Body Change Acceptance Journal Prompts
Your body is the only body you’ll ever have in this lifetime. It grows, evolves and changes, it’s amazing how much it has grown and changed. From being the size of a sesame seed once upon a time, to a baby, to a toddler, to a child, to a teenager and into a young adult. We know that these changes are huge and there will have been times in the past when these changes made us feel really uncomfortable and may continue to make you feel uncomfortable. In this blog post we’ll be exploring journaling prompts which are designed to support you in accepting body changes.
How we think about our bodies is something we learn. Influenced by things such as family, cultural groups, peers and media sources. We learn body image by a learning through observing and comparing. As humans we’re heavily influenced by messaging through the media which pedals the rhetoric that a certain body shape and size is the perfect body shape and size. This rhetoric also often involves the idea that we can alter our body shape and size if we want to, to fit into that body ideal and fails to mention that there are more than 100 factors contributing to our body’s appearance, such as genetics, where we live in the world, sleep, activity levels, race, medical conditions and so much more. This really doesn’t help with acceptance around body changes when in the back of our mind, we feel that if we can just find the right plan, we’ll be able to return to our previous physique or change to a ‘better’ body.
Body Acceptance Journal Prompt 1.
If you could speak to a younger, past version of yourself, what advice would you give them about their body? What would you say about the changes they were going through at the time?
In my workbook Shake the Body Shame (download your free copy here), I mention that Research has shown that a whopping 96% of women report feeling unhappy with their body and wanting to change something about themselves. Something that impacts the way in which we struggle to accept our bodies is comparison.
Body Acceptance Journal Prompt 2.
Who are you comparing your body to? It may be a friend, a relative, someone on tv, someone on instagram or tiktok or youtube. It may be a past version of yourself. How do those comparisons serve you?
Body Acceptance Journal Prompt 3.
In your body now, what changes can’t you accept? Why have those changes come about?
Body Acceptance Journal Prompt 4.
How do you show your body that you can’t accept these changes? Maybe it’s poking and prodding in the mirror? Maybe it’s lusting after a different body? Maybe it’s dieting or exercising out of punishment?
Body Acceptance Journal Prompt 5.
What would the future, wiser, tell you about these changes? What advice would they give?
Practical things that can help - a to-do list:
Unfollow or mute anyone who triggers negative thoughts about your body
Disable ads on social media promoting diet and fitness products
When you come across a photo in the explore feed which triggers negative thoughts, click the 3 little dots to the right hand side and press “not interested” the app will not show you similar images in the future
Follow diverse bodies online
Notice diverse bodies around you e.g in the queue at the post office
Engage in activities and hobbies that create feelings of body gratitude
Meet your needs - sleep, food, rest, social contact
Move the mirror you poke and prod in
Come up with body neutral language and use it
Better understand the changes your body is going through