Body image is how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind. It encompasses:
- What you believe about your own appearance (including your memories, assumptions, and generalizations).
- How you feel about your body, including your height, shape, and weight.
- How you sense and control your body as you move. How you physically experience or feel in your body.
Many of us internalize messages starting at a young age that can lead to either positive or negative body image. Having a healthy body image is an important part of mental wellbeing and eating disorders prevention.
Body Image & Eating Disorders
People with negative body image have a greater likelihood of developing an eating disorder and are more likely to suffer from feelings of depression, isolation, low self-esteem, and obsessions with weight loss. Read more >
10 Steps to Positive Body Image
One list cannot automatically tell you how to turn negative body thoughts into positive body image, but it can introduce you to healthier ways of looking at yourself and your body. The more you practice these new thought patterns, the better you can feel about who you are and the body you naturally have. Read more >
Developing & Modeling Positive Body Image
Dieting, drive for thinness, and body dissatisfaction are unhealthy actions and ideals that are often communicated to us and internalized from a young age. Once internalized, we may inadvertently perpetuate the cycle by passing those same ideals onto others—including children, students, patients, and communities. This harmful cycle can be stopped before disordered thinking turns into disordered eating; encouraging a happy and healthy relationship with your body are vital tools in eating disorders prevention. Read more >
Every Body is Different
It is important to remember that every body is different. We all have different genetic and cultural traits. Read more >
