At one point or another, most of us will have body image issues or, at the very least, a bad body image here and there. Because we take up residence in our bodies, it can be debilitating to feel like you are at odds with yours. I’ve learned that body image issues don’t discriminate (at all) by gender, race, age, body size, profession; anyone can have body image issues. And there are a lot of things people do (including me . . .) to try to fix body image. Many of them work temporarily, but none of them, in my own experience, truly uncover, address, and remedy the feelings of discomfort or dissatisfaction we have with our body.

10 Things We Do to Try toFix Our Body Image (that don’t work)

Trying every diet

There’s always a new one, a popular one, a fad one, one all the influencers are talking about – and they all promise to make you “look and feel great” in [insert length of time here]. It’s easy to get excited and hopeful that this new (or new to you) diet is going to fix your body image, but the result is usually a hyperfixation on food and food rules, perpetuation of disordered eating, exhaustion, and even more intense body image issues.

2. Getting nutrition advice from wellness influencers and programs

It can be challenging to decipher who on social media actually has the training and authority to be able to be a wellness or nutrition “coach.” There are so many people speaking with authority on “fitness,” dieting, food choices, and supplements who don’t actually have the training necessary to be speaking with authority about said workout program, supplement, or diet. It can feel hopeful to connect with an energized, charismatic influencer or fitness guru in hopes that this will finally be what you need to fix your body image, but this often just ends in unsustainable diet and lifestyle changes that perpetuate disordered eating patterns.

3. Thinking that I could fix it on my own

After struggling with body image for years, trying to fix it on your own may prove to be a challenge even if you are focusing on your mental health. It’s hard to untangle and undo thought patterns that we have operated with for any length of time when we are trying to do it alone.

4. Comparing experiences or journeys with someone else

I loved to use my perception of others’ “fitness” journeys as a way to justify the means I was using to fix my body image: working out, dieting, constantly seeking out a new gym, etc. I would think things like: This person looks super happy and they work out all the time or this diet really seemed to work for this person. What we have to constantly keep in mind is the fact that we only see what people want us to see, so while it may appear that a work out plan, diet, supplement, or otherwise is what is making someone else happy with their body, this is often not the case at all.

5. Hiring a personal trainer (instead of a therapist)

This is not a slight to personal trainers; they can be and are instrumental in some people’s wellness journeys, but if you are hiring a personal trainer in hopes that you can “fix your body” in order to be able to make peace with it, that’s where a therapist who is trained in eating disorder and body image therapy comes in. A personal trainer cannot heal your body image.

6. Long workouts, sometimes 2x a day

For a long time, I would use long workouts as a way to feel better about my body when I felt uncomfortable in my skin, when I didn’t like how I looked, or when I was trying to distract myself from any negative emotions I was having about my body. In the moment, it made me feel better, but it was, again, another way to distract from the fact that the work I really needed to do was internal.

7. Tried to keep my struggles a secret

You may be keeping your body image struggles to yourself because it feels like the norm to hate your body and diet to “fix it.” Body image issues don’t sound the alarms for people because we are desensitized to just how serious and debilitating they can actually be. So this makes it feel unnecessary to seek help.

8. Focusing externally instead of internally

Ultimately, if we continue to focus on what we can manipulate externally, we will stay stuck in a constant cycle of finding something that seems like the “fix all” only to realize that it provides temporary relief or distraction from a much bigger problem.

9. Achieving a “goal weight”

Diet culture tells us that reaching a goal weight will fix your body image, all of your health concerns, and just about any other thing that may be going awry in your life. I bought into the lie – over and over again – that once I hit a certain weight, all my body image issues would be fixed and that I would love my body. What actually happens is a fixation on said number and a whole lot of anxiety about keeping it there, followed by a lot of shame when it [inevitably] goes up. Instead of freedom from a bad body image, you can become a slave to the scale.

10. Using supplements or medication to achieve weight loss goals quickly

While you may experience an initial boost in body image when using medication or supplements to aid in losing weight, this can serve as another band aid on what is actually a much larger issue. We may be able to cover it up for a while with quick weight loss, but the mental health struggle always resurfaces when the initial excitement of losing weight wears off.

So, How Do I Actually Address My Body Image Issues?

When many of the voices around us are telling us changing your body, the way you eat, and how you move are the way to fix your body image, it makes sense that we try those things with the expectation that our body image will improve. It can take a few attempts at external changes before actually believing that the work we actually need to do to fix our body image is internal. There are some tips here for how to actually move toward healing your body image. As always, I’m honored to be on this journey of self-improvement with you.

By: Erika Muller, Assistant for Wildflower Therapy LLC

All images via Unsplash

How Can Wildflower Therapy in Philadelphia, PA Help You?

If you’re looking for someone to come alongside you to help you unpack and approach the the complex set of experiences and emotions that come with having and healing from an eating disorder , our therapists in Pennsylvania are honored to help! In fact, you can get to know a little bit more about them here and book a free consultation here.

Other Mental Health Services Provided by Wildflower Therapy, Philadelphia, PA

Life is a unique and sometimes messy journey for each of us; we all have our own individual battles to fight. Our therapists know there is no one-size-fits-all approach to any of life’s challenges and because of that, we offer many unique perspectives and approaches to help meet you where you are with our Philadelphia, PA Therapy services.

With this in mind, we offer services for eating disorder therapy, services for anxiety, and depression, and have practitioners who specialize in perinatal mental health , maternal mental health, therapy for college students and athletes. As well as LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapy. Accordingly, we have something to offer just about anyone in our Philadelphia, PA office. Reaching out is often the most difficult step you can take to improve your mental health. We look forward to partnering with you on this journey!

How Do I Fix My Body Image? 10 ways we try to “fix” our body image (that typically fail & why)