Hopscotch & Harmony
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, Values
    • What to Expect
    • How We Are Doing
  • Our Team
  • Services
    • Mental Health Services >
      • Child & Adolescent Counselling
      • Adult Counselling
      • Online Therapy
      • Study Without Stress Program
    • Assessment Clinic >
      • Autism Assessments
      • Cognitive Assessments
      • Educational Assessments
    • Dietetics & Nutrition >
      • Teen & Adult Dietetic & Nutrition Clinic
      • Paediatric Dietetics & Nutrition
      • Feeding Clinic
    • Organisational Wellness
  • Parenting Course - online
  • Join our team!
    • Psychologist
    • Intern Provisional Psychologist Program
    • Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist, Dietitian Positions
  • Blog
  • Book!
    • Contact

7 Tips for a Better Relationship with Your Body

31/5/2017

 
by Tamika Doyle, Psychologist
Picture

The way we view our bodies has a huge impact on how we feel about ourselves and how we live our lives. Our perception of our bodies and the bodies of others starts to take shape early, and can be influenced greatly by our family’s values and beliefs, but also by ours peers and broader influences like the media.

Unfortunately, from a young age children begin to show dissatisfaction and concern about their appearance and weight, which can then lead to engaging in behaviours that attempt to control or change their young bodies.

By the end of the teenage years, most young people have been on a diet of some kind. As adults, the majority of women wish to lose weight (even those who are in the healthy weight range!) and approximately two-thirds of women withdraw from activities due to feeling negatively about their bodies.

So how can we move towards being more accepting of our bodies and feeling better about ourselves? Here are some tips on how to build a better relationship with your body:


  1. Pay attention to how you think and speak about bodies (your own and others!). Focus less on weight, shape or appearance by paying greater attention to other personal qualities. When we overvalue the importance of our appearance, we think that how we look is the most important thing about us, so pay attention to your many other qualities and aspects of your life that make up who you are.
  2. Appreciate your body for what it can do. The human body is a remarkable vehicle that carries you each and every day of your life. Move it in ways that feel good and have gratitude for both the ordinary and amazing things your body does for you.
  3. Improve your media literacy. Challenge the images and messages being promoted in the media. Learn about the many tricks and technologies that are used to modify the bodies presented to us every day. Question the messages that are being sent out in advertising and celebrity endorsements.
  4. Focus on your health rather than your weight or shape. Consider the things you can do now that will help you to feel good (mentally and physically) regardless of whether your weight changes or stays the same. For example, engage in exercise or physical activity for your enjoyment, or increase your intake of nutritious foods that give you more energy.
  5. Surround yourself with a diverse range of bodies. Who and what we follow on social media, what we watch on TV, and who we see in magazines etc., can often influence what we think is “normal” or “ideal”. Body diversity in popular media is very limited, so branch out and follow and connect with people of all shapes, sizes, colours and abilities.
  6. Challenge your beliefs about different body types. Try to recognise that bodies are neither good nor bad. No body is better than any other and there is no “perfect” or “ideal” body type. We definitely can’t make assumptions about another person’s health or wellbeing based simply on how they look!
  7. Be a positive body role model! Don’t talk negatively about your body or others’ bodies. Don’t sit out of activities or choose not to do things because of your size or body type. Engage with life and what is meaningful to you. Show others that you enjoy and appreciate your body and that there are so many things about you that are more important than how you look!​​
Book an appointment online with Tamika for help with body image concerns
Picture
Tamika Doyle is a Hopscotch & Harmony psychologist at our Werribee practice, skilled in working with teens and adults presenting with body image concerns, low self-esteem and eating disorders. She aims to empower her clients to make positive changes in their lives. Tamika provide evidence based treatment for anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. 

Comments are closed.
    Request an appointment!

    Categories

    All
    Adolescence
    Alexandria Emmett
    Anger
    Anxiety
    ASD
    Assertiveness
    Attachment
    Autism Spectrum Disorder
    Body Image
    Body Intelligence
    Body Scan
    Breathing
    Bullying
    Burnout
    Child Development
    Child Safety
    Cognitive Assessment
    Communication
    Cyberbullying
    Deep Pressure
    Dietetics
    Discipline
    Eating Disorders
    Education
    Fathers
    Food
    Gaming
    Gratitude
    Grief And Loss
    Grit
    Growth Mindset
    Healthy Attachment
    Hilary Sanders
    Home Education
    Infant Mental Health
    Inspirational Quotes
    LGBTIQA+
    Medicare
    Mental-imagery
    Mindfulness
    Motivation
    Music
    Negative
    New-years-resolution
    Nighttime-fears
    Nutrition
    Obsessive-compulsive-disorder
    Occupational Therapy
    Online Counselling
    Parenting
    Play Therapy
    Relationship
    Resilience
    Self-belief
    Self-care
    Self-esteem
    Self-harm
    Sensory Processing
    Separation Anxiety
    Sex Education
    Shame
    Sibling Rivalry
    Social Media
    Social Skills
    Sport
    Stress
    Suicide
    Tamsyn White
    Teasing
    Technology
    Telehealth
    Therapy Ideas
    Transgender
    Video Games

    RSS Feed

our services


Adult Counselling
Paediatric Counselling
Autism Assessments
​
Cognitive assessments
Parenting Support​
Dietetics & Nutrition

Our practice values


Belonging
Courage

Integrity

contact us


Hopscotch & Harmony
​Child, Teen and Adult Psychology
1/167-179 Shaws Rd
Werribee 3030
​Ph: 97415222
92 Roslyn Rd
Belmont 3216
​Ph: 52416462
Fax: 03 8669 4076
© ​2022 Hopscotch and Harmony Pty Ltd
  • Home
    • About Us
    • Mission, Vision, Values
    • What to Expect
    • How We Are Doing
  • Our Team
  • Services
    • Mental Health Services >
      • Child & Adolescent Counselling
      • Adult Counselling
      • Online Therapy
      • Study Without Stress Program
    • Assessment Clinic >
      • Autism Assessments
      • Cognitive Assessments
      • Educational Assessments
    • Dietetics & Nutrition >
      • Teen & Adult Dietetic & Nutrition Clinic
      • Paediatric Dietetics & Nutrition
      • Feeding Clinic
    • Organisational Wellness
  • Parenting Course - online
  • Join our team!
    • Psychologist
    • Intern Provisional Psychologist Program
    • Occupational Therapist, Speech Pathologist, Dietitian Positions
  • Blog
  • Book!
    • Contact