Many people struggle with body image distortions to some extent. If you ask anyone what they think or how they feel about their body, they may very well point to their imperfections. Obviously we all have them. But for some people it impacts their day to day life and relationships. Maybe you think you are too thin, too fat or not muscular enough. I have clients who refer to them self as skinny/fat, meaning they are skinny in some places and fat in others.

Obviously social media and social comparison play a huge role in all of this. Plastered all over the internet and advertising are images of people with the perfect face and perfect body. It may make you feel as if you will never measure up to that standard. You won’t, no one does. Most of the images you see are doctored in some way shape or form after they have been taken. So it seems as if someone could look that good, yet they really don’t.

Below are some body image distortions from Thomas Cash’s Body Image Workbook.

Body image distortions

Beauty or beast

With this type of thinking your body is either perfect or fat/skinny. There is nothing in between. It is very black and white. You may have good days and bad days. Yet your body is not changing from day to day. The only difference is the way you think about it.

Realistically we are not black and white. There are many shades of grey when it comes to bodies. We probably like some parts better than others.

Unfair to compare

This is when you compare yourself to images that you see in the media. You have absorbed the ideal standard of beauty and when you compare yourself to it you fall short.

Because you are not airbrushed like the models, you will never look like them (unless you airbrush your pictures too).

If you compare yourself to people you know, you most likely look at the traits that you wish you had. Since you are making the rules here, you will come up short.

Reality lies in noticing other areas where you prefer your body over someone else. This is not to put down anyone else, but most of us will look better than someone else in some areas, and not as good in others. This is where the shades of grey come in.

Magnifying glass

With this distortion, you zero in on that one thing you cannot stand about your body, as if looking at it through a magnifying glass. You beat yourself up about this one area of your body, and it leads you to ignore the good things.

People with this distortion avoid thinking positive things about their body for fear it is due to vanity. This is just your private self talk; no one else can hear you. So if you have something you find beautiful about yourself, then acknowledge it to yourself and enjoy!

Blame Game

This distortion occurs when you assume that negative things happen to you because of the way you look. You have to find a scapegoat and it just turns out it is your own body.

If someone won’t go on a date with you, you aren’t included, or you didn’t get that job, you may blame it on your looks.

While it is true that our society can be cruel to people who are overweight or disfigured, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t someone out there to fall in love with you, or a job that will appreciate you for who you are.

In reality, your friends like/love you for who you are, not what you look like.

Mind misreading

Because we think we look bad, we assume that others think the same thing of us. Most often others think very differently than we assume. Just listen to your self-talk. Would you ever say anything like that about your friends or people you love?

We can never know what anyone is thinking. Most people are not sitting around thinking you are too fat or too thin. Your worth is not based on your looks.

Misfortune Telling

This distortion impacts how you think your looks will impact your future. You think people will make fun of your looks if you go to that pool party, gym or other social event. Or you might tell yourself that no one will ever love you because of your looks or body.

The words, ‘always’ and ‘never’ are used on a regular basis with this distortion. You will never get that promotion, and people will always think you are fat or ugly, are some things that people with this distortion think.

Beauty Bound

With this distortion you tell yourself that you can’t go certain places because of the way you look. Nothing looks good on you. You don’t think you are pretty enough, thin enough or muscular enough to go to that event. It limits your life, and these thoughts imprison you.

I’ve had clients say that they couldn’t date because they were not muscular enough and no one would want to go out with them. Another one said she couldn’t date until she lost 20 pounds. However, there are plenty of people out there who will love you who you are. These things do not matter in the way you think they do.

Moody mirror

This is what they refer to as emotional reasoning. There is something you don’t like about yourself, so you find an emotion to justify it. For example you might say to yourself, “Why do I feel so fat?” Then your answer is because, “I am fat.” As you can see, these body image distortions can get in the way.

You might then wonder what else is wrong with your body. You can see the negative rabbit hole that someone can do down with this line of thinking.

Therapy for body image distortions

Perhaps you see yourself with some of these thinking patterns. Healthy people do not limit their lives because of their perceived flaws. They realize that their body is OK (not perfect) just the way it is.

If body image distortions get in the way of your life or functioning, therapy can help.

Give me a call at 713-304-6554 and I can teach you ways to combat your negative thinking.

Take care,

Debbie