Distortions of Body Image

A client recently reminded of this video made by Dove. It really demonstrates the way that we are more critical about our own body image and gentle with others. And, that we pick out small blemishes and focus on them. Here is the video:

You can also look at photos of each drawing on Dove's website.

I want to say a couple of things about this video. First of all, this is widespread. Most women have complaints about themselves and are generally hard on themselves about their looks, but also their behavior, their shortcomings and blame themselves for the problems in their lives. So, this is not simply a problem that a few people are dealing with in therapy. It is common.

But, when I work with someone on these types of issues in therapy, what I notice is that the harsh critical voice is a symptom of a deeper issue. So, the level of focus on body image is a barometer for other issues in their lives.

What are you most critical about?