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Body Image and Body Neutrality
Summer means outdoors, warm weather, pools, and beaches, all of which put a lens on our body shapes and sizes. Confidence and comfort with our body image is a deeply rooted and personal matters. One survey found that over 80 percent of women and 70 percent of men experience dissatisfaction with their physical appearance at some point in the day. These are incredibly high numbers, considering how much our self-esteem and mental well-being depend on us having a healthy rapport with our bodies.
Body Neutrality is a contemporary psychological construct that helps individuals develop a wholesome relationship with their physical selves, intuitive eating and exercise at any stage of life.
The Body Positivity Movement
Around 2012, Instagram influencers and celebrities coined and hashtagged the term Body Positivity Movement on social media to counteract a decade of body shaming that occurred with imagery on magazine covers, on mass media, and online. For years, the fashion and beauty industries had narrowed the concept of physical attractiveness to photoshopped and highly edited, unnatural versions of the human form that very few people could identify with.
The Body Positivity Movement saw famous people publicizing images of themselves in their natural state, challenging societal norms of beauty. The “Dad Bod” became sexy and a paradigm change started to occur, promoting acceptance of all body shapes, sizes, gender, and skin tones to broaden the definition of beauty. Diet culture grew to an all-time high and by 2020, Instagramers had used the hashtag over 13 million times.
But there were a few shortcomings. While body positivity was exactly what the world needed at the time, most of what we saw with this movement focused on able-bodied, caucasian females. The lack of diversity and representation from other ethnicities and communities made the movement irrelevant to a large portion of the world population. Also, the Body Positivity Movement continued to place emphasis on appearance, shape, and weight, which reinforced the worth society placed on the physical body. For some, this continued to fuel negative body image, leading to depression, shyness, social anxiety, and self-consciousness in intimate relationships.
The Shift to Body Neutrality
In 2015, a subtle shift in lexicon began occurring as individuals sought out more realistic mindsets about body image. In particular, eating disorder specialist, Dr. Anne Poirie, came up with the term Body Neutrality for a treatment program at The Women’s Centre for Binge and Emotional Eating in Vermont. She wanted her patients to form wholesome relationships between intuitive eating, the physical body, and exercise.
Body Neutrality draws attention away from our looks and acknowledges the body as a vessel that permits us to enjoy life. The body requires care, exercise, sufficient food, water, and rest. Body Neutrality honours the body’s incredible abilities, without giving power to the positive or negative thoughts about its physical form. For example, when dancing, be mindful of how your arms and legs move to let you enjoy the beat of the music. During a hike, recognize that your legs contribute to your peace of mind in the great outdoors. Celebrate your arms for the warmth of a loved one’s embrace, and your strong back for pulling weeds so your flower beds can thrive.
In contrast to the Body Positivity Movement which pushes unconditional love for our bodies, Body Neutrality offers a comfortable middle ground when self-love feels like too big of a step, inauthentic and disingenuous.
Practicing Body Neutrality in Everyday Life
Body Neutrality is quite easy to include in our daily lives and in fact, many of us already do so without knowing it.
Body Talk
As a foundational principle, remove body talk about yourself or anyone else from your discourse. You can ensure others do the same by consciously redirecting such conversations to focus on abilities, personality, and accomplishments. Start complimenting yourself and others on those values instead of physical appearances. If you find yourself inadvertently ruminating negatively about your weight or looks, acknowledge the thought and then reframe it by pursuing what triggered it and what it offers you.
Getting Dressed
Wear clothing that feels comfortable supports free movement and is not restrictive. Organize your routine when getting ready to avoid unnecessary time in front of a mirror.
Exercise
Exercise and movement are important for physical and mental well-being. With Body Neutrality, your focus should be on how the activity makes you feel, rather than weight loss goals or appearance. Pay close attention to how movement lifts your mood or helps manage stress. If it creates frustration and negativity, then switch to a new exercise that fuels your excitement. And as with all exercise routines, make sure you take time to rest when you need it.
Food
A healthy relationship with food includes eating intuitively and trusting yourself around food you love without guilt or shame. It can take time to intimately understand your body’s nutrition needs and your hunger cues. Every meal may not be completely nourishing, and that’s okay. Sometimes you will eat past the point of fullness, or out of happiness or sadness. Normal eating includes all of the above. Body Neutrality offers a pathway to define your relationship with food so you can thoroughly savour meals that nourish your body to keep it healthy.
Body Neutrality and Aging
Our relationship with our bodies changes over time with life experiences, health, and aging. Grasping onto a body long gone of your youth can be a source of frustration and grief for some. Body Neutrality helps you make peace with the natural process of aging so you can enjoy life to the fullest by nurturing the body you find yourself in at any stage of life.
Body Image and Eating Disorders
Negative body image issues generally begin during adolescence as the body matures and socializing begins. The desire to fit in, peer pressure, celebrity influencers and more compels teenagers to spend more time in front of the mirror judging themselves, sometimes against unrealistic expectations. Negative internalized messages, dissatisfaction, and shame lead to social anxiety, depression, and an unhealthy relationship with food which, in extreme cases, cause eating disorders.
If you or someone you know suffers from negative body image to a point where it impacts everyday life, it’s time to seek help. Body Neutrality concepts and affirmations are not always easy to self-administer when mental health burdens exist. Seeking help from a trained professional can give you a leg up, and access to psychotherapy treatments like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, mindfulness practices, and in extreme cases psychiatric intervention.
Regulated therapists undergo 6 – 10 years of post-secondary education specifically focusing on the complex dynamics of human emotions and relationships. This gives them valuable insight into your well-being. Therapists who specialize in body image and eating disorders can provide solutions with proven evidence-based techniques. They are trained to support you non-judgmentally, with positive language and a safe place to find love for your body.
Therapy Fees
Therapy fees are one reason why some people avoid seeking help, and we understand this completely. Here’s how we charge for our time. We are happy to have a frank and open discussion with you to ensure we manage your care in the best way possible. Our services are covered by most extended benefit insurance plans. If you do not have coverage, we also offer affordable therapy sessions at discounted rates through our internship program. Therapy is an investment in your health and happiness and it is more affordable than common belief.
At each session, we remain committed to moving you forward. Often a few targeted sessions may be all you require. Once we see progress, we spread out the sessions or organize brief check-ins with more focus. This helps minimize your costs. Above all, we never keep you in therapy longer than you need. To accommodate varying schedules we offer online and in-person therapy sessions during office hours, evenings and weekends.
