How to Improve Your Body Image

Do you often feel like you are fat no matter how much you weigh? Do you avoid doing certain activities because you feel embarrassed about the way your body looks? Do you feel your life will start after you loose weight?  You may have a body image problem or body dysmorphic disorder.


If you have a body image problem you may feel preoccupied with self doubt, lack self confidence and experience depression because you perceive that you do not look good enough.

You may feel if your body was just thinner you would achieve all the happiness that you want. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a distorted body image in which often people who are already underweight see themselves as being fat. These people are tortured by their struggle to be perfect.

Create a Body Image Jounal to use for the following Tips:

Discover Where You Learned about Body Image

Many people feel that problems with weight and body image comes from the media. While there is certainly a great deal of pressure that comes from the media, however, sometimes people neglect to look at their own history and situation. It can be very helpful to use your journal to think back to what shaped your thoughts and feelings about your body. Often parents or love ones project their own issues on to children. Using your Body Image Jounal for self-discovery can be very helpful.

Notice your Thoughts, Feelings,and Behaviors Related to Body Image

Use your journal to keep a daily record your thoughts feelings and behavior with respect to your body. This will help you to become more aware of how often negative thoughts and feelings go through your mind and the renforces your negative self-esteem.

Use your Journal to Identify Patterns in your Thoughts

Many people avoid activities and feel less than others because they feel overweight.This can be called If then thinking. An example might be If I loose 20 lbs, my life will be happier or If only I lost weight I could be in the relationship I want.

Other patterns the might emerge are all or nothing thinking. Often people who suffer with body image issues tend to say I look fat in this outfit or I look ugly in that picture.

Be More Objective

Use your body image journal to rewrite your thoughts in a more objective manner.Look for generalities that reinforce negative feelings about yourself.Go through each general statement and see if you can put it in a more objective way. See if you can find some positive things to write.

For example,if you have a jounal entry that states, I look fat in those pants, you might change it to, I would feel more comfortable in those pants if I lost a few pounds. I do like the way my shirt looks and my hair looked good that day.