Body Image
What is Body Image?
Body image refers to an individual’s internal subjective view of their appearance and body. This view begins in infancy, when humans begin to notice that they have hands and feet, and continues to evolve throughout the human lifetime. Whether you are a child, teen, adult, or senior, body image concerns can be present and persistent.
Body image is universal. It doesn’t discriminate across gender, race, sexual orientation, or ability. Every person lives in their body, and body image is the way each person perceives their own body - not how others see it. Your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs about your appearance shape your relationship with your body.
See some Example of Body Image here
What Affects Body Image?
Body image can be impacted by a wide range of factors:
The media
Social media
Early childhood experiences
Family messaging around food and bodies
Cultural norms
Gender norms
Racial norms
Physical disabilities
Medical conditions or complications
Romantic relationships
Social relationships
Every day, we receive messages and input regarding which bodies are beautiful, attractive, desirable, or just seen as “better.” The more experiences and messages you take in like this, the more likely you are to experience some body image distress. Alternatively, the more you’re surrounded by experiences and messages of body acceptance and respect, the more likely you are to believe that all bodies are inherently good and worthy of love, care, and appreciation.
Types of Body Image
Body image can be broken down into four components:
Perceptual Body Image
Cognitive Body Image
Affective Body Image
Behavioral Body Image
Let’s explore that even further:
Perceptual Body Image refers to the way a person views their body through their own eyes. This occurs when you look at your reflection in the mirror, see your photo, or look down at yourself.
Cognitive Body Image is how a person thinks about their body. Cognitive body image can be momentary, such as a brief thought that occurs after you look at yourself in the mirror, or more persistent, meaning you regularly have thoughts about your body that hold a specific tone.
Affective Body Image is how a person feels about, and toward, their body. After having a negative thought about your body, you might then feel shame, disappointment, or disgust. On the flip side, if you look at yourself in a photo and like what you see, you may feel happiness, relief, or indifference.
Behavioral Body Image refers to the actions an individual carries out in response to their perceptual, cognitive, and affective body image. For instance, if you are discontent with the way your stomach looks in a particular shirt, you might grab at your stomach or fidget with your shirt over and over again. Alternatively, if you are feeling positively about your body on any given day, you might walk a little straighter with some more confidence, or buy a new outfit that you know you look great in.
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Overall Body Image Tone
Regardless of which type of body image is more active for you, body image tends to call into one of four tone categories:
Positive
A person’s body image can be positive, meaning they view their body through a healthy, compassionate lens, they think positively about how their body looks and how it functions, and they feel content, curious, and optimistic toward their body.
It’s important to note here that people with positive body image still experience days and times in which they don’t love the way their body looks or feels. This is because a human’s relationship with their body is just like their relationship with someone else - some days they love their friend, and other days they find their friend irritating. Even though they might be frustrated with their friend, it doesn’t mean they don’t still love them or see them as inherently good and worthy. The same can be said about a person’s relationship with their body. Some days a body might ache or bloat, and that’s okay to someone with positive body image. Even on the days someone is frustrated with their body, the idea behind positive body image is that this person can still offer compassion and kindness toward their body.
Want to learn more? Check out more information on Positive Body Image
Negative
Someone can have negative, or poor, body image. When a person struggles with their body image, they might view their body through a judgmental or critical lens, they might think unkind thoughts about the way they look or about their lack of abilities, and they might feel disgust or shame toward their body.
Neutral
Those with neutral body image might minimize the attention they give to their bodies at all. These individuals stay objective when describing their bodies, and don’t prescribe “good” or “bad” value judgments onto their bodies. They focus on their body’s function over the way it looks.
Distorted
Individuals with a distorted body image have trouble seeing, feeling, and thinking about their body with objectivity. This can mean the person sees themselves as more attractive or thinner than they are, or they see themselves as living in a larger body with “uglier” features than they have. Those with distorted body image tend to struggle with trusting their own perception of their body.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 5th Edition (DSM-V), the manual of diagnoses all therapists, social workers, physicians, and psychiatrists use to diagnose an individual with a mental disorder. Here is what the DSM-V says about BDD.
