Healing Bad Body Image Moments: A Compassionate Relationship with Your Body
Have you ever really stopped to think about your relationship with your body. I am not referring to just how it looks, but how you relate to it? I once heard that our relationship with our body is the longest one we’ll ever have. Longer than any friendship, marriage, job, or home.
I don’t know about you, but I speak to my body constantly! I hate to admit it, but I find myself criticizing, ignoring, and sometimes even shaming my body. But what if I (we) treated our body more like a relationship we value and nurture? One with space for dialogue, forgiveness, and mutual respect? What if we started to speak to our bodies with support and pride?
Not living under a rock, we have done some unlearning around diet culture and even to some extent embraced body positivity. But that doesn’t mean we’re immune to tough moments. They sneak up on us—trying on clothes that suddenly don’t fit quite right, catching our reflection on a day we’re already feeling vulnerable, scrolling through perfectly filtered images on social media. That inner critic? She can be loud.
I still have days when I struggle. Days when clothes feel off or I catch my reflection and the critique kicks in fast. And in those moments, I’ve started asking myself a different kind of question: What’s really going on here?
Because often, the issue isn’t my body at all. It’s something deeper. Feelings of stress, being overwhelmed, insecurity, or just feeling disconnected. When I take a moment to get curious instead of critical, everything shifts. That simple pause, that moment of checking in, is an act of care.
Here’s a practice I have been working towards often: instead of diving into self-criticism, I start an internal conversation. “I’m noticing I’m feeling off in my body today. What else might be happening? What do I really need right now?” This inquiry may not “fix” the moment, but it builds trust. It reminds me I can come back to myself with kindness, again and again.
So what do I “do”? Sometimes for me, the answer is movement. I will go for a walk, or go to the gym or or even lying on the floor and taking in breaths. This is not to change how I look, but to reconnect. Other times, creativity brings me back—writing, reading, cooking, a phone call to a friend.
Bad moments will still come, but they don’t define your whole story. You are allowed to repair. You are allowed to come back to yourself. And over time, you might just discover a relationship with your body that feels like home.
As a licensed Clinical Behavioral Therapist and Intuitive Eating Counselor, I’m here to support you. If you’d like to explore working together, feel free to reach out at rachel@livehealthynyc.com.