Body image and adolescence are deeply intertwined. Negative body image can cause and maintain adolescence, and adolescence frequently worsens how we feel about our bodies.
How Negative Body Image Drives Adolescence
- Chronic dissatisfaction with physical appearance depletes psychological resources
- Body shame — a particularly painful form of shame — directly drives adolescence
- Comparison of body to social standards is a primary adolescence trigger
- Body image concerns often involve the same negative self-evaluation patterns as adolescence
How Adolescence Affects Body Image
Adolescence can worsen body image through reduced self-care motivation, changes in appetite and weight, and a general negative lens that extends to physical self-perception.
Addressing Body Image and Adolescence Together
- Body neutrality: Not requiring positive body feelings, just reduction of hostility
- Body functionality focus: What your body does vs. how it looks
- Intuitive eating: Reconnecting with hunger and satisfaction cues disrupted by adolescence
- Therapy: CBT and ACT effectively address both body image and adolescence