Hello and Welcome!
Today I’m going to be continuing the topic of my last blog: body judgments and body image. 🫣 My last blog was about personal tips I’ve used to challenge body judgements, and today we’re diving into the nuanced world of “body image” versus “embodied living.” Join me!
What is “Body Image?” 🤷
From a therapy/psychology standpoint, ‘body image’ is a shortcut phrase we use to describe how we view ourselves. In therapy practices, there are 4 Aspects of Body Image:
- Perceptual – how one perceives one’s body, your sensory experiences in the body
- Affective – how one feels about one’s body, your feelings/emotions your mind identifies
- Cognitive – how one thinks about one’s body, the core beliefs (pos/neg) about your body
- Behavioral – how one behaves toward one’s body, the things you do/don’t do relative to your body
Obviously there is going to be some overlap amongst these categories, because we know that our thoughts, feelings, and actions are tri-directional. What we often fail to check in with is the Perceptual Aspect.
I’d like to introduce you to the idea that “body image” isn’t actually about how we perceive our true self, our worth, confidence, or “feeling good about ourselves.” It’s still based on our physical image.
Body Image is Dissociative 🫥
In the technical sense, 3 of those aspects of ‘body image’ are actually a dissociated way of being. Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can be distanced or detached from our internal (Perceptual) experience.
Using the phrase or experience of “body image” might be well-intended; however, it reduces our sense of self to the foundation of image, of what we look like, or even worse, what we think others think we look like. It dissociates or detaches us from our own internal experiencing and ‘makes us’ rely on external feedback. It removes us from connecting to our truest self, our essence.
Don’t misunderstand, some level of external feedback in our lives is absolutely okay and in some cases, really quite necessary. The type of external feedback I’m referring to here is outsourcing our worth to that feedback. And that, my dear ones, is a dangerous path.
Embodied Living & Felt Sense 💓
Instead of speaking, thinking, and behaving in ways of “body image,” I offer shifting this to “embodied living.” The focus here is on “being a body,” so if any one of the above 4 Aspects is relevant here, it’s the Perceptual Aspect.
It means I get to experience and perceive the FULL expansiveness of my body’s felt sense…all the way to the edges or boundaries of my body. So, instead of trying to disconnect, ignore, be small, contained, controlled/manipulated, or suppressed, being embodied means I get to be present.
It’s the gift of feeling what it’s like to exist – from my BODY’S point of view, not my mind’s belief about my image or my emotions, or the behaviors. 🧘
This might look like noticing what the body feels like when standing up straight, breathing fully, feeling my skin/edges, resting, sitting, eating, laughing, connecting. When do I feel tired, enthused, energized, rested? Are there aches and pains, ease and peace? When do I feel warm, cold, or neutral? How do I feel supported in my body as I’m sitting, lying down, walking? What’s my posture like? Do I tune into stress, tension and tightness; illness or dis-ease?
The key is doing this from the BODY’S perspective, not from the MIND. Sensory information, body sensations, or “felt sense.”
Let Me Know
I’ve developed these skills as a therapist for well over a decade, and I’ve had to REALLY put these into practice based on what I shared in the previous email. Given that, I’m well positioned to provide support, encouragement, and validation for others going through this.
If you or someone you know could use support, please forward this email to them, or better yet, have them email me at shannan@sbmftservices.com so they can get on my Content Updates list.
My deepest hope is that this helps others along their healing path.
In Health & Wholeness ❤️🩹
Shannan
