Body Dysmorphia – The Spiritual Practice of You

In 2017, I turned 40 years old. At this point, I had been running ultramarathons for 7 years, averaging around three 50k’s a year, with a couple of years where I had 5 ultras under my belt. I have never been competitive, but in 2014, a strange thing happened, I ran my first sub-8-hour 50k, followed by a sub 7 in 2016 and then consistent sub 7:30’s in 2017-2020. Forty was a new age bracket putting me in the “Master’s” athlete category. Training for Master’s athletes ranges from 7-10 hours a week. See https://coach.ca/sites/default/files/2020-02/Coaching_Master_Athletes_FINAL_EN.pdf 

In the peak of my year, usually June – September, I am regularly putting in 10-13 hours a week. The point of all this is that despite all my training, I do not look like Hugh Jackman in Wolverine. In reality, my body type tends towards the endomorph with a touch of mesomorph. I am a slightly chubby father of four. A six pack of abs has never been in the cards for any of the sports going back to high school I have competed in. The reality is that I do not care. Being able to complete 1 50k was cool, saying that I have completed over 50 (if you include training runs, then that number is in the 100’s) endurance/ultra events is way cooler. 

Body Dysmorphia 

Consider this article from Sarah Valley of Mindfulness for Addressing Stress, Anxiety, Trauma and Grief:  https://www.patheos.com/blogs/mindfulnessforaddressingstress/2023/05/the-truth-about-negative-self-talk-shame-and-body-image-and-how-to-move-beyond-it-all/ 

In this article, Miss Valley rightly points out that many women struggle with body dysmorphia. This article was written in 2015, and this article and a conversation I was having with a classmate got me thinking, “what is the state of body dysmorphia today? In this post, I aim to address body dysmorphia and how addressing it is a spiritual practice of caring for ourselves. 

Body dysmorphia is a problem for both men and women. As noted in the article link above, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is “when a person has a preoccupation with a perceived flaw in their physical appearance. Although there might be a slight flaw, the distress is excessive. BDD has similarities to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); however, there are some important distinctions.” A common myth is that this disorder is about vanity, which it is not. Consider more information here: https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/body-dysmorphic-disorder 

Another common misconception is that body dysmorphia is related to body dysphoria. Body dysmorphia is a mental health condition and gender or body dysphoria currently is not, though historically it has been diagnosed as so. According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), gender dysphoria presents as “clinically significant distress or impairment related to a strong desire to be of another gender, which may include a desire to change primary and/or secondary sex characteristics” while noting again that not all transgender or gender diverse people experience dysphoria. See this article: https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/gender-dysphoria/what-is-gender-dysphoria 

How the Influencer Culture and Hollywood Drives Body Dysmorphia 

I am a fan of the influencer videos on YouTube. Some of them are great with quality content, others, not so much. An article from the NY Times in 2022 entitled “What Students Are Saying About How Social Media Affects Their Body Image” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/31/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-how-social-media-affects-their-body-image.html highlights students’ thoughts on how social media has been detrimental to their mental health and has created the rise of “bigorexia”. This article seems to suggest and confirm what other articles have pointed to around body image and social media. Anecdotally, the number of people at my gym who are walking around toting influencer supplements and lifting poorly, or ego lifting is high.  

In another study conducted by the NY Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/well/move/fitness-influencers.html ), they point to an article in BMC Public Health (https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-023-15232-7)  pointed out that influencers sometimes lack proper training and tout unsound advice when it comes to diet, fitness, and wellness. Again, watching many hours of this on YouTube, I can concur that this is often the case. As a trained personal trainer and nutrition coach, as well as a professional counselor, I am ethically mindful of the limit of my scope of practice.  

Managing Body Dysmorphia 

What do you do if you or someone you know is dealing with body dysmorphia?  

Psychotherapy in the form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the standard of care when dealing with anxiety type presentations. While there is no pill that will “fix” or “cure” body dysmorphic disorder, medications in the form of select serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) can be utilized to mitigate symptoms of depression and anxiety.  

In my practice as a therapist, CBT is the first line of defense, but there are also the modalities of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Mindfulness based approaches.  

 My best advice here is to make an appointment with a therapist who specializes in anxiety and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.  

The Spiritual Practice of You  

The Spiritual Practice of You is a practice of mindfulness. Each of us is a work in progress. You are a beautiful gift from God. This practice challenges us to become all God intended us to be; to see ourselves as God sees us. In love we were created and from beautiful intentions we were set forth. When God got done creating on that last day and took a rest, God declared it good, God declared you good.  

Before you go… 

The world is complicated, but Love Opens Doors strives to help you understand it. Each week, I am putting out 2 articles a week ranging from health to spirituality from theology to philosophy and from Church history to ethics. Each week, I put many hours in a week to create insightful, enlightening and meaningful content to share with you. Sign up for my free newsletter to get these articles in your inbox each day.