Body Positivity - OK Clinical Blog

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July 17, 2024

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Published by Okanagan Clinical on July 31, 2024

Practices to Support Self-Love

Do you struggle with self-image and body positivity? If so, you are not alone. Research shows that body image concerns span across the globe and impact people of all ages, backgrounds, genders, and social classes. As you can imagine the impact of this is significant because low self-image is directly correlated to increased mental health challenges such as the development of eating disorders, anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, and more.

What Impacts Body Image?

Cultural standards of beauty
Social media: Research shows that as little as 30 minutes a day of social media time has the potential to impact one’s body image. This is especially vital when we consider that the average Canadian spends approximately 2 hours per day on social media platforms.
Family values
Histories of abuse or trauma. In fact, PTSD is highly correlated with body image challenges because of the connection between control, dissociation, hypervigilance, and self-perception.
Gender identity
Health factors such as illness, aging, and ability
Advertisements and celebrity culture

What is Body Positivity?

Simply put, body positivity refers to one’s capacity for self-acceptance and self-love. It entails having thoughts and feelings about one’s body that are productive, compassionate, and kind no matter what popular culture determines to be the beauty standard.

Embracing body positivity means practicing being kind to yourself and others. To do this it is important to challenge societal expectations around body image, to replace negative thought patterns, to adopt a health-focused lens rather than an aesthetic lens, to be mindful of the media you consume, and to practice gratitude for what your body gives you.

To begin, you might start by acknowledging all that your body does for you. What did your body enable you to do today? How did it support you? How did you care for it?

You could also be realistic about beauty standards and stop comparing yourself to others. When you catch yourself making a comparison, shift the focus. What do you admire about the other person’s body – pay them a compliment. Then look at your body through the lens of a loved one. What would they complement about you? Tell yourself that.