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| wholelife action area> getting to know myself better my working life personal relationships health - mind and body leisure, social and 'me time' mindercises |
learn about your general body image
Your
general body image is your mental image of your physical form. Image is
not fact, it is often the result of biased assumptions. Poor 'body image'
is not necessarily related to how your body really is or how others see
it.
You may be a perfect size 10 fashion model, or a lean and muscular male
athlete, but still be worried by your appearance. You may be a robust
female or a skinny male and be very happy in your body. The fact of physical
form is not what counts.
Your wisdom on this subject comes from understanding that appreciation
of your physical body is a mental health issue. The physical presence
of your body only has significance in that your mind thinks about it and
you choose to have a view on what the mirror shows you. Without your mind
thinking about your body, its physical presence is of no significance!
So is healthy body image all down to your personal choice of how you decide
to think? Not quite, because your actual body may, in fact, be unhealthy.
Having a healthy image of an unhealthy physical body is not very healthy!
We need to bring the reality in line with the perception and visa versa.
However for those of you who do have achievable physical changes to make,
developing a healthy image is part of the 'creating change' process. Common
sense and your choice of thinking on what is achievable, how and when,
is the key. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Have I ever really thought deeply about the gift of my human body?
- Am I happy with my body?
- Do I hate my body? If so, why?
- What parts of my body do I actively like?
- What parts of my body do I actively dislike?
- Do I compare my body with those of my friends?
- Do I compare my body with images I see in popular magazines?
- Do I ever spend time enjoying those parts of my body which I like?
- Do I spend time worrying about those parts of my body which I dislike?
- Are there any natural steps that I can take to change the things I dislike?
- Can I choose to embrace those things that cannot be changed naturally?
- Do I feel ugly and unattractive to members of the opposite sex?
- Do I try to mask my supposed unattractive features on a daily basis?
- Would I say overall that I have a good body image or a poor body image?
- Can I re-create a good body image accepting myself warts and all?
- Do
I choose to accept my body, make natural changes over time
and enjoy my physical potential?