How To Get Out of a Body Image Funk

In this episode, I share my unique 4 step process that anyone can use to shift out of a body image funk. Now more than ever, it’s so important that we have the tools to reconnect and feel good in our bodies. This is a super clear-cut and actionable episode that will be helpful to keep coming back to.

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Transcript

Rebecca Sigala: 0:00

Hello, my gorgeous souls. Remember me, it's Rebecca Sigala and I am back with the Body Image Revolution. I've been MIA recently. I know, I know. It's just been such a crazy couple of months here in Israel. And I see that you've been enjoying my episodes while I've been gone, or at least been listening to them. I hope you've been enjoying them. Perhaps you're catching up on ones that you didn't listen to yet, or even re listening to ones that are relevant to you. Body image work is really such an ever evolving journey and often hearing the same thing over and over again at different times in our lives can give us new and sometimes even a deeper meaning as we evolve as people. So if there's a topic that you feel like is relevant to you again, and listening, reminding yourself who you are, how far you've come, and which unique path that you'd like to forge going forward. I want to just get to the main topic today because I know this is so important and so relevant for many women. I've been working with lots of different women in different capacities since October 7th. So I'm highly aware of the different circumstances and experiences and the ranges of emotions that we've all been going through as a nation and honestly worldwide. This episode is going to be relevant for everybody though, in any place in the world before this war or after, but especially now as we are desperately needing more tools to return back home to ourselves and feel good in our bodies. So I'm going to share step by step how to get out of a body image funk. There are inevitable ebbs and flows that happen in our lives, even as we work on ourselves, even as we unwind diet culture and our body and our self image drastically improves, there's still going to be moments when we feel disconnected from ourselves, when we wake up in the morning and we might not love what we see when we look in the mirror. When we just don't feel like ourselves, when we're so consumed with what's going on around us, that it's hard to connect with our bodies. A lot of times when we're experiencing strong emotions, we can often get in our head and totally forget that we have a physical body that works in tandem with our mind and our soul. Getting in to a body image funk is something that we all experience and we're going to experience again in the future. The reasons for getting in a funk could be many different things. It could be circumstantial like this war or your husband going to the reserves. Hello, that's me right now. Or someone getting sick and, You needing to be their caretaker or just like the stress of work or kids or whatever it may be. It could also be things that are happening within your own inner world, outside things that trigger your story inside that make us feel like we're taking a million steps backwards on our journey, but really they're just an opportunity for us to go deeper and understand ourselves better. I know this is annoying to hear, but in order to get out of a body image funk, we must go through it. We must normalize the ebbs and flows, knowing that this is simply a part of the growth process. That we will feel like shit again, instead of resisting it and feeling shame for feeling the way that we do. Resisting our reality isn't going to make it go away. Honestly, in my experience, it's only going to make it worse. So, number one, we have to normalize it. Listen to this podcast, talk to your friends, you're freaking normal. And it makes so much sense to struggle with your body image. Have you taken like one look at our society today, the ads on Instagrams, the movies and the media that literally worship beauty standards and thinness, having these feelings triggered is normal and it's okay. And it really, really, really is an opportunity to grow even more than you have in the past. Okay, so once you normalized it, step two, sit in it for a while. Another annoying step, right? Journal, talk to a trusted friend or coach or therapist. Take some time to be sad and to feel those feelings that Honestly, they just want a voice. They want to be heard. So then once you've normalized it and you've sat in it, sit in it some more. I know it's hard, but resisting, avoiding and pushing down your feelings are just going to make them come up in sneaky ways. So love on those feelings, make them feel understood and heard. Something that really helps me personally is my photography. I often use my pain and sadness. Or anger even and channel it through my art. So in that way, it gives my feelings a voice and expression that is maybe easier expressed through art than in words. And it feels really good and just like fulfilling. You could do it through art or therapy or movement. There are a lot of different options. And I'm sure if you took a moment to think about it, you'd know what is the best thing for you to do. Another thing I really like to do is to locate the emotion in my body. Where is it in my body? How does it feel? What color is it? And simply ask what it's trying to tell me, like really have a dialogue with it. I'm often surprised and enlightened by what comes up for me during those moments. And it just gives me a lot of clarity. Okay. So