According To Experts, Difficulty Expressing Emotions Can Have A Negative Effect On Body Image

Illustration of the negative effect of having difficulty expressing emotions in body image (Unsplash/Vladimir Fedotov)

JAKARTA – Body image is the image held in the mind of one's own body or known as body image. A negative picture of the body is depicted by dissatisfaction with the body, for example thinking that his body is too fat, his nose is not high enough, or he hates everything about his body.

Negative body images, according to Carolyn Ross, MD, MPH, author of The Binge Eating and Compulsive Overeating Workbook, can be predictors of overeating, compulsions, emotional distress, depression, relationship problems, or steroid use, especially in men.

Launching Psychology Today, Friday, December 10, Ross wrote about the story of his patient, Marla. Marla has difficulty expressing negative emotions, such as anger and fear. He is also often disconnected from any sensation in his body. Marla is not satisfied with her body image or negative body image triggered by her past experiences. It was around the age of 8 when his mother was sick and he had to start taking care of his mother and younger sister.

Marla had to leave her childhood behind and put her own needs aside. Until when he grew up, he was not happy and felt his body was too big than he wanted.

According to Ross, departing from the patient's experience, the body stores a 'memory' of what has been experienced in the past. Body memory as opposed to conscious memory constructed from a history of trauma. Ross quotes eminent trauma expert Bessel van der Kolk, "What most people don't realize is that trauma is not a story about something terrible that happened in the past, but a vestige that is left in people's sensory and hormonal systems."

Trauma can trigger a stress response and cause a person to feel as if they are constantly on alert. So it is difficult to regulate emotions and even difficult to calm yourself during stress. And maybe this is one of the reasons people use food, alcohol, drugs, sex, or gambling to help 'calm down' and 'deal' with stress.

Another thing that affects a negative body image is the ideal image formed by social media and insecure attachments with the closest people. Ross suggested, one needs to be wise in recognizing and assessing one's own body image. One also needs to identify the emotions that drive negative judgments about body image. In this way the wounds stored in the 'body memory' can be used as allies and connected to the wisdom of the body.

Body wisdom is described by Ross by knowing what, when, and how much to eat. In addition, also know when the body needs rest, when it needs exercise, and work together with the body throughout life.