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