Six Ways to Engage With Body Positivity

There is so much research about body image distress – the ways in which we feel badly about our bodies – but what if we’re trying to work on feeling better about our bodies? Newer research is looking specifically at body positivity, which is not just the absence of body image distress, but rather an overarching term referring to feelings of love and respect for the body. There are many different ways that we can express body positivity, and here are six different strategies you can try.

 

  1. Recognize what your body is doing for you in the current moment. Are you standing, or walking, or breathing? Recognize whatever it is that it’s doing, and acknowledge that with gratitude: “I am grateful for my legs to be able to help me walk.”

  2. Check in (truthfully) with your social media accounts. Who/what are you following that supports body positivity? If you notice there are accounts you follow that don’t make you feel good in your body, think about unfollowing them, or muting those notifications. Additionally, explore body neutral or body positive accounts to see if there is anything that can fill that void.

  3. Taking care of ourselves is actually a practice of body positivity called “adaptive body investment” – it can take the form of things like basic hygiene, going to the doctor, wearing sunscreen, getting enough sleep… the list goes on. Write down the ways that you are actively taking care of your body.

  4. Create a body affirmation. This can be hopeful (“I am working on appreciating my body more”) or it can be factual (“I have a body and today my body feels healthy”) or it can be positive (“I love how my hair/eyes/shoulders look today”). Return to this affirmation as often as you want.

  5. Practice self compassion. Explore what it would feel like to treat your body like a friend, or what you might say if a friend thought about their body the way you’re thinking of yours. How might you talk to yourself if you were your own friend?

  6. And finally, engage in some joyful movement! What are ways that you feel neutral or positive when you’re moving your body? Maybe you enjoy swimming, or dancing on your own, or cuddling with a pet. Finding spaces where we get to experience joy in our bodies is important, and it may surprise you what you come up with!

 

References
Body Positive: Understanding and improving body image in science and practice by Elizabeth A. Daniels, Meghan M. Gillen, & Charlotte H. Markey.

 

Blog by Kristin Southworth, MA, LPCC
Photo by cottonbro studio via Pexels