Short reflection: Body image illusions
Reading time: 2 mins
Originally shared as part of Inbox Reflections - my honest, heartfelt emails to support your binge eating recovery as a highly sensitive woman.
One of my favourite ways to spend an evening right now is to curl up on the sofa and listen to Bella Freud’s
Fashion Neurosis, whilst I do a little section of my embroidery kit.
I love the intimate setting of the podcast, Bella’s soft voice and the storytelling of her guests…
But what I find really interesting is how the conversations around clothes often naturally touch on how her guests feel about their bodies.
And how people we might look at and assume “Surely they don’t feel insecure about their body” reveal, in their own ways, that they do.
It reminds me of two things:
- That having complicated feeling about our bodies is such a deeply human experience
- That the belief that “If I could just lose weight… if I could finally look a certain way… then I’d feel good enough” is an illusion
It further softens the judgements I have around my own body…
And deepens my knowing that pursuing the “perfect” body isn’t the answer to feeling whole and worthy.
Perhaps you’ve had your own experiences of hearing other women speak to their body insecurities, maybe those who have the kind of body you’ve wanted for yourself.
If so, you might want to reflect on this further, asking:
“What comes up in me when I hear about other people’s body insecurities?”
And
“What might this invite me to see differently about my own relationship with my body?
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