3 signs you need help with body image

How do you know when you need help with your body image?

In my experience, women often put off seeking support because they don’t think their body image is ‘bad enough’.

In a world where body hate is normalised, it can be difficult to know when to reach out.

In this post, I share three signs that you might need help with body image, and point you in the direction of immediate support.

Listen or read below:

Why get help with body image?

When I speak to a woman about working with me, she’s often put off seeking support because she doesn’t think her body image is bad enough. This is no surprise…

Living in a culture that is obsessed with bodily perfection means body dissatisfaction is seen as normal, which makes it difficult for women to recognise when they need support.

Everyone has their limit when it comes to experiencing painful or difficult feelings, and this will vary from person to person – and only you can decide when you’ve had enough and need support.

But what I can say from experience is that there is nothing normal about living with a perception of your body that severely limits your life.

And while it’s possible to work on body image alone, accessing support will move your towards a better relationship with your body quicker, so that you can stop limiting yourself and fully live your life.

Signs you need help with body image

I’ve observed a few key signs that women need help with body image. Here’s three of the main ones:

Excessive negative thinking about their body

Thoughts about your body take up a large proportion of your mental space. Typically, 70%+ of your time is spent thinking about how awful your body is, what other people think about it, how it compares to others, what you should or shouldn’t be eating, and how much exercise you need to do.

These thoughts consume so much mental capacity that there isn’t much left to focus on other things like your partner, family, career, hobbies, or social life.

All this mental activity is exhausting, leaving you tired, depleted, and depressed.

Relationship issues

Having a negative perception of your body has a knock-on impact on relationships.

If you have a partner, there will often be intimacy issues. You might struggle to let your partner see you naked or you don’t enjoy intimacy.

If your partner tells you that you’re attractive or sexy, maybe you don’t believe them? All this puts a real strain on the relationship.

There can also be tensions with family and friends. I have clients who fear being around family and friends because of what they’ll think of their body.

Avoiding situations

It always gets to me when a woman says she loves going on holiday or swimming, but won’t do it because she fears being judged in her swimwear.

This is the biggest tragedy of negative body image – avoiding things that you love to do.

Clients tell me they avoid:

• Taking their kids swimming
• Going on dates
• Taking a vacation
• Sustaining a long-term relationship
• Exercise
• Wearing clothes they like (because they don’t have the right body)
• Going paddle boarding (even though they live right by the sea)
• Social occasions

Avoiding things that you love is not normal or healthy. Holding yourself back is not really living.

The biggest benefit of healing the relationship with your body is being able to focus on fully living your life – getting back to all the activities you love.

Accessing support for body image

So, do you recognise any of these signs that you need help with body image? Even if only one or two of them apply to you, I’m guessing life feels a bit difficult, heavy, or unfulfilling?

Recognising that you need help with body image is the first step on your body confidence journey.

Accessing support will help you to get back your time, energy, and head space to focus on the things that matter most to you like your family, career, and social life.

If you think you need help with body image, I’d love to support you.

As a first step, I’d recommend that you book a Body Confidence Break-Through Session with me.

We’ll explore your biggest blocks to better body image, and how you can clear them.