Can't Stop Fixating on Your Looks? These 4 Mental Exercises May Help
Psychologist Diana Hill shares four evidence-based mental exercises to help people cope with body image distress, focusing on 'body image flexibility' rather than self-love.
Diana Hill, a psychologist specializing in acceptance and commitment therapy, recommends practicing what she calls "body image flexibility" — a psychological term for the ability to cope with uncomfortable feelings about your appearance. It does not require loving your body or feeling neutral about it, but rather focuses on what you do when negative thoughts arise.
"How much energy and time are you putting into obsessing about your looks in the mirror versus engaging in your life and the things you care about?" Hill said in an interview with NPR.
Hill, co-author of "ACT Daily Journal: Get Unstuck and Live Fully with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy," offers four practical exercises to help people stay present amid pressures to obsess over appearance.
The first exercise is to focus attention inward. When looking in the mirror and focusing on flaws like nose, belly or wrinkles, Hill suggests practicing flexible attention by redirecting thoughts to what is happening inside the body. She calls this "interoceptive awareness," which is associated with better attention to hunger and fullness cues, as well as improved empathy and interpersonal awareness.
The second exercise is to appreciate what the body can do. Hill advises turning attention outward by asking how you are using your body at that moment — for example, seeing a tree with your eyes or breathing air. Acknowledging those abilities can connect you to the world, she said.
The third exercise is to interrogate your intentions. If you habitually suck in your stomach to make it appear smaller, Hill suggests noticing the behavior and asking questions such as: Are there times you let it go because you feel safer? Is your feeling based on societal messages? How does this feeling affect your daily life? This can reveal biological, psychological and social factors that lead people to "automatically shut off a part of our body," she said.
The fourth exercise is an energy audit. Hill recommends being honest about how much time and effort goes into your appearance — such as posting selfies or buying beauty products — and where that energy is being taken from. Then ask what fuels your energy in relation to your body, like being outside, moving joyfully or playing with a dog, and swap some image-focused time for those activities.
"Every little bit of energy you're putting into sucking in your stomach or feeling distracted by your shiny face pulls away energy from you — your creative force, your ability to connect and your talents," Hill said. "And what people want is you."