5 Tips to Like What You See in the Mirror

You may have seen yourself in our last blog post about body checking. It is the practice of monitoring and critiquing your appearance based on diet industry standards. Our tip there was to catch the negative thoughts in action and try and counter them.

In today’s post we’re going to take it to the next level: once you’ve caught that negative thought, how you can support yourself into creating a positive experience when looking in a mirror (either literally or in the form of comparison with other people’s bodies).

• Find the positive. After identifying the negative thought that came up, you might feel empowered to not only challenge it—saying it isn’t helpful—but to spin it into a positive. For example, instead of picking apart your thighs in the gym mirror, you could remind yourself that your legs just carried you through a workout! Focussing on what your body can do, instead of how it looks, can really start to reframe how you feel about your body.
• Dress in a way that feels good. Choose soft fabrics that feel good on your skin or maybe you like clothes that have stretch in them, allowing you to move throughout your day. Finding what kinds of clothing that works for your body will immediately boost your mood—being uncomfortable (too tight, pinching, hard to breathe) in clothes is a constant reminder to critique our body.
• Dig a bit deeper. If you’ve been working on getting comfortable with your appearance and you suddenly find that you’re back to old negative habits in front of the mirror, check in with yourself. Are you feeling the pressure of an upcoming event that you’d usually go on a restrictive diet for? How has your sleep been lately? Instead of getting down on yourself for body checking making its way back into your lie, try and consider your wellbeing from different angles.
• Identify your quick win(s). For some people, swiping on a bold lipstick can make them feel better. Others like to take all the layers off and shower away the day, leaving them feeling refreshed. Think about what you can do to support your mood when you’re down about your appearance.
• Reflections may vary. Remember that what you see in the mirror is only a tiny part of your identity. What you see also reflects diet culture, social media, and family messages you’ve received for years—so you can’t entirely trust what might come up in your thoughts. Plus, what you look like can’t capture your sense of humour or your ability to bake or even your singing voice!  You are so much more than your appearance!

💛 Your peace awaits.