What are negative body image issues?: Although many people will at one time or another feel dissatisfied with some aspect of their appearance, body image issues can become a serious problem when they start to interfere with your daily wellbeing or your sense of self. At their extreme, they can contribute to mental health issues like eating disorders, agoraphobia or body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), in which your self-body image becomes distorted from reality.
Body image issues do not have to be extreme for you to benefit from therapy. A negative or unhealthy body image can be distressing in your daily life, and a supportive therapist can help you to explore your feelings, and understand and manage your insecurities which might have led to feelings and behaviours like, eating disorders, lack of self-esteem and self-confidence, anxiety, panic attacks and depression.
Therapies are available such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) that might help you recognise feelings and behaviours around your negative body image issues in the present moment which are unhelpful, and work to change your responses to things that trigger negative self-talk.
