Healing Body Image in a Culture That Profits From Your Shame
Billions of dollars are spent every year on diets, supplements, cosmetic procedures, and beauty products. At the core of these industries is a simple but destructive idea: if you feel broken, you’ll pay to be fixed.
From childhood, many of us received subtle (or not-so-subtle) lessons:
Food is tied to morality (good vs. bad foods).
Weight equals health or worth.
“Beauty” is a narrow, ever-shifting standard.
When these beliefs are reinforced by media, peers, or even faith teachings about “purity” and “discipline,” they can leave lasting scars on how we relate to our own bodies.
Family, Faith, and Body Messages
Body image isn’t shaped in isolation, instead it’s woven into family systems and faith traditions. Maybe you grew up hearing:
“Do you really need seconds?”
“You’d be so pretty if you just lost a little weight.”
“Your body is a temple so treat it perfectly.”
Even well-intentioned comments can teach children that bodies are problems to be managed instead of homes to be trusted. As adults, those voices can become internalized, fueling cycles of shame and disconnection.
What Shame Costs Us
When we live in constant body-monitoring mode, life gets smaller. Instead of enjoying a meal, we count calories. Instead of going to the pool, we stay home. Instead of being fully present, we’re stuck in self-surveillance.
The cost isn’t just emotional—it’s relational. Shame pulls us away from connection, intimacy, and joy. And tragically, that’s exactly what keeps the industries alive: the more ashamed we feel, the more we buy into their “solutions.”
Reclaiming Your Body
Healing body image isn’t about suddenly loving your reflection every day. It’s about reclaiming your body as your own, with dignity and compassion. Here are a few starting points:
Shift the gaze inward. Instead of asking, “How do I look?” try asking, “How do I feel?”
Unfollow the shame. Curate your media to include diverse, affirming, and body-positive voices.
Challenge the old scripts. When the inner critic repeats a family or faith message about your body, pause and ask: Whose voice is this? Do I want to keep it?
Practice embodied living. Movement, rest, pleasure, and nourishment can become acts of connection rather than control.
Healing is Not About “Fixing” Yourself
Your body was never the problem. The problem is a culture that profits from convincing you it is. Healing is not about fixing yourself—it’s about breaking free from systems that thrive on your shame.
At Found, we help clients untangle harmful body image messages, explore how family and faith shaped their relationship with their body, and build new pathways toward self-trust and compassion. You deserve a relationship with your body that feels safe, free, and yours.
Offices located in Provo, UT | Online help available across Utah