Signs and symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder include:
Preoccupation with 1 or more perceived deficits or flaws in physical appearance that are not observable or appear slight to others.
At some point during the course of the disorder, the individual has performed repetitive behaviors (i.e. mirror checking, excessive grooming, skin picking, reassurance seeking) or mental acts (i.e. comparing his or her appearance with that of others) in response to the appearance concerns.
The preoccupation causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning.
The appearance preoccupation is not better explained by concerns with body fat or weight in an individual whose symptoms meet diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder.
BDD may also include muscle dysmorphia, meaning an individual is preoccupied with the idea that his or her body build is too small or insufficiently muscular. This specifier is used even if an individual is preoccupied with other body areas, which is often the case.
Lastly, the DSM-V also specifies for level of insight:
With good or fair insight: The individual recognizes that the body dysmorphic disorder beliefs are definitely or probably not true or that they may or may not be true.
With poor insight: The individual thinks that the body dysmorphic beliefs are probably true.
With absent insight/delusional beliefs: The individual is completely convinced that the
Body Dysmorphic Disorder versus Body Image Issues
You may identify with some BDD symptoms, but that doesn’t automatically mean you have the disorder. In fact, all humans identify with some of the BDD symptoms at some times. You will likely be diagnosed with BDD when symptoms:
Are frequent and persistent.
Cause distress and interfere with your ability to socialize, work, and function.
It’s important to speak with a licensed healthcare professional if you believe, and are interested in receiving, a formal diagnosis for your symptoms.
The Correlation Between Body Image and Mental Health
You do not need a formal BDD diagnosis to explore your body in therapy. Body image distress often overlaps with:
Anxiety
Depression
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Eating Disorders
Trauma
Specifically, OCD and body image issues overlap, as you can see here:
Reference: Kimberley Quinlan
Whether you match the criteria for a full diagnosis of BDD, or you’re just finding that thoughts about your appearance and body weigh on you more than you’d like, therapists want to help to provide some relief from the distress.
How Body Image Impacts Overall Health
Body image affects mental, emotional, physical, and social well-being. A healthy body image promotes self-care, while negative body image can lead to shame, harsh behaviors, and isolation.
Contrary to popular belief, punishing yourself rarely results in lasting change. Take this instagram post created by our therapist, Gia. Gia reminds us that if one of our friends were down, or if they were trying to do something difficult, like run a marathon, we would encourage them and cheer them on.
@healthintandem
Encouragement, not criticism, drives change, healing, and growth. When we treat ourselves with compassion, we feel better—and we act in healthier ways. It creates a positive feedback loop. If we stay trapped in negative cycles, we may need support to break out.
How to Improve Body Image
Therapy is not the only way to improve body image, but here are several evidence-based therapies that can be incredibly effective in relieving some of the distress that Body Dysmorphic Disorder, or body image issues, cause:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an evidence based modality that educates clients on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The model recognizes that individuals have core beliefs which act like filters, and influence the way an individual might perceive or view a situation. If an individual’s core belief is that their body is bad or unattractive, then they’ll typically look in the mirror and see a body that confirms that belief, even if that belief is objectively false or not held by others in their life.
Through gaining awareness of one’s core beliefs, learning about distorted thought patterns, and addressing the unhelpful emotions and behaviors which occur as a result of these beliefs, an individual can feel, see, and think about their body through a different, healthier perspective.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is the newest wave of CBT. The ACT model identifies that through mindfulness and self-compassion, an individual can learn to disengage from unhelpful thought patterns, accept their current experience, and commit toward behaviors which align with their core values, leading to a more fulfilling and authentic life.
ACT’s approach to body image suggests that individuals can disengage from negative, critical, and unhelpful body thoughts as a means to reduce the distress that poor body image causes.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
IFS differs from the previously mentioned modalities in that it theorizes that all people are made up of different parts of themselves, just like a family is made up of various individuals. Through IFS, an individual can begin to separate the core of who they are from the parts of themselves that may have learned to be critical or judgemental toward their body.
