Nurturing Healthy Self-regard: Social Media and Body Image

There’s a verse in the book of Proverbs that says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23, ESV) This verse points out the truth that the thoughts, feelings, ideas, and attitudes we allow into our lives and thoughts influence us in profound ways. The things that preoccupy your mental and emotional landscape shape the person you are and become, including body image.

This is why you ought to be cautious about what you allow to enter your mind and heart. In our culture, we are hyper-conscious about what we put into our bodies, but we don’t often show the same kind of vigilance when it comes to the influences we allow into our lives. Social media, like any other tool, can work for our good, but it can also harm us. It requires wisdom to discern when it is not working for you and undermining your well-being.

Developing a healthy body image

Your body image is an amalgam of the attitudes, thoughts, and feelings you have toward your own body. A positive body image is when you appreciate what your body looks like, what it can do, and what it feels like to inhabit it. Additionally, a positive body image applies to the whole as well as the parts. You appreciate your body as a whole, but you also like parts of yourself.

Positive body image doesn’t mean you don’t have things about yourself you may not like or would like to change. It simply means that your predominant attitude toward yourself and your body is one of positive self-regard.

On the flip side, a negative body image is when your predominant attitude and feelings toward yourself are negative; you don’t feel comfortable in your body, you wish to change parts of yourself, or feel dissatisfied with your appearance.

Your body image is shaped by a variety of factors, including your upbringing, the culture and social environment you’re in, life experiences, and your own set of values. Social media fits into that mix as a set of voices and values that are shaped by and go on to shape others.

Depending on how much time you spend on social media and what you do there, you can absorb the message that certain things are beautiful and good, while others are not.

One of the powerful and addictive aspects of social media is that there can be instant gratification derived from and validation of certain things. Between the algorithms that push certain content into your feed and the kinds of things that receive comments, likes, and reactions, the anonymous users of the internet can feed your ego or tear you down. It paints a picture of what people think is beautiful and what they think isn’t.

Unhitching from unhealthy social media

Each person needs to figure out for themselves what may be unhealthy for them on social media. If you feel bad or dissatisfied with yourself after a session on social media, perhaps you need to take a break from it. That, or perhaps finding other content to consume online may lead to better outcomes.

Cultivating a healthy self-regard is not just about what you take out, but what you put in. Unhitching yourself from social media helps, but it’s possible to play the comparison game with people in your life. Instead, go deeper; don’t play the comparison game at all. Grow in your ability to love yourself and what your body can do. That can happen in various ways.

Healthy self-affirmation

Say positive things about your body. It is fearfully and wonderfully made by a God who loves you (Psalm 139).

Nurture your virtues

It’s good to focus on things other than your body. Your body is an important part of who you are. Part of Christian theology is valuing your body because it is God’s temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and because God is going to raise our bodies to everlasting life (1 Corinthians 15).

However, there is more to you than your body. Cultivate virtues such as honesty, wisdom, purity, generosity, compassion, humility, and joy.

Nurture your body

One way to appreciate your body is to take care of it. Don’t neglect self-care through getting good sleep, eating well, grooming, and regularly exercising. Do these things to be healthy, for your body to function at its best so that you can love and serve the Lord and people in your life effectively, not for the sake of looking good.

Find help

A negative body image may be linked to trauma, negative life experiences such as bullying because of your appearance, or even comments made by loved ones. These can form part of the cacophony of voices that fuel your negative self-talk and unhealthy body image. With help from a mental health professional such as a counselor, you can work through and learn to isolate as well as disrupt these voices.

Discover a healthy body image

Our bodies are a gift, no matter what they look like, the limitations they possess, or whether they fit into a particular societal standard of beauty. A healthy body image flows from this realization, and practices that support this mindset. With help, you can disrupt unhealthy patterns of thought and behavior that feed a negative body image, replacing them with healthy, positive ones.

If you struggle in this area, a Christian counselor in Newbury Park can help. Look through the counselors on this site and reach out to us at Newbury Park Christian Counseling to begin your journey to a healthier body image.