How to Free Yourself from Body Image Issues

Have you ever wondered why you may continue to have body image issues, in spite of consciously knowing that you need to love yourself?

Body image is how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind. It is what you think and feel about your physical body. Many of us internalize messages during our childhood. These messages can  lead to either positive or negative body image. Having a healthy body image is an important part for practising self-love. 

While most of us do not suffer from eating disorders caused by poor body image issues, we have the tendency to be overly critical in how we look. Chances are, if you are like the vast majority, you’d find yourself constantly thinking “I am flawed” or I don’t look good enough”. Thoughts like these can have a negative impact on self-confidence and your ability to shine!

There was a day when I was rudely awakened to why it could be so challenging for women to stop beating themselves up over their appearance. It happened when I was reading an article about Lady Gaga who encouraged thousands to embrace their bodies after hitting back at critics who called her fat. The article was in the pull-out Friday segment of our main newspaper. The writer then went on to rounding up 5 celebrity women who were proud of their curves.

“Hey, how nice that women are now being inspired to think differently about their bodies”, I thought to myself.

But as my eyes pulled away after reading the article, I became aware of an advertisement on the facing page. The ad is for a company that specializes in helping clients boost bust-size for increasing self-confidence. The advertisement claims that it can help perfect your bust in 5 sessions.

Hmmm…. mixed messages on body image issues and on facing pages?

Well, that got me thinking.

Consumers of Mixed Messages

We are, unwittingly, consumers of mixed messages. On one hand, we are told that we need to love ourselves. On another, we are bombarded by images of thin-looking models and slimming ads that promise we can look beautiful in 8 weeks. Yet, in others, we are subjected to advertisements on the joys of eating junk food.

It should come as less and less of a surprise why eating disorder cases are on the rise. If we do not practice discernment on the type of messages we have been exposing ourselves to, we are in danger of becoming a confused lot. A recent study shows that hospitalizations for eating disorders in children under 12 increased by 119% between 1999 and 2006. More than 10 million Americans suffer from bulimia, anorexia or other types of eating disorders, according to the National Eating Disorders Association, and millions more suffer from binge eating.

I don’t buy Lady Gaga’s albums. However, I applaud her for what she has done to help raise awareness on body image issues. When she was recently criticized for having gained weight, she responded by starting a body revolution project. She started the project by posting pictures of herself in revealing clothes with the caption “Bullimia and Aneroxis since I was 15”. It definitely helps to have a mega star such as her to raise awareness on this sensitive topic.

We already know that raising confidence is definitely a good thing. However, we need to recognise that upping cup size does not necessarily solve a root cause in low self-esteem. A person with low self-esteem issues is likely to give the reason that “it is never quite good enough” as he or she goes from one procedure to the next. There is the risk of going overboard, we can see this happening from numerous cases reported of an addiction to plastic surgery.

In one of the most famous cases of awful plastic surgery gone wrong, Hang Mioku, a 48 year-old woman from South Korea, became so addicted to plastic surgery that she was prompted to inject cooking oil into her own face. She was subsequently left unrecognizable. Following operation after operation since the first procedure at the age of 28, her face became disfigured and no surgeon wanted to carry out any more work on her. Eventually, Hang resorted to injecting cooking oil into her face. The picture of her grotesquely large face can be found on the internet.

Broaden Our Perspective on What Beauty Means

To address body image issues, it will be nice if we can adjust our thinking and shift to complete self-love and acceptance that goes beyond valuing physical appearance. However, let’s not kid ourselves. The vast majority of us do like looking good or being attractive.

Perhaps what we can do is to be open to embrace a broader definition of beauty. We adjust our perception beyond conventional standards of what it means to be beautiful. Stick-thin, for instance, is not more beautiful than looking healthy.

Additionally, we have to know that there is no one perfect standard. Let’s rejoice in the fact that we all look different and we don’t all want to look exactly the same. For having incarnated, every soul has the same life mission: to discover one’s own inner beauty.

“I finally realized that being grateful to my body was key to giving more love to myself.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

Bring Awareness to Conflicting Messages That Could Cause Body Image Issues

What might help is to develop the ability to stand apart from the images and advertisements, so that you can see how the media has been sending us mixed messages. By becoming aware, you avoid getting trapped in the hypnotic marketing appeal of these. You prevent yourself from internalizing these images as having the perfect body proportions that you should have. Practicing discernment is key!

Let’s impart positive body image messages to our children too. It is time to stop being a conduit for false messages. We only end up harming our children as they grow into adulthood. We need to put a stop to this cycle.

How to Work on Dealing with Body Image Issues

How do you purge out the years of having been brain-washed by mixed messages? It is not likely to be an overnight thing. For the vast majority of people, shifting into complete and unconditional self-love is not going to be simply a one-time event.

Hence, give yourself the space to work through any body image issues. What is key is to hold on to the vision of self-love. So if you find yourself sinking into “I must have the perfect body figure” thought, embrace yourself. Forgive yourself even as you may feel tempted to splurge on an expensive jar of anti-aging face cream. Instead, maintain sufficient awareness as to not going overboard.

If you are facing challenges with overcoming body image issues on your own, seek help from a professional. Alternatively, if you would like to work on changing your beliefs and raising confidence, you can also consider working with an energy healing practitioner such as myself. Simply fill up the contact form on my site, referencing this post and I’d be in touch.

Unplug Yourself from Fear Consciousness

Make the strong intent to remove any illusion that you have bought into and that belonged to collective consciousness. Be aware of the thought pattern “I am not good enough” that pervades society. Unplug yourself from a fear-based environment.

One practical way to unplug is that instead of a slimming diet to go on a media diet. This means logging off from all media channels for a couple of days or weeks. Instead, spend quiet time. Allow yourself to just be. Alternatively, you can also exercise choice on what type of sites or media that you spend time on. As you gain a stronger awareness of your true self, the blind desire to follow a nebulous standard by society simply drops away.

Finally, Engage in Loving-Kindness Meditation To Resolve Body Image Issues

Consider doing a loving-kindness meditation for your body. Send love, compassion and gratitude to every part of your body especially the parts that you have been feeling unlovable over. Learn to look at your perceived flaws with no sense of rejection.

Discover a wave of peace, security and comfort sweeping over you as you sit in self-acceptance. I also suggest that you keep a lookout for news on some audio tracks that I will be releasing soon 🙂

“The recipe for beauty is to have less illusion and more Soul, to retreat from the belief of pain or pleasure in the body into the unchanging calm and glorious freedom of spiritual harmony.”
– Mary Baker Eddy

Shine from the soul always,
Evelyn Lim
Author. Adventurer. Abundance Life Coach. More About Me.

Share Your Thoughts

Any thoughts about the mixed or conflicting messages that we have been exposing ourselves to? Share your tips in the comment box below on how to free ourselves from being affected by media ads that contribute to body image issues.

This post has been updated in July 2018 to include image visuals.

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