ARTICLES
The language of ‘body image’ is common in our culture of attention to appearance, and lately, conversation about body image seems to everywhere. Body image is a factor commonly related to mental health for young people, and is similarly a concern for many people as they age and come to terms with their changing bodies.
When you think about it, it’s pretty strange that we give so much attention to the image of our bodies.
We live in a world which is full of extremes… extremes particularly in an all-or-nothing sense.
Extremes like working excessive hours to then take long holidays to ‘get away from it all’. Or spending months overdoing it with alcohol to then revert to puritanical detox regimes. And there are those who burn the candle six nights a week to then attempt to make up for it with one long day of rest on the seventh. And people with the attitude that unless you adore someone with a ferocity close to obsession then you mustn’t love them at all.
Ok… lets be clear about something in our psychological world that seems to cause an awful lot of misunderstanding – there’s no such thing as a ‘negative’ emotion.
The language of ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ emotion seems to be commonplace in our popular language about mental health. This positive/negative assessment of our emotions is one which is primarily based on perceived desirability. Happiness is highly desirable, therefore we refer to it as ‘positive’. Other emotions though such as fear or sadness are not quite as desirable, and as a result are often labelled as ‘negative’.
When we can look at our life objectively one thing we may notice is that change is happening, all the time. Think about it. People you used to love are no longer in your life and you now have new relationships. The way you spend your time may have changed. Maybe experiences that used to hold importance and value for you have been replaced by new experiences. And sure as we can be, our minds, bodies and the world around us are changing in each and every moment.
When I’m asked what I see as the most common issue related to emotional distress in the clients I see for counselling I can answer overwhelmingly… it’s striving for perfection. And the most common response from clients when I suggest this may be an issue for them?
“No, I’m not a perfectionist, I just never get anything right”.
