Feel uncomfortable in your body? Here’s why…
How would you describe the way you feel about your body?
When I ask women this question, the word that most often comes up is ‘uncomfortable’.
Most believe that the key to feeling comfortable in their body is changing what they don’t like about it.
BUT, attempts to change your body rarely result in feeling comfortable in the long term.
So, what does?
In this post, I’m lifting the lid on the REAL reason you feel uncomfortable in your body.
Plus, I’m sharing a process to pinpoint and clear the cause of your body discomfort.
Watch or read below:
Why do you feel uncomfortable in your body?
Believe it or not, the reason you feel uncomfortable in your body probably isn’t what you think.
Here are a few reasons women have told me they feel uncomfortable in their body:
- My tummy is gross
- My body looks horrible in clothes
- I’m carrying too much weight
- I feel so fat
- I wish my thighs were smaller
They believe that their discomfort will go away if they can change the things they don’t like about their body.
But this isn’t the case. I’ve worked with clients who have lost weight or changed something about their appearance, only to find that they still felt uncomfortable.
What determines how you feel about your body
The real reason you feel uncomfortable in your body is the perception you have of it. Not what your body physically looks like. It’s the perception that determines the way you think, feel, and behave.
So, if you believe your tummy is gross and unacceptable, you’ll have negative thoughts about it, experience body shame and will try to hide it.
And that perception is heavily influenced by external factors like culture & media, family, friends, and life experiences. So, much of what you believe about your body doesn’t come from you. Which also means your perception may be far from reality!
The inner child & body image
When I work with a client, it doesn’t take long to pinpoint the root cause of that perception – the real reason they feel uncomfortable in their body.
And what might surprise you, is that 9 times out of 10, the perception of their body is based on ONE incident that happened in childhood.
It might have happened anytime between the age of 6 and 16, but they have experienced something that created a negative belief about their body that persists into adulthood.
Often the incident has been forgotten on a conscious level, but it’s alive and well on a subconscious level, driving the way she feels day in and day out about her body.
This can be a real lightbulb moment for clients. They’re often shocked and sad to discover that a hurt, little girl is dictating the way they feel about their body.
Here are some childhood incidents clients have uncovered that have led them to feel uncomfortable in their body.
Being..
- Called a ‘fairy elephant’ in a school gym class
- Humiliated when a school uniform didn’t fit
- Shamed for having a tummy
- Teased at ballet for being bigger than the other girls
Each of these incidents created a belief that their body wasn’t ‘good enough’.
Is your inner child uncomfortable in your body?
As a child, it’s difficult to rationalise events where you feel hurt or rejected. It’s hard to look at them in an objective way and gain perspective on them. So, the meaning attributed to the incidents is exaggerated and distorted.
This means that the beliefs formed often go unchallenged and can remain throughout your life unless you shine a light on them.
It’s as if you’re carrying around an upset little girl who wants to protect herself from this kind of incident happening ever again.
So, if you’ve been feeling uncomfortable in your body for a long time, perhaps it’s time to understand where your perception of your body came from in the first place.
Identifying your childhood beliefs about your body
Ask yourself, when do I first remember feeling uncomfortable in my body?
What was happening at the time?
What was the belief that I formed about my body as a result?
I’m sure that you’ll find something from your childhood that’s carried over into your adult life.
With this awareness, it’s time to start challenging what you believe about your body. A great way to do this is to ask:
What would my adult self say to comfort and reassure the younger version of me who felt hurt/rejected/ashamed when this incident happened?
Doing this work will help you clear out the old, unhelpful beliefs that are holding you back and make way for new empowering beliefs – ones that are healthier and more balanced.
If you need some help to identify the real reason you feel uncomfortable in your body, this is something we explore in my Body Confidence Break-Through Session.
This session will help you get clear on the #1 thing blocking your body confidence and how you can clear it.
