Top 5 Ways to Boost Body Image in Recovery

Improving your body image is typically one of the hardest parts when recovering from an eating disorder. It is also usually the last focus within the therapeutic process. This is mostly due to prior focus on weight restoration or weight management, dispelling negative thoughts, and changing behavioral patterns.

With that being said, body image is more deeply ingrained in our heads than anything else. Most sufferers report feeling that their bodies were different from others as early as age eight or nine. It is what we are modeled, what we see on television from an early age, and what we hear from others. This article will offer the top 5 ways to boost body image in your life.

1. Look at What Your Body Can Do

When deep in the eating disorder, most thoughts are about what aspects are wrong with our body versus what your body can do [1].

In eating disorder recovery, the focus starts to become what your body does… its strength, movement, and purpose. Your arms can carry things, your core holds you upright. Your leg muscles help you sit, stand, and lie down. Your face muscles help you talk. The aspects of your body that used to bring negative feelings can now bring a sensation of pride. Your body is strong. Look at all that it has come through and fought against. Your body is amazing in how it can heal itself.

There are high standards for health and beauty in society. Health is how you feel internally about yourself. Health is a physical feeling. It is what sets the standard for healthy organs, skin, and senses. Beauty, on the other hand, can be both internal and external. Beauty is what you radiate from the inside out. It is confidence in yourself, in your abilities and body.

Being able to examine what your recovery has brought you in terms of your thinking and rationalization process is also a way to view what your body can do for you. Being in recovery helps you see that your brain is able to view yourself and your environment in a very different way.

2. Ban the Fat Talk in Eating Disorder Recovery

Another way to boost body image is to ban “fat talk” in your home, social circles, and workplace.

This includes being able to change the conversation when it comes up, or walking away from those types of conversations. It can mean coming up with a phrase or comment to use when those situations arise, which you can use with a loved one or your treatment team. This can be empowering for those working in recovery to do because it allows you to be able to have control over what you will tolerate from others, and build respect for yourself in the process [2].

To often when we gather with family or friends, the conversation turns to diet, weight, or workouts. Being able to change this verbiage in small ways can make a lasting impact.

Surrounding yourself with peers who are also in recovery can help with your body image positivity. Being with others who have gone through similar situations and are in recovery can aid in knowing how to handle some of these situations.

3. Practicing Body Gratitude

Body gratitude is powerful. In therapy, we discuss having gratitude in our daily lives. It means being able to give thanks to your Higher Power for what you have, what you are doing, and how your body serves you. It allows each of us to give thanks for waking in the morning, to be able to have food in our kitchen, and resources to live out our daily lives.

Body gratitude is thanking your body throughout the day for what it does for you. It can sound like, “Thank you, legs and core, for carrying me down the stairs today,” or “Thank you, arms, for carrying my shoulder bag into the office.”

It can even be thanking your eyes for seeking, and your lungs for breathing in and out through the day. Body gratitude is being grateful for the small things your body does to support you, to sustain you, and to care for you.

4. Art is From The Heart

Art can be powerful in body image recovery. It can be a way for our brains to process emotions that are too overwhelming to express verbally. Art provides a way for those in recovery to be able to see their bodies in a new way.

Body image art therapy can be used to help those with eating disorders focus on specific body parts that they struggle to accept, or being able to be more objective with him/herself. Most often, art therapy will use various mediums, such as paint, clay, body tracing, or even scale smashing to fight against negative thinking around body image.

Art therapy can help a person gain a deeper understanding of their body [3].

5. Thinking Differently & Developing Coping Skills

Changing your thinking can make a powerful difference in your recovery. It allows you to have control over what thoughts you allow to take up space in your brain. Being able to use tools, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), can give you coping skills to change negative body image thoughts into more rational, self-compassionate thinking. It takes time, practice, and patience to develop these more realistic and loving thoughts, but this can change the way you view yourself.

In conclusion, there are many ways that you can boost your body image. These may be the top 5, but choosing to change the way you view and feel about yourself is powerful and a wonderful step forward in your eating disorder recovery.

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About the Author: Libby Lyons is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS). Libby has been practicing in the field of eating disorders, addictions, depression, anxiety and other comorbid issues in various agencies.

Libby has previously worked as a contractor for the United States Air Force Domestic Violence Program, Saint Louis University Student Health and Counseling, Saint Louis Behavioral Medicine Institute Eating Disorders Program, and has been in Private Practice.

Libby currently works as a counselor at Fontbonne University and is a Adjunct Professor at Saint Louis University, and is a contributing author for Addiction Hope and Eating Disorder Hope. Libby lives in the St. Louis area with her husband and two daughters. She enjoys spending time with her family, running, and watching movies.

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References:

[1]: [1] 10 Steps to Positive Body Image. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2017, from https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/10-steps-positive-body-image
[2] Filucci, S. (2017, February 03). 5 ways parents of preschoolers can raise a body-positive kid. Retrieved June 16, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2017/02/03/5-ways-parents-of-preschoolers-can-raise-a-body-positive-kid/?utm_term=.07d28a087b07
[3] Gaete Celis , M. I. (2010, November). WORKING WITH THE BODY IMAGE THROUGH THE ART-THERAPY TECHNIQUE. Retrieved June 20, 2017, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274380909_’WORKING_WITH_THE_BODY_IMAGE_THROUGH_THE_ART-THERAPY_TECHNIQUE

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The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Published on August 28, 2017.
Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on August 28, 2017.
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com