Your body is your home. Your vessel for this life. It carries you through every day. You're not going to get another one...so making friends with your body, accepting it and being kind is so important, and will transform your life. It's time you and your body made friends....
Hi there, welcome to my blog. I’m a mindfulness teacher, somatic therapist, hypnotherapist and yoga teacher, and I’m really passionate about helping people overcome their body image issues and body dysmorphia. I've been through my own journey making friends with my body after and eating disorder, and I hope this blog will give you hope and inspire you that you can do the same. In this post, I want to share with you some insights around how hypnotherapy can help you heal your relationship with your body and yourself.
My own Journey with my Body Image
I know how it feels to struggle with body image issues, because I’ve been there myself. I have been through recovery for a fifteen year long eating disorder; the duration of this time I was ashamed + afraid of, and even hated and hurt my body. When my body image issues were tough I avoided going out, seeing people, forming relationships, and enjoying life. I was constantly unhappy with how I looked and felt, and was always trying to change my body through dieting and exercising. But nothing worked, because the problem was not with the way my body looked, but with the way my mind looked at my body. My own healing journey initiated a powerful shift in the way that I viewed my body, and over the years we became good friends; my Body and I. I was able to drop all of the self-destructive behaviours, and find the freedom in accepting myself. I learnt that my worth is so much more than a dress size, or a certain shape or look...this new outlook liberated me, and I want this for you too.
What are Body Image Issues, and why do they Effect so many People?
Body image issues, ranging from mild discomfort to severe dysmorphia, affect us in profound ways. It's not just about looking in the mirror and feeling dissatisfied; it can permeate every aspect of our lives. It's avoiding social gatherings, shying away from relationships, harming ourselves, steering clear of activities we'd love.
Body dysmorphia is a more extreme form of body image issues, where you become obsessed with a perceived flaw or defect in your appearance that to others is either very minor or non-existent. You may spend hours checking, grooming, or hiding your perceived flaw, and seek reassurance from others or avoid social situations altogether. You may also resort to extreme measures, such as self-harm, as a way of maintaining the disconnect between you and your body, and punishing your body for not being up to your expectations.
Body image issues and body dysmorphia can have a negative impact on your mental and physical health, your self-esteem, your relationships, and your quality of life. They can also lead to other problems, such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance abuse, and suicidal thoughts.
Body image issues can affect anyone regardless of their age, gender, race, religion or culture. According to a survey by the Mental Health Foundation in 2019, 20% of adults felt shame, 34% felt down or low, and 19% felt disgusted by their body image. 35% said they had ever felt anxious and 35% said they had ever felt depressed because of their body image.
It's heart breaking to witness the struggles, yet it's essential to understand that it's not your fault. You are not to blame for having body image issues or body dysmorphia. You are not vain, shallow, or selfish. You are not alone. You are a victim of a society that has falsely sold you a narrative that some bodies are better than others, or that bodies should have to look, feel, or perform in a certain way to be worthy. You are a victim of a culture that has imposed unrealistic and oppressive standards of beauty and perfection on you, and that has made you feel ashamed, inadequate, and unworthy of love and acceptance. It doesn't mean it is true.
In fact, if you look back through history, these ideals are always changing...making the ideal body type forever unattainable. Women have been pressured to change their bodies from the the soft hourglass figure of the 1950s, to the muscular fitness video bodies of the 1980s, "Heroin-chic" waifs of the 1990s and the voluptuous bottoms of the 2000s...woman can't win! Men have also had to keep up with an unattainable ideal body type throughout the years, which has tended to focus on a hyper-masculine, lean and muscular body. If you wander just a little further back in history a there were periods when the bigger bellied man was celebrated, particularly among the upper class and aristocracy. The Tudors (think Henry VIII) often associated a robust and cuddly belly with wealth, power, and status!
The truth is; no body is better than any other body. All bodies are a miracle!
You Can Harness Healing Hypnotherapy for Body Image Issues
You can break free from this cycle of suffering and heal your body image issues. You can make peace with your body and yourself. You can reclaim your power, your joy, and your freedom.
How? By using the power of your mind to replace unhelpful beliefs with kind, accepting and loving beliefs about your body...
Your mind is divided into two parts: the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. The conscious mind is the part that you use to think, reason, and make decisions. The subconscious mind is the part that stores your memories, emotions, beliefs, and habits. The subconscious mind is much more powerful than the conscious mind, and it controls most of your behaviour.
The problem is that your subconscious mind is full of negative and false beliefs about your body and yourself, that you have learned from your past experiences, your family and cultural background, your media exposure, and your social environment. These beliefs are so deeply ingrained in your subconscious mind that they influence how you perceive and feel about your body and yourself, regardless of what your conscious mind thinks or knows. Have you noticed how you reject any compliment anyone makes about the way you look? That's because your conscious mind's 'critical filter' blocks anything getting through to your subconscious that doesn't agree with the beliefs that are already stored there. Bye-bye compliments!
But here is a solution; we can change these negative and false beliefs into positive and true ones, that reflect your true worth and potential. We can do this through harnessing the healing power of hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy is a therapy which utilises the state of hypnosis, also known as trance, a natural and safe state of focused attention and relaxation, where you can access your subconscious mind and bypass the conscious mind's critical faculty.
Hypnosis allows you to communicate directly with your subconscious mind, and plant new suggestions that align with what you consciously want. Hypnosis can help you change your subconscious beliefs about your body and yourself, and create new habits and behaviours that support your healing and growth.
This means you'll be able to accept those compliments...and even pay them to yourself!
Hypnosis can help you:
Accept and appreciate your body as it is, without judgment or comparison
Recognise and celebrate your unique beauty and strengths, inside and out
Develop a positive and realistic body image that reflects your true self
Enhance your confidence and self-esteem
Reduce your anxiety and stress around your appearance and social situations
Improve your mood and mental health
Heal your relationship with food and exercise
Enjoy your life and express yourself freely
As a hypnotherapist, I use a variety of techniques and tools to help you achieve these goals, such as guided imagery, affirmations, metaphors, and stories. I tailor each session to your individual needs and preferences, and I create a safe and supportive space for you to explore and transform your body image issues and body dysmorphia.
I speak from personal experience, as someone who has overcome my own body image issues and body dysmorphia, with the help of hypnosis. I can tell you that it is possible to live a life free from the shackles of body image issues and body dysmorphia, and to do the things you want to do, wear the things you want to wear, and be the person you want to be, without that inner critic voice undermining you all the time. I can tell you that it is possible to look in the mirror and feel at peace, to smile at yourself, your body, your peace, and your joy.
I would love to help you along this journey too. If you are interested in hypnotherapy for body image issues and body dysmorphia, please contact me for a consultation, where we can discuss your situation and goals, and see if hypnotherapy is right for you. This is a non-judgmental and confidential space, where you can meet me and explore hypnotherapy, and decide if booking a course of treatment may be what you need to make friends with your body once and for all.
Remember, your body is not your enemy. Your body is your ally, your partner, your home.
Your body is beautiful, just as it is, and so are you.