Oakland Psychotherapy & Online Counseling
Body Image Therapy
Psychotherapy in Oakland to help you with Body image, Weight loss, and Body Dysmorphia
Body image
If you’ve struggled with obsessing about how your body looks then you’ve come to the right place. The way we view our body is shaped by so many things: society, social media, friends, family, TV, movies, magazines, partners, our past, etc. So how would you like to relate to your body differently?
What is “healthy” body image?
There’s a lot of talk about “body positivity” right now but that term can mean a lot of different things to different people. Generally if you’re not always ruminating about your physique and your eating / exercise habits don’t get in the way of your day to day activities or relationships, you likely have healthy viewpoint on your body.
When to seek help through therapy?
But it might be time to seek support if you’re:
thinking so much about your shape or weight that it makes it difficult for you to be in the moment, stay focused, or enjoy food
sometimes hiding things from family and friends because you don’t want them to know how much you obsess over your body or food
avoiding social situations or dating because you’re so dissatisfied with how you look
your confidence is low and personality is changing because of thoughts about your appearance
severely restricting calories or overdoing it with exercise such that you’re not feeling well or fatigued
How Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help.
ACT can help you relate to how you’re thinking about your body and/or weight in a way that creates space so you don’t feel so controlled by your thoughts. Thoughts like “I’m fat” or “I’m gross” are common but these kinds of thoughts only tend to make us dislike ourselves even more and don’t do much to motivate us to improve things.
ACT helps you take action to do what you can to be the healthiest version of yourself.
So instead of fixating on all the parts of yourself that aren’t “perfect”, our work together would encourage you to take action on what you can control and accept those things you can’t. For example, instead of ruminating, which leads you nowhere and makes you feel worse, you could identify specific muscle groups you’d like to tone, research healthier food options, find an exercise routine that’s realistic for you, or practice getting in touch with your 5 senses as you eat so you consume food more mindfully. Learning techniques to identify unhelpful thought patterns and not letting them guide you all the time, allows you to have freedom to alter what you do have control over.
Accepting what you have don’t have control over.
There are things we can’t change about ourselves and our bodies e.g. general build, age, etc, and these can play into our body image issues. Learning how to accept things that we don’t have control over, is fundamental to the type of work I help clients with. Acceptance does not mean you like or approve, it’s just that you are very clear on what is and what is not possible. And then given your reality, making the best out of how you spend your life, time, and energy despite this reality.
Stop letting body image issues control your life and connect with what matters most to you through therapy with Chloe.
Weight Loss
If you’ve been unsuccessful in achieving your weight loss goals, I can help you unravel what’s been getting in your way and learn new ways of coping with cravings, binge eating, avoiding exercise, or overly restricting your diet.
First we’ll talk a lot about the psychological aspects of change.
Making any kind of change, even if it’s a healthy one, is very difficult because it takes us out of our comfort zone and routine. Us humans generally like predictability and do not like discomfort, thus trying to change the way we eat or exercise can be very destabilizing at first.
Using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, I have helped clients lose over 15 pounds!
We will uncover unhelpful thoughts that keep you stuck in unhealthy eating and exercise habits. When you’re thinking, “I’m not making any progress” or “I can give myself a cheat day”, it is tempting to give in. Unhooking you from unhelpful thoughts is a skill we will learn together. Beginning to observe what your mind is saying and then, despite what it’s saying, making intentional choices that lead you towards the kind of life you want to live is a cornerstone of ACT.
Learning how to make space for uncomfortable feelings that come with trying to lose weight and stick to healthy habits is a skill called expansion that we will learn.
Choosing to eat a healthy option vs. something you’re craving; going for a walk instead of scrolling on your phone; attending that morning workout instead of sleeping in; none of these things “feel good” in the moment, but we all know they do afterwards. But somehow it’s hard to be motivated to do them. That’s because our minds is very good at keeping us in our comfort zone and can persuade us to stay there if we aren’t aware of how our thoughts affect our actions.
Create lasting results through therapy.
Connecting to why it’s important for you to eat healthy or maintain regular exercise will involve looking at your life’s values. When you have a clear sense of them, it makes difficult decisions easier because you can see how one step in that direction is almost always more worthwhile than immediate gratification. In psychotherapy with me, we will get in touch with what gives you purpose and meaning so you’re able to keep your eye on the prize with your health goals.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Body Dysmorphia
Body dysmorphia is when you struggle to have a realistic idea of what your body looks like. Generally it involves obsession and rumination about certain parts of your body when it doesn’t look the way you think it “should”.
One’s inability to assess their physique accurately can lead to unhealthy eating and weight loss habits.
Severely restricting calories, over-exercising, avoiding meals, body checking throughout the day are common issues I have helped clients overcome. Using Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, we talk about the power of our mind and how it can make us behave in ways that aren’t healthy regarding our body and weight.
Being able to watch unhelpful thoughts about your body enter your mind can help give you freedom.
Getting to know the different messaging your mind automatically tells you allows you to bypass what feels like “default” commands or interpretations around eating or weight. When you can observe your thinking-self, you have the ability to make choices that are more in line with how you want your day to go.
Urges to stare at your body in the mirror, obsessing over the scale, and constantly counting calories are types of behaviors you can learn how to manage differently through ACT.
If doing these things is getting in the way of your day, work, relationship, friendships, family life, etc then please book a free 10 minute therapy consultation with me today so we can get started on making improvements to how you relate to your body dysmorphia.
Book your free 10-minute therapy consultation today