Healing Negative Body Image: Journaling Activity #1

Photo by Tanja Cotoaga (@tarafuco) via Unsplash

The number one struggle I’ve heard about from my clients recently is negative body image. We all struggle from time-to-time with accepting the size, shape, or abilities of our body. For many of my clients, though, these negative thoughts and feelings are intrusive and overwhelming on a daily (or hourly) basis. A common goal in eating disorder recovery is healing negative body image. This is often one of the most challenging goals in recovery because disordered eating and exercise behaviors develop as a response to our feelings that our bodies are unacceptable and need to be fixed.

Healing negative body image is a process that is often uncomfortable and scary. Leaning into your discomfort and fear is an important part of the work. While many of our negative views about our body have developed, and been reinforced, over time we often feel the effects acutely in the present moment.

This post is the first in a series of journaling activities to get you started on the process of healing negative body image. It’s normal to have many self-limiting beliefs about ourselves that keep us from beginning the process of healing. The journal activity below is designed to help you identify the beliefs that are keeping you stuck.

Journal Activity #1- Identifying My Self Limiting Beliefs

Grab a sheet of paper, a diary, a journal, or open a notes page on your smartphone. At the top write the question “What is holding me back from body acceptance?”

• Write down every thought that comes to your mind in the order that it comes to your mind

• Don’t worry about full sentences, punctuation, or spelling

• Keep writing every thought down, no matter what the thought is (approach this with curious awareness rather than judgment; any thought that you are having is important, relevant, and okay to write down)

• When you are done writing down all your self-limiting beliefs read through the list. What are the first impressions and feelings that you’re having after reading through your list? Write these down.

Give yourself some time to process and reflect on the self-limiting beliefs that are holding you back from body acceptance. This journaling activity is a great one to take and discuss with your treatment team!

The next post in this series will address how you can respond to your self-limiting beliefs