'I hate my body': What to do if you feel this way

Loving your body can sometimes be difficult. Whether because your body doesn't work perfectly, or you don't like its shape or size, it's common to feel that you don't fully love your body. These feelings are normal, and they tend to come and go throughout life.

There comes a point though, when you may be focusing too much on hating your body. It can impact your life, ruin your relationships with yourself and even lead to eating disorders.

• You are spending a lot of time thinking about how you hate your body and it interferes with the amount of time you have in general

• You experience dysphoric feelings about your body - a state of feeling uneasy or unhappy about your body

• You experience dysmorphia - you obsessively feel that your body is flawed

• You feel triggered by body discussion, especially if someone discussing your body makes you upset in a way that's hard to let go of

• Make a list of what your body can do - don’t get caught up in feeling like your body isn't good enough, think about all the amazing things your body can do instead

• Practise body neutrality - the notion of accepting your body and appreciating it for what it can do, regardless of how it looks or how it falls short in function

• Do kind things for your body - thank your body for its work by taking a nice warm shower, or massaging it

• Create boundaries around body discussions - let your friends and family know what topics of conversation are comfortable for you, and which ones aren't

• Practise stress relieving activities - even just a few minutes can have an effect on you for hours afterwards. It can help you to think more rationally about your body, and to operate from a less upset mental space