With or without your body feeling like it’s fighting against you from a chronic illness, body image is something that so many of us struggle with. Adding a chronic illness on top of pressures of fitting a certain body standard doesn’t help.

Even if your chronic illness doesn’t cause visual changes to your body, how you feel in your own skin can so often feel out of your control, and that can be a lot to feel and work through for so many of us.

We all have different relationships with our bodies and minds, and while we can likely all treat ourselves a bit nicer, we have to also hold space for however we feel in different moments. There is always a fine line, though, between letting ourselves feel anger, sadness, or disappointment with how our body feels or serves us, and self-hate. 

There are different ways we can take on learning to be nicer to our bodies and having better body image for ourselves, some more spiritual and others more scientific, and within this spectrum there is no one size fits all. Like our bodies themselves, we are all unique and different, and so too are the ways we feel about our body image and ways to work on it, however “working on it” looks for you.

Some people find affirmations really work for their negative self-talk, while others may find meditation and honouring when your body wants to move and doesn’t helps move their needle. Others may find the best way for them is speaking to a professional about what you are feeling, such as a counsellor or therapist. 

Whatever option feels right for you, the key is doing it because it helps you and feels right for what you need in regards to body image. If trying daily affirmations in the bathroom mirror doesn’t sound right to you, but doing away with your bathroom scale does, then that is what is right for you. 

It’s also ok if what was working for you changes. Just as our bodies change over time and with experiences, so too does what feels good and right. 

In all this, what matters is being kind to our bodies and minds, recognizing we change with time and age, and trying to embrace the changes as they comes as best we can. Giving ourselves grace when we flater from always feeling like we love ourselves no matter what, and continuing to work on our relationship with our bodies whenever it feels right to do so.