Body Image and Mental health: How Important Is Yours?

For World Mental Health Day (October 10th), we thought long and hard about how we can positively contribute to our community. As a business who deals with people with injuries, fitness challenges, physical pain - having genuine care in our hearts is extremely important. 

Our patients and fitness clients have truly opened our eyes on the importance of mental health, and how it’s correlated to, frankly, everything about one’s being.

So this year, we wanted to share information on how you can take care of your body image because we know just how much it can affect you. It gets to the best of us but it’s never a reason to beat yourself down. So let’s get those positive vibes running through your body!

Body image is a complex topic that is influenced by many things such as family and friends, media, the culture around you and what you see on social media.

The media has a huge influence on how we see ourselves and it can be hard to see past that.

Body positivity is about accepting yourself and appreciating your body exactly as it is. There are no two bodies alike and each one has its own unique features that can be beautiful in their own way.

The good news is that there are loads of ways to improve your body image! Here are some tips:

Change your mindset – if you don’t think positively about yourself then it will be harder for others to do so too. Think about all of the positive things about yourself instead of focusing on negative aspects of your appearance. For example, if you have curly hair then think about how beautiful it looks when styled nicely instead of thinking “I hate my hair! It’s so frizzy and unmanageable!”

Don’t compare yourself to others – this is never a good idea as everyone has their own unique features which makes them special! Instead focus on yourself and try not to compare yourself to other people.

When you experience negative thoughts about your body, write them down and reflect on them to understand what's going on for you. For example, if you've been comparing yourself to other people, ask yourself why this comparison is important.

Ask yourself whether the person who looks like that is any happier than you are now? Or ask yourself if this person would trade places with you if given the chance?

Ask yourself how many people really look like that anyway? And how many people actually feel comfortable showing off their bodies in public?

Take photos of yourself doing stuff you love! It'll help you remember that's what matters most and remind you that there's no shame in having fun with friends who also enjoy getting outside!

Why do we have negative body image?

Negative body image is a learned behavior that we pick up from others around us. When we see other people criticizing their bodies or talking about how badly their bodies look, we simply take their words as truth. We may also be influenced by media images of perfection: the perfect hair, skin tone, weight and height. This creates an impossible standard for us to live up to, creating pressure on us to look a certain way in order to feel good about ourselves.

What are the effects of negative body image?

Negative body image can lead to depression and anxiety because it makes us feel like we're failing at life if we don't fit into society's standard of beauty or "perfection" (which doesn't exist). It's normal to feel bad about ourselves sometimes — everyone does — but when negative thoughts begin interfering with your daily life (for example: I'm so ugly no one will ever love me) help is always around the corner.

How can you get help in Australia? Speak to your GP and ask for a mental health care plan. When we say you’re not alone, we mean it: 11% of Australians (2.9 million people) accessed 14 million Medicare-subsidised mental health-specific services in 2020–21

TLDR; Here are some short reminders to keep yourself elevated.

Body image, simply put, is the perception that you have about your body.

We all have a certain body type based off genetics and our metabolism -- this is something we cannot change.

Don't compare yourself to others because it will only leave you feeling bad about yourself. Everyone's journey is different, don't chase someone else's goals.

If a post on social media makes you feel bad about yourself or triggers negative thoughts, take a break from that app. It also helps to unfollow any accounts that repeatedly make you feel negative or insecure. And if say Instagram or TikTok keeps showing you content you don’t feel great about, tap-hold and hit “not interested”. Then you’ll slowly be able to enjoy social media like you’re supposed to and remove content you don’t need. (Literally, you don’t need it!)

Acknowledge your emotions and validate them in order to accept them instead of denying that they exist.

When you notice a negative thought or behaviour try replacing it with a positive one instead (i.e., replace "I am fat" with "I am strong"). 

And remember: Be kind to yourself and remember that you are beautiful just the way you are!