Hello,
My name is Pauline Dugout and welcome to Autotalent Drive.
This is the space for optimization and self-development and learning new things.
So I welcome you.
And in this video,
I would like to discuss body image.
I want to look from a bigger bird's eye view what is body image and what is it composed of.
When we think about body image,
It is actually a combination of different components put together by our brain.
Proprioception,
Which means the tactile sensations that we receive from the external environment that makes us understand that we have the body.
We have a body and it is existing in this physical reality.
There's also a component that is socio-cultural.
It is the component that is associated with the beliefs about what the body is,
What the body should look like,
What bodies are existent out there around you in the world where you live.
And those ideas and beliefs shape the way you perceive bodies and the way you perceive your body.
And there's also interoception component,
Which is an internal nervous system perception of how it feels to be in your body.
So,
For example,
When you are stressed,
You are going to be feeling about yourself totally differently than when you are relaxed.
So those things come together and they create this self-image that we create in our mind,
Which is based on the maps of how we process process our environment based on the culture we have grew up with,
Based on the belief structures we have inherited from the environment,
And then this builds this persona.
So,
When we talk about body image,
It is not the actual way you look.
It is how you think you look.
And others may see you completely different.
And how it relates to the nervous system is in a very critical way,
That when you are dysregulated,
When your nervous system is heightened due to stress,
Due to outside reasons and outside influences from the environment,
It will affect your self-perception about your body.
And at the same time,
When you do regulate your nervous system,
It settles down everything and it gives you more fuel to feel better about yourselves and reinforces the beliefs and belief structures that make you feel better about yourself.
So,
If you are stressed and dysregulated in the nervous system and you're walking by a mirror,
You're already feeling not great and seeing your reflection might cause you to think even worse thoughts about your body.
Versus when you are well slept,
When you are well taken care of,
When you have exercised and your nervous system is well regulated,
You go by any kind of reflective surface and you like what you see there.
So your body image is not static.
It is a composition of different elements that constantly shift throughout the day and throughout your life,
Not to mention the life stages that we go through.
That also affect body image.
But the point is,
And my biggest idea here is that the more you work on regulating your nervous system,
The more you work on your beliefs and assumptions about what you are,
What you should look like,
Questioning those ideas,
Where they're coming from and why,
And comparing yourself less to the outside world,
The better you will be perceiving yourself.
And as a result,
The better you will be feeling about yourself in the long term.
And personally,
I advocate for fitness training because it does multiple jobs.
It regulates your nervous system.
It builds your musculoskeletal structure,
Which we do require in order to live in this world.
And the side effect is that you look better and you feel more confident within yourself.
So,
I invite you to sit with this idea that your body image is a composition of different elements.
And I invite you to consider how can you improve each element within your sphere of control to enhance your experience of being in this physical reality and experiencing it through your physical body.
Until next time.
