Dealing With Body Changes During the Pandemic: Advice from an ED Therapist

The COVID-19 pandemic feels never-ending, for sure! Many of us have experienced tremendous changes to our lives as a result, and that includes changes with our bodies. Our eating and exercise habits have changed, along with many other daily habits. For some of us, this has meant weight gain or changes in how our body functions. You may be feeling more sluggish, less flexible, or more disconnected from your body in general. There have been plenty of memes that encourage you to focus on how your body has survived this collective trauma, and I believe that’s true. I also believe this is a great opportunity to go even deeper than that.

This is a great time to focus on body connection versus body positivity. While it’s true your body is working hard to survive right now, not all bodies have had that privilege or have been lucky enough to survive. Focusing on our body’s strength or immune response, while not a bad thing, does contribute to body hierarchy. Your body isn’t a good body because of its health status. It’s a good body just by its very existence as a body. So, it can be more helpful to focus on connecting to your body rather than giving it praise for its health performance.

Body connection can look like eating when you’re hungry, stretching when your shoulders are tense, or putting on lotion. Body connection is all about learning to listen to your body’s signals and responding with care.

I also suggest finding ways to affirm your worth is more expansive that what your body looks like or how your body functions. Bodies change. That’s their nature. Your body has changed since the moment you were born and it will keep on changing as it ages! Basing your worthiness on your body, whether in how it looks or its health status, is basing your worth on shifting sand. Practically speaking, it doesn’t make much sense! Self-worth goes much, much deeper. Every person is worthy and deserving, and there can be something so liberating in connecting to that universal truth.

Give yourself compassion for how hard this time of life really is. None of us have had to go through a global pandemic of this scale before. This is new territory and this is genuinely a hard time of life. Many of us have had plans put on hold, have had to adapt and re-adapt and re-adapt again. There has been grief, fear, confusion, and loneliness. We are all doing what we can to make it through, and give yourself compassion for the coping strategies you have been using. If you have been baking more at home, give yourself some acknowledgement for how you are learning new skills, feeding your family, and bringing warmth to a lonely time of life. If you’ve stopped going to the gym, acknowledge how this was a decision about your safety or the safety of others. Find compassionate re-frames for the ways you’ve been making it through the pandemic.

Additionally, it may be helpful to invest in more coping strategies. It may be helpful to ask yourself “is this focus on my body covering up other feelings? Are there other feeling underneath?” As I mentioned, this pandemic has been a time of grief, change, uncertainty, and confusion. Is your focus on your body dissatisfaction a way you are distracting yourself from those bigger feelings? Does focusing on your body give you a sense of control right now?

If the answer is yes, then this is the perfect time to invest in new coping strategies. If you are feeling anxious or fearful, develop grounding techniques. If you are feeling angry or frustrated, find release in creativity or play. If you are sad, lonely, and grieving, give yourself comfort and find new forms of connection. Your body is not a problem to be solved, but it is often a place we put our attention when there are bigger feelings we don’t know what to do with.

So, here’s a time to focus on what you can do within the covid constraints. You can have a one person dance party in your bedroom, even if it’s just for one song. You can text a few friends with your favorite TikTok’s. You can roll your shoulders back and stretch out your hamstrings. There are small things we can do, and keep doing, that can make an impact on our wellbeing.

The last thing I’ll say here is to have deep compassion for whatever this brings up in you, whether it’s past body shame or future worries. This is a heavy time. It makes sense you are going through this, and it can be great opportunity to engage in deeper work around body connection and self worth.

And I’ll be honest- what I’m recommending can be hard to do on your own. There’s a reason more people are seeking therapy and mental healthcare now than ever before. We all are needing more support! If your body dissatisfaction is taking up a lot of mental space, reach out! If you are struggling with shame about how your body looks, feels, or functions during this time, you don’t have to go through this by yourself.

I can help you navigate these big feelings and can help you feel more connected to yourself and your body. Contact me today for a free consult call so you can start getting support today.