How Can I Share My Body Image Struggles with My Spouse or Loved One?

Contributor: Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC, Special Projects Coordinator at Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope

The struggle with poor body image is a reality that many individuals face on a daily basis.

Poor body image can be detrimental to the point where it interferes with a person’s ability to carry out their normal activities or even hinders relationships with others. If a person has negative body image, they may perceive parts of their body as distorted or disfigured.

These perceived distortions actual will cause an individual who is struggling to feel shame, guilt, self-hate, or that they are a personal failure. Living with poor body image may be an invisible battle in which a person internalizes their fears and struggles, which can lead to other complications, such as increased anxiety or depression.

Factors in the Development of Body Image Issues

Body image is influenced by a variety of factors, including biological predisposition, environment, and the circumstances that we experience as individuals. Negative body image is not simply a desire to change something about how one looks or a wish to alter something about appearance.

Negative body images involve severe body distortions and cause a person to feel awkward or uncomfortable in their own body. This can be a difficult struggle to convey to others and is something that many people deal with silently.

Sharing the struggle of poor body image for the sake of processing, finding help and support is important because this allows a person to heal. If ignored or left unaddressed, negative body image can contribute to more severe issues, such as an eating disorder, mood disorder, isolation, and more.

Poor Body Image Is a Difficult Issue to Communicate

If you have suffered with poor and negative body image, you may find it hard to share your struggles with other individuals. This can be particularly true in a relationship, as you find negative body image something difficult to share with your spouse or loved one.

Perhaps poor body image has inhibited you from participating in social activities with your spouse, dampened your communication, or even prevented you from being intimate with your loved one. Though part of you may feel as though you want to move beyond these struggles to truly engage with your spouse or loved one, the severity of the body distortions you experience can limit your capacity to be genuine and sincere in a relationship.

You Are Worthy of Treatment

The important thing to know if that you are worthy, valuable, and deserving of healing from any struggle you may be facing with negative body image. Because of the many factors that can contribute to poor body image, it is helpful to understand that professional help may be necessary to work through the issues you may be facing.

It is also important to consider involving your spouse or loved one in your healing journey, especially if the negative body image you are experiencing is hurting your relationship. Working with a counselor or therapist who specializes in this area can also help guide you and your spouse to a mutual understanding of the extent of your struggle.

Dealing with Stigmas of Poor Body Image

Perhaps one of the things that may hinder you from revealing a negative body image is fear of being misunderstood. Many stigmas surround negative body image, including the belief that it is something of “vanity” or even self-absorption.

Helping your spouse understand how negative body image is impacting various areas of your life can shed a greater light on the reality of this struggle. A therapist or counselor can also be a helpful moderator, and by processing any underlying issues related to poor body image, you may have an even better understanding about your own perception of yourself.

Being in a relationship with negative body image can be a struggle but there is always hope for healing. If poor body image has hurt your relationship, know that there is also the possibility of restoration with your loved one. This is made possible by working through any issues you may be facing to find total and complete healing.

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

Have you struggled or dealt with poor body image? If so, how did you share this struggle with your loved ones? What encouragement might you offer to others who are in a similar situation?

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on November 29, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com