It’s time to quiet that inner critic.
Therapy for body image in Los Angeles
You just want to run and hide
No one knows the real you. The one who puts on a mask everyday and pretends to be okay. On the outside, you are perfect. You make sure your hair appears healthy, nails polished, and face made up- you seem totally normal to everyone around you. But on the inside, there’s constant inner turmoil. You feel uncomfortable in your own skin, constantly body checking, comparing yourself to others and exhaust yourself sucking everything in.
No one knows that you agonize over what to wear to hide your body and avoid textures that feel life threatening. While you're with friends and as they chat away, you’re trying to think through quickly what you can eat and how to avoid feeling even worse about yourself. You’re constantly in panic thinking about your next meal so you don’t overeat but can’t show that to the world. You have to maintain your image. If you don’t, then who are you?
It doesn’t stop with simply “not liking my body” or needing to “lose a few pounds”
You dread looking at yourself in the mirror. You don’t recognize that person but you also painfully do. You’ve struggled your whole life with this.
Spending countless time trying to find something to wear to mask your body, you debate isolating yourself and not risking someone commenting on your body
You come home and your loved ones want to connect with you but you’re not fully present. All you’re thinking about is your body and how to plan the next few meals
You’re filled with anger and resentment towards yourself and those around you. No one gets you.
You scroll through images of perfect bodies and wonder why it’s so hard for you, maybe you deserve it, maybe you’re not good enough.
Your thoughts are eating you alive and you need relief now
Therapy for body image can help you…
Seek Connection - Lack of connection is one of the main ingredients of low body image
Gain Validation- This is not a “health” issue and your concerns matter
Be Challenged- the lies you’ve been telling yourself
Start Change- the future for yourself so that you can finally enjoy your life
Life doesn’t have to feel this way.
The constant racing thoughts, body checks, and comparisons are exhausting all your energy. What if you could,
Manage mealtimes and it not be scary
Connect with your loved ones without being preoccupied by your body and food
Enjoy a meal without thinking badly of yourself
Put yourself first
Through therapy you will
Identify the root causes of your low body image
Examine ways to be controlled by body image
Improve relationships and connection
Prioritize your needs and yourself
Frequently asked questions about body image therapy
FAQs
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It is for a lot of people and that’s why most of us need some support. You’ve been coping with this for so long and maybe it’s even helped you in your past experiences but it is not working anymore. It’s controlling you now and that’s why you are here looking for change.
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Absolutely not! This is a common sentiment our culture uses but it just dismisses the problem and it’s incredibly invalidating. This is not about you being “healthy” -it’s much deeper than that. Therapy is about examining deeper meanings behind body image rather than just thinking if you lose some weight you’ll be happy.
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Good question. There are people who meet the criteria of an eating disorder and often seek treatment and many many people who don’t quite meet criteria but something feels wrong, and they don’t seek support. This doesn’t mean they don’t need support, they just don’t have a place to go so they get left behind. We will assess for disordered eating and eating disorders, if necessary and we would discuss next steps. However, struggles with body image can be paralyzing and you deserve support.