Many people often face insecurities about their body image and feel the need to change their appearance. Having the urge to ‘fit in’ with everyone else and feel physically ‘attractive’ is a common issue of low self-esteem. The Mission Australia youth survey, in 2018, indicates that body image is one of the most significant concerns among teenagers. Furthermore, it was shown in the statistics that around 41.5% of girls in Australia have notable insecurities about their appearance.
Self-consciousness and lack of confidence in one’s physical appearance is an issue that may stem early on in one’s life. Throughout an individual's time of growing up, family and friends have a large influence on how one may view themselves. Even things such as being teased about one’s physical appearance can significantly impact someone and may cause them to lose confidence in themselves and how they look. Feeling stress about one’s body and being ashamed of it can possibly cause the development of body dysmorphia. Body dysmorphia is a mental health disorder when you feel intense anxiety and distress over your ‘flaws’, and constantly compare yourself to other people’s appearances.
There are many risk factors in the development of body dysmorphia and poor self-esteem. Some of which include:
Specific expectations from family and friends: Growing up, being surrounded by our friends and family, it’s undeniably easy to be influenced by their pressures and expectations. Peer pressure is significant in the youth and shaping one’s perception of body image can be affected by the people around them. Parents have a significant role in impacting how their children view themselves and their physical appearance.
Being teased or mocked for your body image: Being insulted on how your body looks undoubtedly damages your self-esteem and makes you view your body differently. “One study found 94 percent of all teenage girls, and 64 percent of teenage boys have been shamed for the way their body looks.” (WCNC, 2017).
Cultural and societal norms which focus immensely on physical beauty: This is inbuilt and difficult to point out, especially if you grow up in the environment. Norms that focus narrowly on body image can shape one’s mindset to depend their worth on their physical appearance.
Taking efforts to improve your physical health is a wonderful thing, but this can often be confused with improving one’s standard of beauty. Trying to “fix” your appearance can also have adverse effects on your physical health. For example, restricting your eating to control your weight can harm you if you starve yourself too much. Obsessing over your body weight and shape can even potentially lead to eating disorders. There are many kinds of eating disorders, which include anorexia nervosa and bulimia Anorexia nervosa involves strictly under-eating in the pursuit of being “thin”, where someone may be dangerously below their healthy weight range. This often includes a warped body image, with a low level of self-perceived beauty and self-esteem.
Some symptoms are:
Obsessively monitoring body weight and continuous efforts in losing weight
Restricting the body of calories (unhealthy eating patterns)
Having a contorted body image and low self-esteem
Having an extreme fear of gaining weight
There are many more symptoms related to the progression of anorexia, or any eating disorder. If you have any concerns about whether you experience these symptoms, contact a trusted individual or seek advice from a medical professional. Not only do these physical disorders cause physical harm, but they also may be mentally debilitating. The necessity to constantly judge your body image and overly control your eating patterns can lead to these more severe issues in your mental health. This is not stated to cause panic or unnecessary tension, but rather give insight into the complications obsessing over body shape can have. Unfortunately, this is a reality for many young teens who struggle with body shaming and disorders.
Having immensely low self-esteem and trying to change your body shape goes beyond trying to lose weight. Contrary to popular belief, body shaming may also contribute to promoting excessive eating (such as Binge Eating Disorder). People may also feel insecure about their body shape when they are told they are “too thin and ugly”, which lowers their perception of themselves. Body shaming does not only include trying to lose weight, it can include having low self-regard for all different types of body shapes.
It’s crucial to recognise the impact of the insecurities of your physical appearance on mental and physical health. Through this, you can understand the importance of self-love and having confidence in your body image. Accepting your body image and knowing that there is no such thing as “perfect” can increase your self-love and positivity. Every single person deserves respect for their physical appearance, and that includes you.