Why do so many people struggle with body image?
And what helps to address that concern?
Research conducted by the Butterfly Foundation last year discovered that more than 90% of young Australians have concerns about their body image. The statistics amongst other age groups are less clear cut, but recently I had an experience which confirmed my sense that body image is a widespread problem.
I was on a zoom call with about 30 people of different ages, though mostly women. The topic of body image came up, and the facilitator asked for everyone who had some issue with their body image to raise their hand. Only two people did NOT put their hand up.
While the exact reason will be different for each person, similar factors seem to contribute to the problem. These include effects of childhood teasing, societal norms and ideals, family expectations, peer pressure, long-term health issues, and a cultural tendency to judge people by how they look. Unfortunately, social media only exacerbates the problem, by constantly bombarding us with images of “perfect” looking people, and trying to sell us products to help us look like them.
Which is of course impossible.
The first step, is to understand that our body image is NOT about our actual physical appearance. Rather, it is about how we FEEL about how we look, or the emotions we attach to our body.
The biggest step in shifting from a negative to a positive body image begins with finding effective ways of changing how we feel about our bodies.
The Beyond the Mirror project aims to change how participants perceive themselves through creative methods such as storytelling and photography.
Contact us to learn more at info@thecreativejourney.online
