Why doing body image work is like cleaning out the fridge 🧼

Hiii 🤎

Lovely to have you here.

If you’re new to my work, you may not know yet but I LOVE an analogy. And I’ve been cooking one up that past few weeks that I wanted to share with you all.

Doing body image work is like cleaning out the fridge

Even though you might feel like you want to get rid of the entire fridge at times!

Ok ok ok, I know it doesn’t make much sense yet, but bear with me.

Picture your fridge. On the bottom shelf, pushed right to the back, lies your favourite Tupperware. Inside is that leftover curry that you had two weeks ago. Or could it have been four weeks ago?

You know it’s there. You get a glimpse of it every time you open the fridge door. Every time you unload the groceries, you think “I should really clean that out. I need the space. But I reaaaally don’t want to.” And so you just avoid it. You pretend it doesn’t exist.

All the while, you know it’s dark and dank in there and no doubt flourishing with mould.

One morning you wake up and you’ve had enough. You muster up the courage to face the dreaded container. As you pop it into the sink and open the lid, the smell wafts into your face. It is SO UNCOMFORTABLE. But you’ve got this. You stick with it. You sort through what’s salvageable and what has got to go. You dispose of it, wash the container (thoroughly), and tidy it away.

And the best part is, now you have more space in your fridge for all the fresh food that you actually want to eat.

We all know that feeling. The little nagging chore that needs to be done but we would rather avoid it AT ALL COST.

This is a lot like body image work. So many of us have a less than ideal relationship with our body. And how could we not with all the BS society throws at us from such a young age. “Be thinner, smaller, prettier, more feminine. Have perfect skin and cheekbones, but look natural. Eat and exercise perfectly, but don’t look like you’re trying too hard” – The list of expectations is so long I could literally go on forever!

It’s no wonder we have a little nagging voice in our brain saying that something isn’t right. But it’s too painful so, once again, we will avoid it at all cost. Avoid mirrors, avoid trying on clothes, avoid placing a hand on our bellies aside from scrutinising its size.

I want to acknowledge that keeping our thoughts and feelings about our body packed away tightly can be helpful short-term. It’s important to build the capacity and support for coping with the uncomfortable feelings that might arise. And once we have built that capacity, it is SO worth looking at.

Taking that Tupperware container filled with years old thoughts, feelings and experiences related to your body is SO UNCOMFORTABLE. It stinks. AND when you are able to sort through where these thoughts and feelings came from, whether they’re helpful, what you want to keep and what you want to let go of, it leaves you so much more space in your mind for the thoughts, feelings and experiences that align with your values and purpose in life.

What's the state of your fridge?

Are you ready to clean it out?

With love,

Nadia xx

P.S. Got thoughts? Send me an email or DM me on Instagram. I'd LOVE to hear from you.