How to stop obsessing over your body
Are you preoccupied with your body most of the time?
If you’re obsessing over your body a lot, there’s one thing you might be doing that’s making it worse.
So in this post, I’m explaining what heightens body obsession and how you can reduce it.
I’m sharing:
- The one thing guaranteed to make body obsession worse.
- What the research says about what helps and hinders body obsession.
- A coaching exercise to help you identify your body obsession triggers and put a stop to them.
Watch or read below:
What keeps you obsessing over your body
If there’s one thing that will keep you obsessing over your body, it’s hanging around people who are overly focused on theirs.
And. if you struggle with body image, being around people who constantly critique or comment on their own bodies (or yours) won’t help you feel more comfortable or accepting of your own.
The impact of social interactions on body image
New research from the University of Waterloo in Canada specifically looked at the influence of social interactions on body image.
As a result of this study, researchers discovered that hanging around with people who are preoccupied with their bodies can have a negative impact on your body image.
But, they also found that spending time with people who were not body focused had a positive impact on body image.
In addition, the results also showed that being around people without body preoccupation may be helpful in protecting against disordered eating and encourage intuitive eating.
So the message from this study is clear – the people you spend your time will have a big impact on whether you’re obsessing over your body, so be careful who you choose to be around.
How to identify your body obsession triggers
To help you think about how you can use this research to help your own body image, I’ve got three coaching questions for you.
So, thinking about who you spend time with…
1. Who has a negative impact on the way you feel about your body? (you might notice you feel drained after being around them or more self-critical).
2. How can you minimise your contact with the people negatively impacting your body image?
3. Who isn’t pre-occupied with their body that you might like to spend more time with?
Taking the time to think about the influence the people around you have on your body image is a worthwhile exercise if you want to stop obsessing over your body. So I strongly recommend you give this a try.
I’d love to hear how the people in your life impact your body image (whether positively or negatively). Please leave a comment below.