the next thing, the third step that really helps us to get out of a body image funk is to commit to a higher level. of physical self care. If you're on, like, a super basic level right now, and you're having a hard time doing simple things like washing your face or getting in enough water during the day, it might not be so simple. I really get it. I've struggled with depression, and sometimes the most basic self care things can be huge and significant. So if you're there, give yourself some love. It's totally understandable. It's totally okay. Right now, you can commit to a few things that could make a big difference, like getting in two liters of water, or some vegetables, or going to sleep an hour earlier, or walking outside, or taking a shower that you've been putting off. Take a few moments to think about what would be realistic for you, and then do it. For a few days, consistently, lovingly, it's not going to be perfect, but as long as you do it, that's truly what matters. It's always better done than perfect. So if you're not there, if you've already got those things down, let's go to the next level of self care. Perhaps that could mean incorporating more movement or exercise into your daily routine or taking time to moisturize your entire body or get a massage or spend time alone doing something for your body. Perhaps you could do a meditation or Put your feet in the dirt or the sand outdoors or get in sunshine. Make sure that these things that you're doing are physical, not only emotional self care practices, like not journaling and therapy, this should be body centered practices. When we do take care of our physical body, we are signaling to our body that I'm here. I care about you. You're loved. You're safe. You're worthy. Even if you don't feel that way in your mind, your body gets that message. Sometimes when I take an extra few moments to go that extra mile for myself, like making a beautiful salad for myself instead of just throwing something in the oven, like frozen french fries or whatever. and like really just like taking time to make it beautiful and delicious with a gorgeous dressing and herbs or maybe I'm more intentional about my shower. Like I really scrub my hair and exfoliate my skin from this place of loving my body. I truly feel more taken care of even though it's from myself. Our bodies need to feel taken care of. And at the end of the day, we know ourselves better than anybody else knows us. We also hear what our bodies need before anyone else would even have a freaking clue. And therefore it's truly our responsibility to tune into our bodies, to really listen and provide them with what they need. No one else is going to do that. And our bodies have always been there for us, right? So they deserve that same unconditional love and respect in return. And when you do that, it can really be such a beautiful reciprocal relationship that will reap incredible benefits in your life. You're going to feel so much better. You're going to have more connection. Aliveness, more energy, a higher libido, creativity, mental clarity, all of the things that come from prioritizing our physical and mental health. This third step of committing to a higher level of physical self care is usually what really helps me get out of that body image funk. It often feels like magical in a way, like within a day or two or sometimes like even less, I already feel so much more like myself. But I do want to give you a fourth step in case you're not feeling like you're quite there yet, or you want to solidify that feeling even more. This one might take a little bit more brain power, and it's probably best used as journal prompts. So you can grab a journal or a pen and paper, or even just a phone and answer these questions for yourself. They're going to give you an opportunity to simply understand yourself a little bit better. And shift out of this body image funk. And then you're also going to have the tools to do it again. Next time you're here, remember that it is going to happen again. So doing this work now is invaluable. You're literally creating a blueprint for yourself for moving through difficult body image days in the future. So number one, the first journal prompt. What are some thoughts that are fueling the way that you're feeling about yourself right now? Some examples could be, I'm not enough. I feel fat. I wish I could be more disciplined. Why can't I get my shit together? I know it can be hard, especially when you're in this funk, but try to see those thoughts with loving compassion and understanding. Know that our thoughts are just our thoughts. They don't mean anything about who we are. We have. So many thoughts during the day and just becoming aware of them is so important and it doesn't have to hold so much meaning, but it can be really powerful when we just become aware of them. So put these down without judging yourself too much or at all, if you can. Number two, where did these thoughts go? Come from, did something trigger the shift in the way that you see your body? Like really think about it. How did you get into this body image funk? Was it a change in your circumstances or environment? Was it something someone said? Was it something you saw on social media? Was it a feeling of jealousy or inadequacy? Was it simply the stress of whatever you're going through right now? That's totally normal and happens all the time. Just write it all down. Okay. The third journal prompt is how can you lovingly protect yourself from those triggers moving forward? Can you mute somebody on social media? Can you create