Eating · Body Image
Body Neutrality Practice
The middle path between body hatred and forced body love
Body neutrality is the middle path between body hatred and the pressure of forced "body love." The goal isn't to love how your body looks — it's to relate to your body for what it does and to spend less of your mental energy evaluating its appearance at all.
What my body does for me
Carries me, lets me hug someone, lets me hear music, breathes without my help, digests, heals.
What my body has been through
Illnesses, injuries, growth, grief, pregnancy, surgeries, the years it has held on.
The story I was taught about this body
From family, culture, peers, providers, media. Where did the rules come from?
What I would say to someone I love about their body
The standard you use for them is allowed to apply to you.
Daily mental energy spent evaluating my body's appearance, today (0 = none, 10 = constant)
nonemost
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A neutral-language reframe
The judgment thought
A neutral, factual version
One body-respecting action I'll take this week, regardless of how I feel about how it looks