Journal Prompts to Explore Your Relationship With Body Dysmorphia

How I Get the Most Out of Journal Prompts: This is a technique I learned in high school that transformed the way I journal and helps me fully engage with the prompts I write. I focus on letting my thoughts flow freely onto the page, following a strict “no editing” rule. This rule means I don’t re-read what I’ve written to check for clarity or go back to make small changes until I’m completely finished. I don’t judge myself or try to make my writing sound polished; I simply let my thoughts pour out, even if they end up sounding like gibberish—and that’s okay!

Journal Prompts:

·       How was body-image or appearance talked about in your household growing up and what parts of that have you carried with you?

·       How do gender norms/roles play a part in body image? What expectations are you holding for yourself based on these gendered ideas?

·       When was the first time you perceived your body in a negative way? Do you still carry that negative perception of your body with you today?

·       What was a time that body image was talked about in a way that felt good and nurturing? What about the way it was talked about felt good or nurturing?

·       When do you feel the most “triggered” when it comes to body image?

·       When do you feel the most comfortable when it comes to body image?

·       Write out a timeline that illustrates when difficult emotions around body image began, up until now. Do you notice any patterns or any events that make this worse?

·       Stress and hormones tend to act as “inflammatory” additions to things we already struggle with. For example, for someone battling alcoholism, a stressful time may increase the number of thoughts and urges that arise around alcohol. This works the same way for anxiety, body dysmorphia, and disordered eating patterns/thoughts. That means, for women, the week before one’s period can be particularly difficult due to hormonal and physical fluctuations that put pressure on pre-existing concerns around body-image or disordered eating patterns. Additionally, stressful life events can cause fluctuations in our ability to cope with body-image or disordered eating patterns. What stressful events tend to make these existing thoughts and feelings around your body image worse?

·       What are things you do that help you cope with these things?

·       What are steps you have taken already to help work on these things? I really want you to think about this. It can be so easy to say, “I’m working on my relationship with food/my body”, when in reality that can look like “I notice my thoughts and feelings around food and feel helpless against them, therefore I haven’t taken steps that have helped me feel better or challenged these ideas.”

·       What is your next goal with body image? When do you want to accomplish this by? What steps will you take to accomplish this?

·       When you talk about body image with people around you, what are you subconsciously wanting to hear from those around you? What are you searching for in those conversations?

·       What are things outside of body image that you are proud of about yourself? Try to list at least 5.

·       Are you placing value on body image because there is a lack of feeling “value” in other areas of life? If so, please take a moment to write and explore this. (Example: If you feel like a failure at work, or disliked in your friend group, maybe the one area of life where you feel as though you can control how much you are valued, is through appearance.)

·       When are times in your life when you have felt valued for things outside of appearance?

·       When you see yourself in a mirror, or try on clothes, what are some of the things you tell yourself?

If Body-Image is something you struggle with, or would like to explore further, reach out to SF Counseling for a free consultation: 828-367-9585

Savannah Fredde, LCMHCA, NCC, and Disordered Eating Specialist