8 Ways to Support Yourself During Tough Body Image Days
Welcome back!
Last week, we discussed body grief and now we are back with some ways to support yourself when having a tough body image day. Today, we thought we’d simply share some tips to navigate difficult body image days that you can utilize throughout the body grief process. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and we will be back in the future with more posts on body image topics.
8 Ways to Support Yourself During Tough Body Image Days
Validate, Feel, and Express Your Feelings
If you tend to avoid feeling your feelings during tough body image days, consider testing out validating and feeling them next time. Everyone experiences difficult body image days. It makes sense based on the world we live in (you know, diet culture). Plus, we are human - not every single day is going to be perfect. Validating how you feel can be a powerful experience. It could sound something like:
I’m not feeling great about my body today. I feel frustrated, upset, angry, and uncomfortable. All those feelings are valid and I’m allowed to feel them.
When you feel your feelings, tune into WHAT you are feeling. Name the emotion by using the feelings wheel if you are unable to identify it. Tune in to where you feel it in your body. Consider journaling what you feel or discussing it with a supportive person. Express it through movement, writing, listening to music, crying (yes, it’s okay to cry!!), or doing something creative. Remember, feelings are not permanent. This is also where your coping skills and self-care practice come into play!
Here are a couple of journaling prompts to test out:
How has your body taken care of you?
Why do I find it difficult to accept my body right now?
What am I experiencing as I feel my feelings?
Utilize Your Coping Skills
We are big proponents of creating a coping skills toolbox and utilizing coping strategies when needed. Ideally, your coping skills toolbox should contain a variety of tools to help when feeling a variety of different feelings. For you, maybe doing some deep breathing or box breathing is helpful. Others might feel reframing negative thoughts or journaling is more appropriate. Choose what feels best for you!
Practice self-care
Self-care can be practiced anytime, but we highly recommend it when you are having a tough body image day. Self-care allows you the opportunity to take care of yourself and tune into what you need. If you haven’t yet created a self-care practice, grab our tips here. A few suggestions for tough body image days include:
journaling
getting cozy with a book, movie, or TV show
take a social media break for the day
talk to a trusted, supportive friend
burn a candle or wax melt of your favorite scent
eat a nourishing meal that sounds good to you (this does not mean the meal needs to be healthy. ‘Nourishing’ can mean healthy food, comfort food, or sweet and/or salty snacks. The key here is to eat something that makes you feel good, comforted, and supported.)
Practice Self-Compassion and Gratitude
Perhaps practicing self-compassion and gratitude is the last thing you want to do when you are having a tough bad image day. We get it. However, self-compassion and gratitude have powerful effects when it comes to changing our moods and mindsets. Consider how you might help a friend navigate a tough body image day and try that for yourself. Thank your body for keeping you alive or allowing you to move through all the things on your to-do list.
Wear Something That Makes You Feel Great
This tip can be such a game-changer. Experiment with wearing comfy clothes like joggers/sweatpants, a loose shirt/sweatshirt, warm socks, a hat, or an oversized cardigan. Also, test out wearing an outfit that makes you feel amazing like a bold blazer, those new wide-leg jeans, that patterned jumpsuit, or a flowy dress. The idea here is not to fit your body into an outfit that will highlight your tough body image day, but to instead, find what makes you feel good and supported.
Don’t step on the scale and avoid comparing your body to others
These might be some of the first things you do when you experience a tough body image day, and it’s likely both activities can make it worse. The scale is one tool that can be used to measure body mass. If stepping on the scale instantly makes you feel worse about your body or yourself, it’s a good idea to avoid it. Body comparison is also unhelpful because you are comparing yourself to another body. You are unique, different, amazing, and so many more qualities. Focus on those things rather than body size and see how that shifts your mindset.
Move your body in a supportive way
A tough body image day might make you feel like you need to go extra hard at the gym. If that feels truly supportive, go for it! But it can be helpful to explore joyful, supportive movement too. Consider participating in a yoga class- online or in person, go for a walk, do some light stretching, or perhaps a hike, with the added benefit of being in nature.
Change negative language to neutral language
You probably know how quickly negative self-talk comes up when you’re having a tough body image day. We totally understand! We also understand that switching negative self-talk to positive self-talk is usually much more difficult when you aren’t feeling so great about your body. Our suggestion: try neutral language instead. Rather than say something like ‘My stomach looks so terrible and gross today!’ swap it with ‘This is what my stomach looks like today.’ Other options include:
My body supports me.
I am enough, right now.
I respect (am working on respecting) my body.
Today, this is my body.
My legs help me sit down and cozy up with a book or journal.
My arms allow me to give and receive a hug.
One BONUS suggestion: start learning what triggers a tough body image day for you. Is it seeing what that fitspo influencer posts in their IG stories? Is it after a conversation centered on diet talk? Is it after receiving a comment about your body? Understanding your triggers can help you be proactive in taking care of yourself. It is also a reminder that regardless of where you are in your relationship with your body, there will be difficult days. And that’s okay. We hope that utilizing some of these tools helps you move through tough days and prepare for them in the future.
How do you manage tough body image days?
Collaborative Counseling & Nutrition is an outpatient nutrition and body image counseling center, with locations in Indianapolis and Carmel, that provides compassionate, holistic eating disorder treatment. Through practicing mindfulness, intuition, and Health At Every Size, we are on a mission to help you find a true state of well-being! We take an anti-diet, weight-inclusive approach with all our clients and work to help guide you towards a way of healthy living designed by you, just for you! This post is for education purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for treatment for an eating disorder. If you are looking for a registered dietitian or therapist to assist you on your recovery journey, please reach out today!
