Meet Lily Thrope, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
One of the most challenging and often overlooked parts of healing from an eating disorder or navigating chronic health issues is coping with body changes. Whether those changes are a result of recovery, aging, illness, or shifts in lifestyle, they can stir up complex emotions. Many people feel overwhelmed by the discomfort, grief, or frustration that comes with living in a body that no longer looks or feels familiar.
Let’s face it: society’s beauty standards are impossible. They're narrow, ever-changing, and built to keep people feeling like they're never quite enough. The good news? You don’t have to subscribe to them. You get to choose what you believe and this can be an ever changing thing to discover and explore. Challenging societal beauty standards and cultivating a positive body image is entirely possible for you. With the right tools, support, and a lot of self-compassion you can challenge stuck beliefs and form new ones that serve you.
We all have days when looking in the mirror feels heavy, when body image thoughts creep in and shift how we feel about ourselves. These moments can be frustrating, emotional, and disorienting. These body image thoughts don’t have to define our day or derail our relationship with ourselves. One of the main goals of healing from body image distress is discovering that these thoughts can come up quickly and can also pass quickly. It is possible to release the tension and stress around the difficult thoughts and move forward with a more positive relationship with your body.