If you’ve ever said, or thought, “a part of me dislikes how I look in this outfit, but another part of me thinks it looks okay,” then you’ve already started using the IFS model!
Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy starts by working on the body, rather than talking through thoughts or feelings about body image. Somatic therapists often incorporate breathwork, meditation, movement, and body awareness in session as a means to improve one’s connection and relationship to their body.
One way that somatic therapy can be particularly helpful with those who struggle with poor body image is that it can help reduce the self-objectification one engages in when looking at their body. By getting more attuned to how their body feels, rather than looks, individuals can disengage from self-criticism and learn to have a more compassionate and kind relationship with their body.
Connecting Through Group Support
There are many benefits to joining group services such as therapy support groups or body image workshops. These may be offered online or in person and can provide powerful community support.
One helpful resource is the Association for Size Diversity and Health (ASDAH), which promotes the HAES principles. If you’re unfamiliar with HAES, its core beliefs include:
Healthcare is a human right for people of all sizes—including those in larger bodies.
Well-being, care, and healing are both collective and personal resources.
True care must be free from anti-fat bias and offered inclusively.
Health is a sociopolitical construct, not a moral obligation.
Another excellent resource is The Body Positive, which offers both individual and group courses, as well as training for healthcare professionals.
You can also browse Psychology Today, where many therapists post listings for in-person and virtual body image support groups. These groups can be more affordable than individual therapy and offer the added benefit of connection with others facing similar struggles.
Looking for options to treat poor body image without therapy? Here are some key tips from licensed therapists on how to improve your body image without coming in for a session:
Social Media Consumption and Boundaries
Social media often fuels comparison, judgment, and criticism related to appearance. From filters that “enhance” how you look in videos to heavily edited photos of influencers and celebrities—who often have access to dietitians, beauty products, personal trainers, and chefs—it’s easy to fall into self-judgment while scrolling these platforms.
However, social media can also foster a sense of connection and help improve your relationship with your body, especially when you’re following supportive and inclusive content. One suggestion is to create a separate account where you only follow body-positive or Health At Every Size (HAES)-aligned influencers. Surrounding yourself with affirming content makes it more likely you’ll internalize messages of acceptance and respect for your body.
Consider joining Facebook groups such as Chicago Area Nondiet, HAES, and Intuitive Eaters. These communities offer opportunities to connect with others who are working toward similar goals of healing body image.
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Clothing Choices
You know that feeling when you put on a new outfit and instantly feel confident and comfortable? Clothing that fits your current body—not the body you used to have or think you “should” have—can significantly boost your body image.
Tight or ill-fitting clothes create physical discomfort, serving as constant reminders of body shape or size. When possible, choose outfits that feel good to wear. Even if they’re not the trendiest, comfort often leads to greater confidence and ease in your body.
Shifting Focus from Appearance to Function
When you fixate on how your body looks in the mirror or in photos, you're placing value on how your body is perceived visually. Shifting your attention from how your body looks to how it functions can lead to a more peaceful relationship with your body.
If you’re physically active, reflect on what your body was able to do today—whether that’s completing a workout, walking a dog, or dancing in your kitchen. If chronic pain or disability limits your movement, consider the incredible ways your body supports you daily: your heart beats without effort, your lungs take in breath, your arms may allow you to hug someone or guide a wheelchair. Your body is not an ornament—it is an essential, living, breathing part of your experience.
The Bottom Line
Every human has a body—and therefore, everyone has body image. While some people may have a more positive or accepting relationship with their body, it’s normal to experience fluctuations. Even those with healthy body image can have days of discomfort or insecurity.
Body image is not fixed—it is dynamic and responsive to the messages, experiences, and support we receive. The good news is that healing is possible. With compassion, intention, and support, you can create a more peaceful, respectful relationship with your body.
Keep reading: Body Image Issues in Adults