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