Body Image & Mental Health
Female Body Image Issues: What is it & How it Affects Her Mental Health
Girls and women with negative thoughts and feelings about their bodies are more likely to develop certain mental health conditions. Here are some ways to encourage a healthier body image.
A healthy and fit body builds our social self-esteem.
Socially appealing body image and boosting self-esteem issues start in our brains, not in the mirror.
Higher body dissatisfaction is medically proven to be associated with mental distress and negative psychological well-being in all aspects.
Why? — let’s find out.
Why do body image and self-esteem matter to women?
Do you know? — A cross-sectional medical research has claimed that body dissatisfaction and the importance of appearance are higher in women than in men.
Also, they have proven that body dissatisfaction remains stable across all age groups of women, and the importance of physical appearance would be lower in older women than younger women.
Lastly, they concluded that the importance of physical appearance was higher in women than in men and body dissatisfaction was higher in women than in men, unaffected by age in women.
But, why so? — Why does this affect us women so badly?
Body image and self-esteem have always been directly proportional.
They have the power to influence your thoughts, feelings, and behaviour.
For example — if you don’t feel good about your body (or a part of your body), it will be hard to feel good about yourself.
The causes of serious body image concerns can be the following:
- The way we have been brought up since childhood in the society.
- Our relationship with peers, family members, and the way our friends and family speak about our body and appearance.
- Getting influenced by celebrities’ and influencers’ bodies via social media.
- The social pressure to look a certain way and match an ‘ideal’ body type.
All these are possible causes, due to which women get seriously influenced mentally and start demoralizing their bodies and self-esteem over time.
How does a skinny body affect women?
Women underweight without any health condition may have a negative body image and mental health issues like — “what their male counterparts think about their body.”
Whereas health conditions like Malnutrition, Hyperthyroidism, or PCOD/PCOS due to eating disorders or hormonal imbalance can show unexpected weight loss in many cases making the patient feel not good enough. This can cause more psychological distress in women, which can, in turn, lead them towards depression.
How does obesity affect women?
Women who suffer from unhealthy eating disorders, hypothyroidism, or other hormonal imbalances are more likely to gain weight quickly.
There is always a sense of dissatisfaction, fear, and public consciousness in obese women. They stop wearing revealing clothes and hide every part of their body that they feel conscious about.
Is weight the only leading factor for Body Image Issues?
Absolutely not, healthy-weight women can also have body image and public appeal issues. However, being overweight and underweight can make a woman’s negative body image more severe, but women can go beyond the weight factor.
Many other factors like skin colour, skin disease, age, physical disability, and body scars; that might trigger women towards low self-esteem, low self-worth, and body image depression.
How to encourage a healthier body image?
One blog post cannot change you or tell you to be more positive and happier about your body, but we can certainly help you get introduced to some helpful ‘body positivity’ tips that will help you attain more self-esteem and confidence in your life.
1. Appreciate your body. How? — well, start celebrating things your body can do like, dancing, running, breathing, singing, or laughing.
2. Spend time with people who appreciate you. I know it’s easier said than done. You will always find negative vibes around you, but spend most of your time and life with people who appreciate your body, irrespective of how it looks.
Such people are the ones who know you as a human from the inside. Therefore, what’s outside, never bothers them.
Also, It’s easier to feel good about yourself and your body when you are around supportive people.
3. Talk good about your body — Saying things like “I don’t like the way my body looks,” “Everything is wrong with me,” “I wish I could be like her!” demoralizes your brain.
Always remind yourself that “true beauty” is beyond what’s people see outside.
4. Stop taking public reassurance — This is like giving an axe to people and asking them to stab you. Seeking reassurance or validation from others to feel good about yourself will only hurt you in the long run.
Because people can be sweet to you at first, but as you disclose your body image discomfort, they can play these cards against you.
5. Treat your body with respect — Nothing comes easy in this world. So, if your goal is to lose or gain weight, to feel more confident, then do it.
Eat well-balanced meals and exercise regularly, sleep well, stay hydrated because it makes you feel mentally more confident and physically strong, not for just the sake of public show off and validation.
Don’t change yourself for others, do it for your own happiness.
Changing human psychology is not easy, but consistency is a good teacher. Be patient and practice these new thought patterns.
The better you feel about yourself, the better you will grow mentally as a human.
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