Take the Body Image Quiz!
- Do you feel like you’re not enough?
- How much time do you spend wishing you could have someone else’s body or just simply hating yourself?
- Are you afraid of others judging how you look?
- Are you tired of living up to ideals promoted by media messages?
- Do you want to feel more confident in your skin?
- How often do you deliberately check in the mirror on parts of your body or face to check for how you look?
- How important is how you look in how you feel about yourself?
- Do you avoid activities or situations because of how you look?
- Does how you look affect how you are functioning at work, at home or in your relationships?
- Do you avoid having photos taken of yourself, or avoid looking at old photos of yourself?
- How much time do you spend comparing yourself to others?
- How much effort do you put into covering up, or distracting from, parts of you that you see as flawed?
- How much time do you spend grooming (getting ready) before you go out?
While it is normal for people to pay attention to how they look, if how you have answered yes to several of the above, it may be time to think about the way you see yourself compared to how others see you.
Tragically, body image issues (and eating disorders) are on the rise! Nobody escapes the constant barrage of media hype on the seemingly perfect (but photoshopped) body ideal for men and women. In Australia, nearly half of women see themselves mistakenly as overweight…and men, increasingly, are at risk of having poor insight regarding how they look.
The costs of mismatch between someone’s actual and desired look is not superficial. All too often the price is an eating disorder, depression, anxiety, poorer quality of life and general functioning, including stress on relationships with significant others.
At The Avenue Place we provide a warm, non-judgemental, safe space for clients to explore the complicated reasons for the development of body image, and from here we assist clients to escape their pain and live a meaningful and prosperous life.