We often discuss the mental changes that we will experience mentally when entering motherhood. What about the physical changes? Everyone experiences changes differently when it comes to entering this new journey. Physical changes in our bodies upon entering motherhood can also play a key role in the onset of mental health challenges. It’s an adjustment that at times not many of us are prepared for. Body dysmorphia may occur for individuals who spend endless amounts of time worrying about their flaws and appearance. This often contributes to pre- existing conditions of anxiety and depression. Being able to recognize triggers is one way to effectively manage symptoms of body dysmorphia. Common examples of body dysmorphia triggers may consist of the following:

1. Perceived or actual rejection from others

2. Situations in which you may be the focus of evaluation by others

3. Seeing an unflattering picture of yourself

4. Overall changes in your appearance.

How do we manage these triggers? Building body acceptance can be the first step in managing these triggers. By building body acceptance, we can start this by understanding the meaning of appearance preoccupation and using strategies to reduce it. This is the amount of time individuals may spend on repeatedly checking on their body and seeking reassurance from others. Some of these repeated behaviours may look like:

1. Checking areas of their body visually in reflective surfaces

2. Measuring parts of your body

3. Verifying your appearance by taking pictures/photographs

Keeping track of how often you engage in these behaviours and analyzing the negative consequences this results allows us to make room for more positive ways to manage changes in our bodies. Body dysmorphia triggers can also be increased when individuals are surrounding themselves with other individuals with the same challenges. Decreasing your interactions on the topic of body image when you are around these individuals is another way to decrease your symptoms. The longer you focus on negative assumptions and traits of your body, the more difficult it can be to implement healthier strategies. However, there may be times in which we don’t have control over what individuals say without permission about our bodies. This may come from family, friends or even acquaintances you have not seen in a while. How do we manage these interactions? What happens if you attend a family gathering and a family member makes a comment on how your body has changed? Preparing yourself to limit these interactions ahead of time can also be helpful in building body acceptance. If you know that certain situations that there will be comments about your body, this may be a time for you to start setting firm boundaries. Setting firm boundaries during that time may look like:

1. Shutting down the conversation

2. Giving yourself a time limit on how long you plan on staying at these gatherings if it becomes too much

3. Utilizing your support system – using a buddy system in which you have an individual to debrief after a triggering conversation.

Our negative views on our body image may also lead us to negative thoughts we may keep to ourselves which results in many of us suffering in silence. Our bodies changing in addition to many other transitions that come with motherhood can feel overwhelming. Using your support system in a healthy manner can also reduce our symptoms of body dysmorphia. Talking to a therapist, a friend, joining other mom groups can be helpful in learning the experiences of other individuals with similar challenges. When we are able to make room for these positive coping strategies, this leaves room for us to explore the healthy coping strategies and healthier ways of addressing concerns with our bodies. Focusing on the things we can control can help alleviate some of the anxieties we might have when compared ourselves to our post-baby bodies. What can you work on now consistently and realistically? Ensuring that are you are staying hydrated is one way to implement realistic and healthy coping strategies. Challenge your thinking. What if you do go to the mall without makeup and nobody makes a comment? Would that encourage you to maybe try going to the mall twice that week and putting these negative predictors to the test? What if you’re able to leave that family gathering without any comments on your change in your appearance? Would you be able to start exploring social gatherings again? This might feel intimidating at first, but challenging our thinking allows us to see that there are many individuals who genuinely love us just the way we are and those negative predictors and thoughts may not be as prevalent around us as much as we think.

References: Body dysmorphia. Building Body Acceptance (Body Dysmorphia) Self-Help Resources. (n.d.). https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Body-Dysmorphia

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