Tips For Coping with Bad Body Image in Eating Disorder Recovery

By: Olivia Kline, EDC Administrative Assistant

Throughout your eating disorder recovery journey there may be days where you may experience bad body image.  Experiencing this can be difficult to manage and may feel like a pitfall within your eating disorder recovery. However, we have some tips to help you to cope with bad body image days. 

It’s important to note that we view the goal of a body image healing journey as not necessarily always looking in the mirror and loving how you look, rather being far less focused on your body and instead spending your time and energy devoted to things that matter to you.

Ultimately, even if you love your appearance right now-all of our bodies will change as we age and putting our self worth into the appearance of our body is not helpful in the long-run.

As our founder, Jennifer Rollin, LCSW-C, has said, “I don’t need you to fall in love with your body, I want you to fall in love with your life.”

Even though the goal is to eventually be able to focus less on your appearance and body, this is so hard when you have an eating disorder and/or diet culture yelling in your ear. The following are some tips for bad body image days in eating disorder recovery.


1. Prioritize Comfort

Grab some comfy clothes and try to find a space where you feel safe. It can be helpful to put on some comfortable clothes that help you to work to shift focus onto other things that are more values-aligned. Also, try to put yourself in an environment or setting that increases your comfort. Take some time to lay on the couch or to find a way to help you relax. 


2 Lean on your Support System

You deserve to be supported, especially when you are not feeling great. Reach out to those you trust and seek support from. Be open with them about how you are feeling and how they can support you. 


3. Ask Yourself What’s Underneath

When you are flooded with bad body image, it may be helpful to dig deep and try to uncover what else might be upsetting you. This way, you can work to address what might actually be bothering you, which you may be projecting onto your body. Think of your experience of poor body image as an important signal, which tells you that you might need to pay attention to something else in your life.


4. Self-care

Practice self-care in whatever way works best for you! Take time for yourself and do something that you enjoy. Draw, read a book, or watch your favorite show! Think about ways to engage in self-care physically, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, or personally. 


5. Reflect on Your True Values 

Your brain (and society) may try to convince you that your body is what you have to offer to this world. This is not the truth. Spend some time reflecting on what your true values are, which the negative body image takes you away from.


6. Process How You are Feeling

Journal, talk to a loved one, reach out to or meet with a therapist. Take some time to process the emotions that you are experiencing related to and underneath your bad body image. Let yourself feel your feelings without judgment.


7. Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness can help you become more aware of your thoughts and how you are feeling. Practice observing your thoughts and feelings and imagine them floating by like clouds passing in the sky, rather than getting ‘hooked’ by a thought and engaging with it.


8. Follow Body Diverse Folks Online

Research supports that following folks in diverse body sizes on social media is a powerful way to improve body image. Try to look at and follow some pages of people who are in diverse body sizes and share positive messaging around food. 


9. Practice Self-Compassion

Talk to yourself the way you would talk to someone you love or to your childhood self. Think about things that you love about yourself that have nothing to do with your body or appearance. 


10. Make a List of Life Goals 

Think about the goals that you have for your life that have nothing to do with your body or appearance. You can be creative with this and make it in the form of a vision board or collage. 


Finding Body Acceptance Is Possible!

Are you looking for support on your healing journey towards body acceptance? 

The Eating Disorder Center would love to help. We are here to help you along your recovery journey to find food freedom, make peace with your body and ultimately with yourself.

We provide in-person eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD and virtually throughout MD, VA, DC, PA, NY, and FL. We also provide eating disorder recovery coaching worldwide. 

 Reach out to us via our website contact form or call us at 301-246-6856. to get started with a free 15-minute consultation with an eating disorder specialist.

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Schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation to explore how eating disorder therapy or recovery coaching can help you to find freedom.

🌟 Available in MD, VA, DC, PA, NY, FL, and CA for eating disorder therapy
🌍 Offering recovery coaching worldwide

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The Eating Disorder Center is a premier outpatient eating disorder therapy center founded by Jennifer Rollin. We specialize in helping children, teens, and adults struggling with anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, OSFED, and body image issues. We provide eating disorder therapy in Rockville, MD, easily accessible to individuals in Potomac, North Potomac, Bethesda, Olney, Silver Spring, Germantown, and Washington D.C. We also provide eating disorder therapy in Arlington, Virginia and virtually throughout Virginia. Additionally, we offer eating disorder therapy virtually in New York (NYC), Florida, Pennsylvania, and California. We provide eating disorder and EMDR trauma therapy in Rockville, Maryland and virtually throughout Maryland and Virginia. We provide eating disorder recovery coaching via Zoom to people worldwide. Connect with us through our website at www.theeatingdisordercenter.com