This guest article from YourTango was written by Dr. Stephanie Buehler.
Having a poor body image means that you view your body in a negative light. You look at yourself and see only the negative.
This often occurs when people with low self-esteem only see their physical flaws, most often when they look in the mirror.
In my sex therapy practice, body image is often one of several issues that interfere with a person’s ability to enjoy sex. There are multiple causes for poor body image. They include the following:
- Perfectionism, or feeling down and frustrated about your physical flaws.
- Conforming to certain ideals, which are usually found in advertising and other media.
- Being overly focused on looks.
- Believing that you must be a certain weight or size to be happy.
- Judging parts instead of paying attention to the whole. When you look in the mirror, often people with low self-esteem only see the body parts that they deem unattractive.
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Site last updated: 23 May 2013
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I so relate to what you are describing in this post. It’s great to hear that other people are as passionate about new ways of relating to food and body as we are at The Institute for the Psychology of Eating. Since working at the Institute, I’ve met so many women suffering from unnecessary challenges that you are now helping to transform. Keep up the good work!