The Influence of Body Dysmorphia on Fitness

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable by others. People of any age can have BDD, but it is most common in teenagers and young adults. It is also important to note that affects both men and women. In the vast world of psychology body dysmorphic disorder is a condition that aligns with a lot of student-athletes and individuals that enjoy physical activity. However, this disorder makes a person constantly belittle themselves despite their very active lives. Throughout this post, there are going to be testimonials from individuals that have struggled with body dysmorphia. These individuals will share stories of their battle of overcoming this disorder. Also, there will be expert advice from psychologists that have helped numerous individuals overcome the fear of fearing their own bodies.  

What is it? 

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition that makes individuals worry a lot about a specific area of one’s body and the most common place is one’s face. Individuals tend to spend a lot of time comparing their looks with other people’s. At times they look at themselves in mirrors all the time or tend to avoid mirrors altogether.  Also, individuals tend to go through much effort to conceal flaws. For example, by spending a long time combing their hair, applying make-up or even choosing their clothes. BDD can seriously affect your daily life including individuals’ work, social life, and relationships. BDD can also lead to depression, self-harm, and at times even thoughts of suicide. However, it's very reassuring that not a single individual is alone in this struggle, even if they might perceive it as that, because there's always a way to get help. 

You’re not alone 

Allison Grady is currently a student at North Central College she has overcome several obstacles throughout the last couple of years and it truly has made her stronger in the long run.  Allison is currently in recovery from an eating disorder and push past several obstacles in her life to see the bright side of things. She describes one of the many ways that she has found value in her body as “learning to focus more on what my body helps me to do rather than what it looks like.” A lot of the time as humans we have the tendency to critique and compare ourselves to the most unrealistic body ideals. Another one of the things that have helped Allison find value in her body is allowing herself to feel all sorts of emotions in relation to her body. A very helpful tip that Allison relayed was, “I don't have to feel positive emotions toward my body all the time and I can still remind myself that my body helps me do what I love and it's helped me survive through the not-so-good moments and that's valuable and important.” This statement goes to show that even though in life we are thrown hard balls we as humans are our hardest critics. However, the implications of social media platforms can also have positive and negative implications of how we look at our bodies.

Is social media harmful?  

Social media is one of the ways that society finds connection, but at times it can allow individuals not to be connected within themselves. That can truly be harmful to a lot of individuals since social media it's supposed to be a way to escape your thoughts, but at times it's just a negative downloading spiral of thoughts. However, one can reclaim their social media feeds by reporting unhealthy content or simply pressing “not interested” on triggering content so one will see it last often. Also, one has some not be afraid to unfollow accounts that leave individuals feeling bad about themselves. At the end of the day, one wants to feel good about themselves, and that all starts with having a healthy and safe environment. Recently I've seen social media accounts such as The Body Collective and Girls in the Game that promotes women in fitness and how they positively honor their body.  Not to mention, how many people have become very vocal about this issue one example is Tami Roman.

Impact of fitness

Fitness is supposed to be fun and it's supposed to be beneficial to want mental health. However, lately, there have been trends of how fitness has negatively impacted disorders such as body dysmorphia. Since a lot of the time the fitness community is comparing themselves to how big or strong or skinny or lengthy, they are compared to others, and it's crazy to see the negative impact. Even though some individuals might not see it that way it truly has left a negative connotation of how fitness has truly influenced how people see themselves however they are helpful tips and platforms out there that have slowly allowed people to truly love fitness. This is a wonderful thing to see in the fitness realm.

From an expert perspective

Amber Murphy is a writer from “Declutter the Mind” and she has a specialty in body image eating disorders and disordered eating and body positivity. Amber Murphy has a lot of helpful tips and insight on how one can overcome body dysmorphia and look at their body more positively.  

Identify your problems and concerns

It truly can be a little bit intimidating the think about body dysmorphia. However, it is recommended that one identifies their problems and concerns within themselves it's a very good start, to begin with. If you do find yourself struggling the main thing is to acknowledge that something might be wrong and once you have accepted that you're struggling you will allow yourself to advance toward the treatment and self-healing solutions that help you overcome body dysmorphia. One of the best things that one can do is connect themselves with a counselor or therapist who specializes in the treatment of body dysmorphia. Especially with all mental health challenges it's often harder to solve our very own problems since our own problems usually begin with thinking. It truly can be helpful to have a professional or even a trusted friend to be a sounding board with our thoughts. The overarching goal it's a help model better thinking privately so one can view their body in a very positive manner. 

Spend time with loved ones

It can be hard to spend time with the ones that you love especially since with body dysmorphia one is always criticizing themselves with others and it can be just overall difficult to be surrounded by others when your brain is overarching with a ton of thoughts. However at the end of the day sometimes having someone emotionally there for you can be one of the most beneficial things in the long run. One does need to keep in mind that everyone does not know how to meet other people’s emotional needs however that does not mean they do not love or support you any less. 

Indulge in physical exercise

It can be helpful to do physical exercise as part of your routine since it will help work on your body and shape while improving your mental health. It's a scientific fact that exercise promotes the release of endorphins in your brain to help reduce pain and bring up feelings of pleasure. Additionally, it helps improve your cardiovascular health while also keeping you in shape. In a matter of a few days when it comes to observing positive changes in your mental state will be seen by just engaging in a little bit of physical exercise.  

These are three helpful tips that were expressed by Amber Murphy. although there is no magical fix to a medical condition like body dysmorphia disorder steps such as meditating, journaling, exercising, mindful eating, medication, and even some CBT therapy when needed can together help you beat body dysmorphia. Truly anyone heading towards a wholesome and healthy life while being proud of their unique body shape and size will help in case some in a body of positivity. 1's body can do so many wonderful things so truly one should not let negative thoughts or toxic people get in the way of celebrating the true value of their body.  

Final takeaways

Society heavily impacts how one views our body through the perpetuation of unrealistic beauty standards. We live in a patriarchy where women are viewed as less than men. One has to recognize how much mental energy can be wasted trying to unhealthy force oneself to conform to such unrealistic beauty and body expectations from society. It truly can be a game changer for women to realize how much value and positivity they can bring into society. However, let's not disregard men because they can truly find a positive way to influence our society. Together collectively we can speak up and challenge this pattern and at the end of the day, it truly can be worth it. With that being said it can bring us a new source of peace that can wash over not only ourselves but the whole society to challenge what is socially acceptable and just show up to be fully authentically and unapologetically yourself. It can be nerve-wracking trying to break these barriers that social media and others have built but slowly one can build up bigger and better barriers that are beneficial and healthy for one and all.