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