This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is focusing on body image. Running from 13th-19th May, the aim is to increase awareness of how we think and feel about our bodies, and how that affects our mental health.
 
What is body image?
 
Body image refers to how we see our bodies, and what we feel about them. This can be our body size or shape, skin colour, appearance, facial features or physical disabilities. It’s also how we believe others see us.
 
What influences body image?
 
Often, we hold an image in our head of what our bodies “should” look like. This image may come from seeing pictures of people on social media, or in films, music videos, on television or in magazines.
 
Our ideal image of ourselves may also be the result of comments from family and friends, or from childhood or adult bullying.
 
Cultural expectations, as well as those related to our age and gender, also play a part in creating our view of what our bodies “should” look like.
 
How does body image affect mental health?
 
When we look at ourselves in the mirror and we don’t see our ideal body, it can create feelings of disappointment, shame and distress.
 
The latest body image report by the Mental Health Foundation has found over a third of all adults have felt anxious or depressed because of concerns about their body image, while one in five have experienced shame.
 
Having a negative body image can result in low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. It can also lead to unhealthy exercise and eating patterns. For some, this can develop into eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, or into body dismorphic disorder.
 
How to improve your body image

It’s important to your mental wellbeing to have a positive body image. To help improve how you think and feel about your appearance, try these tips:

• Write down things you like about yourself – these don’t necessarily need to be related to your appearance. Look at the list often to focus on positives, rather than negatives

 

• Don’t dismiss compliments – people give compliments because they notice brilliant things about you. Rather than dismissing them, thank the person, accept the compliment, and write it down to remind yourself of it at difficult times

 

• Stop comparing yourself to others – notice when comparing yourself to others is making you feel worse about your body image. To stop doing this, you may need to…

 

• Change the way you use social media – surrounding yourself with filtered and airbrushed images is unhelpful. Consider unfollowing accounts that show “perfect” bodies, or take a break from using it

 

• Think what you would say to a friend – what would you say to a friend who felt negatively about how they look? Use the same kind, compassionate voice to talk to yourself

 

• Surround yourself with people who make you feel good – if you know people who make you feel worse about your appearance, try to spend less time with them. Focus on relationships that are positive and supportive – people who can be your cheerleaders

 

• Do regular self-care – listen to what your body needs, and look after it. This might be taking a nap, relaxing or having a bath. Doing this shows you love and care for your body

 

• Celebrate your body – think of all the amazing things it’s allowed you to do: your successes, achievements and the things you’ve experienced. Your body is amazing!

 
Seeking help and support
 
If you’re struggling with your body image and it’s affecting your mental health, talk to someone you’re close to, your GP or to a therapist. Talking through your thoughts and feelings can be really helpful, because body image isn’t about how you look, but how you feel about how you look.
 
Visiting your GP is particularly important if you’re concerned you may have an eating disorder or body dismorphic disorder. Your GP will be able to discuss treatment options, which may include medication, therapy or a referral to a specialist service. There may also be local support groups or services your GP can recommend.
 
If you’re experiencing difficulty with your body image and it’s affecting your mental health, get in touch to make an appointment and take a step towards making positive change.

Happiness can often feel like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – you think you know what will make you happy, but once you get there it’s replaced by something else you need to buy, or do, or achieve. So how can we start to feel happier and gain more pleasure and enjoyment from our day-to-day lives? Here are 12 things you can do to boost your mood and feel more content.
 
1) Stop comparing yourself to others
 
Ever been quite happy with your life but then seen someone’s social media post and suddenly felt inadequate? Comparing yourself to others can create feelings of jealousy and dissatisfaction, and a sense of not being good enough. Limit the amount of time you spend scrolling through social media posts and remind yourself that for every “perfect” image there’s hundreds of unfiltered ones that people haven’t made public.
 
2) Keep a gratitude journal
 
Write down three things you are grateful for each day. By focusing on the things you’re lucky to have in your life, instead of the things you don’t have, you can boost mood, optimism and overall satisfaction with your life.
 
3) Focus on the present
 
Focusing on the present improves mood by decreasing the amount of time you spend ruminating on the past or feeling anxious about the future. Apps such as Calm and HeadSpace can help you with mindfulness practice, where you pay attention to your thoughts, feelings and the world around you in the present moment.
 
4) Spend time outdoors
 
Studies have found that being in nature can help to boost your mood by lowering cortisol (the stress hormone), and reducing hypertension (high blood pressure) and levels of anxiety. Those with a stronger connection to nature experience higher life satisfaction and levels of happiness.[i]
 
5) Set realistic goals
 
Setting unachievable goals creates a sense of dissatisfaction and feelings of failure. By setting realistic goals, you increase positivity. And the reward and satisfaction that comes from achieving these goals results in greater personal happiness.
 
6) Care for others
 
Volunteering, and spending time and/or money on others has been shown to boost happiness. And acts of kindness have the added bonus of bringing joy to both you and the recipient.
 
7) Spend time with family and friends
 
Strong social connections can have an influential impact on your mood. Spending time with people you care about, and who care about you, creates a sense of security and acceptance, and boosts levels of happiness.
 
8) Forgive
 
Focusing on grudges and resentments generates negative emotions and leaves less time and space for happiness. By forgiving, you can free yourself and concentrate on more positive emotions.
 
9) Laugh
 
Unsurprisingly, smiling and laughing boosts your mood. So put on a funny film, watch some comedy YouTube clips, or get someone to tell you silly jokes.
 
10) Do some exercise
 
Exercise has been proven to reduce stress and improve feelings of depression and anxiety. In fact, a study by the University of Vermont[ii] has shown that twenty minutes of exercise can boost your mood for up to 12 hours. It gives you a ‘feel good’ buzz and improves self-esteem and happiness levels.
 
11) Allow yourself to feel unhappy
 
It’s not possible to be happy all the time. But feeling sad isn’t necessarily negative[iii] - and it’s certainly not a sign of weakness or failure. After all, we wouldn’t know what happiness was unless we had an opposite emotion to compare it to. Instead of ignoring or avoiding negative emotions, try writing down how you’re feeling. This can help you to understand and accept them, and work out how to move forward in a way that will make you happy.
 
12) Ask for help
 
Sometimes, no matter what you do, life is overwhelming and it can feel difficult to cope. If you’re experiencing depression, anxiety or stress, the thought of feeling happy can seem too distant to ever be a reality. If this sounds familiar, the first step to improving this is to talk to someone and get support. This could be a friend or family member, a work colleague, your GP, a therapist or a support group. Talking about how you’re feeling and asking for help can give a sense of relief and is an important step towards improving your mental and emotional wellbeing.


[i] PLOS One (2016), 30 Days Wild: Development and Evaluation of a Large-Scale Nature Engagement Campaign to Improve Well-Being, Available: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0149777

[ii] University of Vermont Scholar Works (2013), The Effects of Mindful Movement and Exercise on Depression, Available: http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=studentgen

[iii] BBC News (2017), Anger and hatred can make us feel happy, Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-40900811