Body Image Issues the Leading Cause of Women's Low Self-Esteem

Does how you feel about your body shape how you feel about yourself?

Do those negative thoughts about your body have an impact on your confidence? - Perhaps holding you back from going for that promotion or going on that date?

Does that reflection looking back at you in the mirror shape the choices that you then make through the day?

New research from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) found that body image is the main reason for women's self-esteem issues, with 61% of women in the study stating it as a reason for low self-esteem. The research also found that for over half of the women involved, low self esteem affects their day-to-day choices, including whether they speak up at work or go to events.

After body image, the study found that other causes of low self esteem for women included:

• social comparisons (31% of the women involved)

• professional life and career (29% of the women involved)

• romantic life and relationships (25% of the women involved).

Another finding from this research was that poor self esteem may begin as early as 10 years old for some individuals (10%). `So many women and girls everywhere are holding themselves back in their lives as a result of how they feel about their body.

The good news in all of this however is that by shifting your self perception, improving your body image and in turn your levels of self esteem, you can completely transform so many other areas of your life. The clients that we work with, shift their relationship with food and their bodies but as a result often notice improvements in their romantic lives, professional lives, finances, friendships and much more.

So if you would like to start improving how you feel about your body, you can start to:

1.AVOID COMPARISONS

Often one of the reasons for poor body image and low self esteem is the way in which we compare ourselves unfairly to other people and also to past versions of ourselves. We may, for example, wish that we could wear the same clothes that we fit into when we were at university. Or, we may, wish we looked like those edited and filtered images of people that we see on Instagram. We may even torture ourselves wondering why we don't look as good as the colleagues, family members and/or friends that we see day-to-day. Yet all of these comparisons tend to be unhelpful and unfair. Firstly, we tend to focus on the "good" parts of others and scrutinise our own "flaws". Secondly, we only ever see one very small portion of someone else's lives and compare our entire selves and lives (warts and all) to this small slither of someone else's reality. So avoiding these comparisons (against past versions of ourselves and against others) can be a helpful first step in boosting our body image and self esteem.

2.NOURISH YOUR BODY INSTEAD OF PUNISH IT

When we feel bad about our body the natural inclination can be to do things to "sort it out" or in effect, to punish it. We may starve it, engage in ridiculous exercise regimes or even resort to suspicious supplements or medicines that promise to change how we look (but may also have some dangerous side effects). All this punishment does however is to reinforce that our body is not good enough as it is and the backlash of these punishing measures is often acts such as bingeing (when you fall off the wagon of that strict diet) or complete exhaustion (when all that exercise just isn't manageable anymore). Much more helpful, to improve your body image, is to aim to nourish your body from a place of self love. Wanting to take care of and nurture your body because you value what it does for you, can help to you feel better about your body over the long term.

3.FOCUS ON WHAT YOUR BODY DOES FOR YOU

We live in a world that encourages us to focus on what our bodies look like and often this then means that we lose sight of what our bodies do for us. They are in fact pretty amazing, these bodies that we have. They allow us to breathe without even thinking about it, perfectly calibrate our internal temperature, and allow us to do so many things such as sing, taste, touch and dance. By focusing more on what your body does for you than what it looks like, you can start to improve how you feel about your body and your self esteem.

4.PRACTICE SELF COMPASSION

How you talk to yourself and your body will dramatically affect your levels of self esteem. By talking to your body (and yourself) like you would talk to a dear friend you can start to improve your confidence levels and allow yourself to progress in so many areas of your life.

5. REMEMBER THOUGHTS AREN'T FACTS

Just because you think a negative thought about your body, it doesn't mean that this thought is true. Our thoughts are not facts. Our thoughts are just stories that our mind makes up and often these stories are just unhelpful messages that play out on loop. By not buying into those negative messages playing out in your head, you can start to shift how you feel about yourself and your body. Gently choosing a new story to tell yourself in your head - one which paints yourself and your body in a more positive (or at least neutral light) - can start to boost your self esteem.

“and i said to my body. softly. ‘i want to be your friend.’ it took a long breath. and replied ‘i have been waiting my whole life for this.”

―Nayyirah Waheed

If you would like some support to improve your body image and to boost your self esteem (and in turn to improve other areas of your life), please reach out to us at info@thefoodtherapyclinic.com to book in a free consultation.