little about one’s character and value as a person.

National Eating Disorders Association

I absolutely love that definition. I hope to someday feel that way about my body.

Unhealthy body image

An unhealthy or negative body image is when you don’t feel good about your appearance or feel you don’t measure up to where you think you should be.

It’s constantly comparing yourself to others and not feeling good enough, feeling awkward, and/or lacking in self-confidence.

We strive for body sizes and appearances that rarely exist in the real world.

We strive to look like the “perfect” person.

Girls and women with negative thoughts and feelings about their bodies are more likely to develop certain mental health conditions, such as eating disorders and depression. Researchers think that dissatisfaction with their bodies may be part of the reason more women than men have depression.

Journal of Adolescence; 37(1): 73–84

We’re fighting an unwinnable battle, and it will only end in disappointment until we can accept ourselves the way we are- flaws (as we see them) and all.

How body image affects mental health

Can you imagine actually feeling comfortable in your skin?

Imagine looking in the mirror day after day and not picking apart the slightest of flaws. Wouldn’t it be great if we could see ourselves as our loved ones see us?

Body image and social media

Has our overall body image changed since the emergence of social media?

Um…YES! (I know, not surprising.)

We’re constantly bombarded with pictures of people who only show themselves in their best light- perfectly put together with their makeup and hair just right.

Social media break

Have you ever thought about going on a social media break (or quitting it altogether)?

It’s been proven that removing yourself from social media leads to an improvement in well-being and lessens depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances.

According to a study on social media and body image involving 118 women ages 18-27:

They felt worse about their own appearance after looking at social media pages of someone that they perceived to be more attractive than them. Even if they felt bad about themselves before they came into the study, on average, they still felt worse after completing the task.”

Jennifer Mills, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at York University in Toronto, Canada

It’s amazing what constantly seeing only the best parts of people’s lives does to your own body image and mental health.

No one’s lives are perfect no matter how it seems.

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel.

Pastor Steve Furtick

Can we change our mindset?

Is there any way to change our body image without actually changing our bodies? Can we accept ourselves for who we are and for what we look like?

I believe it’s possible, but because of the way we’ve been conditioned our whole lives, it will take some work.

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The Challenges

Here are some challenges for you. If you don’t already do these, I hope you can at least give them a try.

1. Go on a social media strike.

If you are someone who is on social media, try going one day without it. If that goes well, try two days, then three, and so on.

See if your mood improves, or if you start feeling more positive about yourself.

2. Stop putting yourself down.

Do you often tell others that you need to lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, and/or wish you could change something else about yourself?

How would you feel about not complaining? Would you start to accept yourself as you are- hips, thighs, stomach and all?

Yes, you will probably continue to think negative thoughts about yourself, but by not saying them out loud you’re moving a step in the right direction.

You’re moving toward a more positive body image, which can, in turn, improve your mental health too. (Yay!)

Related: How To Know When You Need To Take A Mental Health Day

Positive Affirmations

Changing your thought patterns is difficult, but it can be done!

Positive affirmations are statements that help you overcome negative and self-sabotaging thoughts. Repeating them often can change the way you think and feel about yourself.

Try to make it a habit to tell yourself at least 1 positive affirmation every day.

Here are some from around the internet:

1. I love my body because it is a home for my beautiful soul.
2. My body deserves love and respect.
3. I love the way that I look.
4. I accept my body the way that it is.
5. I am perfect and complete just the way that I am.
6. I deserve to be treated with love and respect.
7. Even when I don’t see how amazing I am, there is someone who does.
8. I look exactly the way I’m supposed to, this is how I was made.
9. A goal weight is an arbitrary number; how I feel is what’s important.
10. I am powerful. I am capable.
11. My body is my home.
12. My legs support and carry me through my life.
13. My body is perfect for who I am today and will support me in my life’s journey.
14. I deserve to love myself. I deserve to feel comfortable and confident.
15. I am grateful for all the things I can do.
16. I am beautiful, in every single way.
17. My body belongs to me. I love and respect myself, exactly as I am.
18. I see myself with loving eyes, and I love everything I see.
19. My body tells my story.
20. My body is not for others’ approval or satisfaction, but for myself, to make me happy.

Final thoughts on body image and mental health

Our body image and mental health can be altered for the better with time. Gaining confidence and a more positive body image can improve your mental health and overall wellbeing.

The hard part is getting there, but we can accomplish great things when we put our minds to it! (Right?)

Try doing a social media strike and only speaking positively about yourself for as long as you can. Then give those positive affirmations a try.

What have you got to lose?

Read next:

• Antidepressants And Suicidal Thoughts: What You Need To Know
• The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Mental Health Therapy
• How To Do A Brain Dump For Mental Health
• What You Need To Know About Seasonal Affective Disorder
• Why Do You Overeat?

Pinterest it up! 🙂