Exploring Body Image (recovery exercise)

Exploring Your Body Image 

1. I think I must have been unaware of my body in 1st or 2nd grade… I had the joy then of playing sports without any body consciousness.  I think I became aware by 3rd grade when I realized how much smaller other girls looked in their uniforms compared to me. 
2. Confident, high-self esteem, grateful, self-respect, dignified, self-assured, composed
3. My grandfather made a big deal of how heavy I was one time when I sat on his lap.  I will never forget that… or the fact that my mother didn’t assure me I was fine the way I was!  My brother struggled with being overweight and I felt like it embarrassed my father… I was also on the chunky side as a kid.  I was also an exceptional athlete, and fathers used to ask their daughters to watch me or try and play like me.  I was the kid to beat.  I would speculate that this caused resentment of me by my peers and likely one of the reasons they retaliated by teasing me and calling me fat.  
4. No, body image has really never been addressed with me in any therapy or in any setting. 
5. I’m uncomfortable in a swimsuit but it doesn’t stop me from putting one on… I don’t dress myself in tighter clothes, though.  I never have.  I usually wear very baggy clothes. 
6. I think building muscle so I felt stronger would make me have more self-respect and confidence… which should improve it?
7. I would show her the paintings from the Renaissance.  I would discuss the miraculous things a woman’s body can do, like give birth.  I would explain that our bodies are made to have extra padding so we can grow and feed our children… I would also show her pictures of body types from around the world so she could see that the Western thin ideal is a new social construct and most likely, one that her natural body type is not meant to conform to. 
8. I can choose not to consume media that is notorious for selling the thin ideal, like women’s magazines or Hollywood-centered gossip/drama. I can also start using my healthy voice to talk back to images when I see them — remind myself that they’re likely photoshopped, the women represents an extreme minority of body types, men don’t even necessarily find that kind of thinness attractive or care about it like we do, the woman is probably starving and unwell.  
9. I can think about how resilient my body is for all the crap and torture I’ve put it through.  I can start thanking it for not giving up one me.  I can consider that my bigger build probably helped my Pilgrim ancestors survive the first harsh winters!  That basically in any other time, I would be in a better position for survival because of my body compared to flimsy, weak women. 
10. It’s carried five children.  My skin is soft and beautiful.  I have a naturally pretty face and have never had to wear makeup. I have great hair without having to do anything to it. My neckline is really graceful.  My body has always fit my children perfectly — it has fed many babies! 
    1. My body is not a problem, it’s a gift
    2. Healthy is better than thin
    3. My body can fight off sickness
    4. My body is amazing — it can change and adapt to fit my needs
    5. It allows me to experience the world around me — my eyes, ears, nose, tongue… 
    6. It can heal itself
    7. It can become stronger
    8. It helps me communicate with others
    9. It warns me of danger
    10. It never stops working — my body never gets a break! 

My body is learning to trust me again!