Body Image Issues: Causes and Symptoms

-Muskan Tuli, Intern at Heart it Out, Bangalore

With living in the ever-evolving tech savvy world of social media, everyone paints an image about how their bodies should look, a perception of self. Body image can be understood through multidimensional lens comprising of certain components associated with healthy and unhealthy perception formation of the body and it’s complexities by an individual, it includes:

Cognitive Aspect: It comprises the thought patterns and beliefs about the body.
Perception Aspect: This follows how an individual perceives the shape and size of their overall body and its parts.
Affective Component: It includes the feelings and emotions associated with the view of the body.
Behavioural Component: This focuses on the actions performed by people to keep a check on their bodily aspects including measures taken to enhance to alter the view of their bodies.

Body image issues can be understood in the context of being dissatisfied with the way one’s body looks to self and others. This can be influenced by certain factors such as awareness of the body, dissatisfaction with body’s structure, shape or size, feelings about the movement of body and the different parts and cultural perception and ideation about how one’s body should be.

Negative body image also known as distorted body image starts affecting the view of one's body in terms of attractiveness, health, acceptability, and functionality from an early age. Research found evidence that children studying in first and second graders were dissatisfied with certain aspects of their body.

Causes of Negative Body Image

A person with normal body weight may perceive themselves as overweight if they are struggling with distorted body image. There are certain factors that can influence an individual such as-

Life Events

Certain life events can cause one to develop a negative view of their bodies, situations where a student is ridiculed repeatedly by peers and teachers about their weight can develop a poor insight towards their bodies.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI influences body image and body satisfaction as being one of the standard measures of understanding the biological components of weight management. It has been linked to increase in negative view of one’s body and appearance impacting the body image

Unrealistic Standards

As social media is taking control over our thoughts, the representation of the body, setting up unrealistic standards on how one should look, promotion of procedures to apparently correct certain deformities etc have negatively impacted the perception of how one perceives their body.

Comparison

The comparison with others, being called out for not having the perfect body structure, repeated conversations about losing weight or looking a certain way can hamper one’s perception of beauty along with negatively impacting one’s self-esteem.

Culture and Society

Culture and society promote certain standards and impact how one should present themselves, by promoting various stereotypes pertaining to age, gender, skin color, body shape, negatively affecting one’s long-standing dissatisfaction with their bodies.

Signs and Symptoms To Look Out For

A person dealing with negative body image may exhibit the following signs-

Compulsively checking and rechecking how their body looks.
Feelings of inadequacy while talking about their bodies.
Dissatisfaction and awkward view of the body.
Sense of fear while being compared with someone based on body image grounds.
Avoiding talking about their bodily concerns.
Body image interfering with relationships, work, or activities.
Obsession with weight training and management
Excessive worry about their diets and calorie intake.
Using heavy make to cover the perceived deformities.
Examining the body in the mirror over and over again.

Relationship With Mental Health

As per the research, a negative view of the body is directly related to development of unhealthy emotional and physical habits. These can put a person at a greater risk of developing certain mental health conditions.

1. Mood Disorders

These disorders affect a person’s general mood and well-being, two types are depression and bipolar disorder. The person may experience low to severe intensity of symptoms depending on their condition, duration and type of disorder.

2. Eating Disorders

Early dissatisfaction with the bodies, restricted eating patterns, preoccupation with maintaining certain weight and excessive exercise can develop into anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorders.

3. Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

This disorder is characterized by a misperception of one or more body areas, an individual may hold a negative view of all parts of their body, and may become obsessed with even a single imperfection or a flaw that they believe is present in their body structure.

If this has brought up heavy feelings for you, get in touch with a mental health professional at Heart it Out for support :)

References:

https://www.healthline.com/health/negative-body-image#treatment

https://www.healthline.com/health/affective-disorders

https://www.dnaindia.com/health/report-covid-19-how-virus-induced-anxiety-is-linked-to-body-image-issues-in-men-and-women-2851749

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-eating-disorders

https://www.healthline.com/health/body-dysmorphic-disorder

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/body-image-report/childhood

https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/body-image

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249190#summary

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/body-image-report/sexuality-gender-identityhttps://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/body-image-report/sexuality-gender-identity

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/general-information/lgbtq