By Sahana
Journaling Your Way Through Body Dysmorphia
Do you often find your mind gushing through thoughts of insecurity about your body? Sometimes those rushing thoughts can cause your body dysmorphia to grow more than what it was initially. It is important to be aware of such thought processes and what better way to observe your mind through journaling?
It has been proven that journaling and writing are the most effective methods to be more aware of your mental health. Research conducted by the Pennsylvania State University found that people could be positively affected through journaling to a large extent. This self-regulatory intervention could do wonders for not just your mental health in general, but also your self-body image.
So pick up a pen and a notebook or open that notes app. Your body is marvelous , but something that has subconsciously been fed into your mind will deny this fact. Dive into such thoughts. Explore the web of your subconscious.
How to get started with your Body Neutral Journaling journey?
To truly find yourself healing yourself from body dysmorphia, you need to get to the depth of why it exists within you. Journaling those thoughts could help you be your own doctor, your own patient. The first step to beginning a body neutral journaling journey is to start journaling regularly. To assist yourself with the process, you could try the method of shadow work journaling.
Shadow work journaling would help you document all the negative or upsetting thoughts of your personality without judgement. So what you would essentially be creating for yourself is a no-judgement zone. Sometimes we are guilty of thinking a particular way and we immediately dismiss that thought, only for it to resurface again without us realising it. By not judging our own thoughts and allowing them to be stored, we can reflect on our own thought processes.
Journaling can be done in many ways, and often just writing your thoughts by letting them flow and be stored could help miraculously. However, if you feel lost and don’t know how to structure your thoughts it can be difficult to proceed and could leave you feeling unmotivated. For this, you could use the following prompts as a starter for some direction.
Prompts and Ideas for BDD journaling
- What is beauty according to me?
- Who inspires me to love myself?
- I feel bad about my body when ….
- I feel good about my body when…
- I really want to eat this…but I believe I have to eat this because…
- I really want to wear this…but I believe I have to wear this because….
- When I think of my body the first thought that pops up in my brain is…
- I want to be kinder to my body because…
- Ten things I love about my body..
- What is one thing I can do every day to appreciate my body?
- When have I felt the worst about my body?
- Why do I feel stuck about this image I have of my body?
- How can I improve my body image?
- What do I need to let go in order to grow and love my body?
- What have people said/done that has made me feel bad about my body?
- What have people said/done that has made me feel good about my body?
- How do I feel about my body after scrolling through my social media feed?
- What are the benefits to the changes I want to see in my body?
- How can I practice self love through food choices and physical activity in a way that it supports my body?
- If my best friend was going through something similar, what advice would I give her?
Writing is healing. Heal your body through your mind
Although starting out might be tough, regular journaling can make you understand yourself and your thoughts on your body better. Initially, you might find it overwhelming to be writing and discovering your own feelings, but as the journey goes on you will find bits of you revealed that you never notices before. There are no rules on journaling as well, just do what makes you feel better and puts you into a path of progress. Remember, one page a day can make a difference, and maybe on somedays, even a line could do the same. Once you’ve established the habit of journaling, you will also be able to reflect back on your beautiful journey.
to know more about The Role of Resilience and Recovery in Overcoming Body Dysmorphia read here
to know more about Body Dysmorphia as someone with PCOS read here
Tags: #Journaling #MentalHealth #SelfExpression #BadDays #GoodDays #SelfCare #ReachingOut #ExpressingThoughts #Expressing #Feelings #ExpressingEmotions #Anxiety #Depression #Stress #Positive #Coping #Mechanism #Supressed #Feelings #Overcoming #Negativity
References:
1.https://psychcentral.com/blog/weightless/2012/12/body-image-booster-20-journal-prompts-to-dig-deeper
2.https://themighty.com/topic/body-dysmorphic-disorder/body-dysmorphic-disorder-writing-recovery/
3.https://www.snackinginsneakers.com/body-positive-journal-prompts/