Body image and long covid are deeply intertwined. Negative body image can cause and maintain long covid, and long covid frequently worsens how we feel about our bodies.
How Negative Body Image Drives Long Covid
- Chronic dissatisfaction with physical appearance depletes psychological resources
- Body shame — a particularly painful form of shame — directly drives long covid
- Comparison of body to social standards is a primary long covid trigger
- Body image concerns often involve the same negative self-evaluation patterns as long covid
How Long Covid Affects Body Image
Long Covid 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 Long Covid 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 long covid
- Therapy: CBT and ACT effectively address both body image and long covid