a boundary with a loved one about which topics are healthy and feel good for you to talk about and which ones are not, can you put yourself in environments that are just simply more positive for you? If you don't feel like there's a boundary to be made, if this. experience is something that truly came from within yourself, you can take note of that too, of a story or a message that you might want to explore down the line. We have so many stories that live within us that create much of our current identity. Some are stories that serve us and some. really just don't. Some stories are ones that we formulated on our own or somewhat on our own, and somewhere, put there without our permission at all. Being aware of them, like I said, is really the first step towards healing and shifting the way we see ourselves. Sometimes simply being aware of them can shift them dramatically because then we're just not seeing everything that we're thinking in our mind. as just simply the truth. We can look at our thoughts more objectively and make the decision that we want to let it go, that it's not serving us anymore. And it's not always that easy, but sometimes it really is. It's just as simple as making that decision. Okay. So the last one, this one is more for fun, but it can also be very helpful and powerful because it pushes us to do something that we don't always do for ourselves. And that is give yourself 10 genuine compliments. Yup. 10 and half of them have to be appearance related. If this last journal prompt speaks to you. You could type the compliments that you wrote out in your phone, like on a note, or you could create beautiful affirmation cards and put them on your mirror or in a notebook with your compliments. These are Positive things that you already believe about yourself. So celebrate that. Celebrate the confidence that you already have. Celebrate your body. Celebrate you for who you are today, because there truly is so much to celebrate. Sometimes we just have to push ourselves to take that extra moment and think about it and give ourselves credit because we don't do that enough. So I did touch on this before, but I want to say it again as you go through these journal prompts. Hold your answers lovingly. Try not to be critical of yourself. See it in a way that you would if your best friend shared these things with you. Try to Take a step outside of it and look at yourself more objectively. Like see the full picture. It's really helpful with thoughts in general. And specifically when we're working on our body image and we want to see our bodies differently, taking that step out of our own mind and our deeply ingrained narratives and seeing things more objectively can be. Very powerful. Like for instance, with what I do with my healing boudoir experiences and photographing women, that's an opportunity for people to see themselves in a more objective light. And this can often create more self compassion and love and admiration for ourselves, which is so important. Also at the same time, make sure to continue that higher level of self care, not because you want to change your body or lose weight or fit into a beauty standard. But simply because you deserve it, your body deserves it. You deserve to feel good in and about your body. Taking care of your body from this place of self love is so fulfilling and expansive and it goes against a lot of what we've been taught about health and self care. It helps us speak and treat ourselves with more kindness. It helps us stay more consistent with self care instead of just using appearance goals as motivation, which really isn't that effective. And it helps us connect our mind, body, and soul so that we can feel more like ourselves. Selfs and feel more energetic and alive and happy overall, which really drastically improves our body image. So that's what I've got for you today, my loves. I hope it was helpful and I really hope that you use it not only for right now, but again and again during your journey towards more and more radical self love and acceptance. Just a quick reminder that registration is now open for the new sexy, my 12 week group coaching program to help women feel sexy, naked, and fucking love what they see when they look in the mirror. If this episode, or if my podcast in general speaks to you, you have literally no idea how much more. In depth and amazing. The new sexy is and how much it will change your life and change the way that you see yourself for good. I'm offering completely free discovery calls for people who are seriously interested in this group coaching program, it's an opportunity for you to get super clear about where you're at right now with your body image and self love and where you want to go and. If the new sexy is that next bold step, if it's the path that is right for you to get there and we'll explore everything together. The link is in the show notes. I cannot wait to connect with you. This round is going to be absolutely out of this world. One more thing, if you're on Spotify or Apple, please go ahead and give my podcast a rating, only if you like it, of course, and share this specific episode with a friend or a loved one that needs to hear it right now, or simply just share it on social media. You never know who needs to hear this. And you can also tag me at Rebecca Sigala Boudoir if you're on Instagram. I really love hearing your thoughts and feedback. I love growing this community and connecting with all of my incredible listeners. I love you guys. And I'm so proud of you for being here and committing to yourself during this time.