Body image
 
Body image is an important part of life for a dancer. Your thoughts and feelings about your body are hard to ignore when your body’s performance and aesthetic are under such public scrutiny. Body image can effect the way that you feel about yourself as a dancer and can have an adverse effect on your performance.
 
It is common for people to feel negatively or worry about the appearance of some part of their bodies at different times in life. However this is usually temporary and does not cause ongoing problems. These worries become body image distress when they start to interfere in relationships, work or how a person feels about themselves.  
 
At the extreme end, difficulties with body image can contribute to eating disorders or the development of body dysmorphia. Body dysmorphia refers to obsession about the appearance of a particular part of the body that causes serious distress. In both eating disorders and body dysmorphia, the person’s view of their bodies is very distorted and they become fixated on perceived flaws in their appearance.
 
When problems with body image develop people often attempt to cope with negative thoughts and feelings by either avoidance or obsessive checking. Avoidance can take the form of covering up with clothing, preventing others from seeing their body or trying not to touch or look at their own body. This can lead to difficulties for the average person but can be particularly debilitating for a dancer. The opposite way of coping with poor body image is to check the body obsessively by repeatedly looking at or touching the perceived flaw. 
 
Both of these strategies are designed to cope with the distressing negative thoughts and feelings that poor body image entails. However the end result is that the negative thoughts and feelings become more entrenched. Avoidance reinforces the idea that there is something wrong or not good enough with the person’s body and removes the opportunity for the negative thoughts to be proved wrong. Obsessive checking can have a magnifying effect on the perceived flaw and concerns about the body become more dominant in the person’s self image. 
Focusing on the problem part of the body whether it is weight or a particular part of the body can be extended to assessing other people’s bodies in the same way. The purpose of this is to alleviate the person’s own body image distress but often serves only to reinforce it as there is a tendency to notice and compare with those who are perceived as having as a better body in some way.
 
There are several strategies that can be used to alleviate body image distress. If you usually check a part of your body you can delay acting on the urge to check and reduce the frequency of checking by increasing intervals. By allowing the distressing thoughts to come and go of their own accord without checking, they will become less frequent and intense over time. When you do act on the urge to check, make sure you include your whole body to reduce the magnifying effect of only seeing the part that concerns you. If avoidance is the problem you can start by noticing the parts of your body that you like. Gradually build up the frequency and length of time that you spend with the part of your body that concerns you. Expect that negative thoughts will initially be more intrusive but that they will reduce over time.
Although it is normal to compare yourself to others sometimes, a reduction of body based comparisons is useful for those with body image distress. If the urge to compare is strong you can try making the comparisons more random by noticing every second person you see rather than choosing only those that you will judge yourself negatively in relation to. Also make an effort to compare parts of your own body that you like, to reduce the magnifying effect that often comes with body image distress. 
 
When body image distress becomes more of a problem, it can extend to feeling negatively about yourself as a person. It can be useful to list the strengths that you have as a dancer and as a person to broaden the things that you base your self-esteem on. Note down what the people who care about you, value in you as a person. These things may not seem as important in how you see yourself now, but noticing them helps to reduce the negative filter that comes with body image distress. Experiment with recording any positive comments that you receive or positive thoughts and feelings that you have about your body and yourself as a person.
 
One of the most powerful ways of coping with body image difficulties is to use mindfulness. Rather than being caught up in a negative spiral of thoughts and feelings, mindfulness encourages contact with the present moment. This is particularly useful for dancers where negative thoughts about your body can reduce your ability to engage fully in training and performance. A basic mindfulness technique involves using your five senses to become more fully present. For example, noticing any colour, shape and movement that you can see, or the feel of your body in movement. The negative thoughts are likely to still be there, but by not focusing on them, you can reduce the impact they have on you. A guiding principle in using mindfulness is to act in a way that is in line with your values. If giving your all to each class is important to how you want to be as a dancer, mindfulness enables you to focus your attention on achieving that.
 
We often assume that all the thoughts we are having are facts and have to be believed. The truth is that our thoughts are just that – thoughts. The thoughts we have at any one time are influenced by many factors such as our moods, past experiences and current situation. A useful exercise is to practice repeating to yourself a statement about your body and see how that makes you feel. If the statement is critical, you are likely to feel low after hearing yourself say it. Then repeat the exercise, this time putting ‘I’m having the thought that….’in front of the statement. This simple strategy can help to reduce the negative impact that critical thoughts have on how we feel.
 
Struggling with body image distress can seriously interfere with your enjoyment of dance and life in general. It is worth the effort to develop skills that will improve your body image and reduce any associated distress. The results will show not just in your dance but in your overall wellbeing.
 
[Always remember that anytime you are experiencing distress that feels overwhelming, or are struggling to make the necessary changes with the support of friends and family, then your GP is a good place to start seeking professional assistance.]