Is Body Image Work A Part of Eating Disorder Recovery?

When people begin looking for online eating disorder therapy in Utah, one of the first questions they often have is, "When will we talk about my body image?" After all, body dissatisfaction is one of the most common reasons people reach out for help.

As an eating disorder therapist in Provo, Salt Lake City, and throughout Utah who also provides online eating disorder therapy, I often explain that body image work is an essential part of recovery, and it usually isn't where treatment begins. 

Before we can challenge long-held beliefs about your body, your relationship with food, or the emotions that fuel the eating disorder, we first help your brain and body become more stable. An undernourished brain will always be a hyperfixated brain, so once someone is nutritionally restored, we can then get a true sense of what body image distress is vs malnourished fixation. 

Recovery is much like rebuilding a house after a storm. Before you choose paint colors or decorate the rooms, you first repair the foundation. Body image work is meaningful and often life-changing, but it is most effective when your body and mind have enough nourishment and stability to engage in that deeper work.

Recovery Begins with Stabilization

Whether someone struggles with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, ARFID, or another eating disorder, treatment typically starts by addressing the behaviors that keep the illness going.

This often includes:

• Improving medical stability

• Establishing more consistent nourishment

• Learning skills to manage overwhelming emotions

• Working to reduce bingeing, purging, restricting, or compulsive exercise

• Creating enough physical and emotional safety to begin deeper therapeutic work

Why start here?

Because the brain functions differently when it is undernourished or caught in the cycle of an eating disorder. Restriction, bingeing, and purging can affect concentration, emotional regulation, memory, and flexible thinking. It is much harder to challenge deeply held beliefs about yourself when your brain is simply trying to survive.

As clients become more physically and emotionally stable, therapy naturally shifts toward one of recovery's most meaningful tasks: healing their relationship with their body as well as with food. Whether you're receiving in-person care or participating in online eating disorder therapy in Utah, the sequence of treatment remains the same

Body Image Is More Than What You See in the Mirror

Many people think body image simply means whether you like how you look.

In reality, body image is much more complex. It includes how you think about your body, how you feel about it, how you treat it, and the meaning you attach to your weight, shape, and size.

For many people with eating disorders, body image has been shaped by years of cultural messages, family experiences, personal relationships, and painful life events. Therapy isn't about forcing yourself to love your body overnight. Instead, it helps you understand how these beliefs developed and whether they still deserve a place in your life.

Here are four areas we often explore.

1. Exploring Cultural Beliefs About Weight, Shape, and Size

None of us develop our body image in isolation.

From an early age, we absorb messages about what bodies are "supposed" to look like. We hear comments from family members, watch television and movies, scroll through social media, and live in a culture that often equates thinness with health, beauty, success, or self-control.

Over time, these messages begin to feel like facts rather than opinions.

In therapy, we slow down and ask questions such as:

• Where did I learn these beliefs?

• Who benefits from these standards?

• Do these beliefs reflect my own values?

• How have they influenced the way I see myself and others?

Many clients are surprised to learn how much their internalized beliefs are played out in their body image distress. Recognizing that difference between internalized beliefs and your here & now beliefs can create a space to choose beliefs that are in alignment with your current values. Values that are more compassionate, realistic, and aligned with the life you want to live.

2. Understanding the Stories You Tell Yourself About Your Body

While culture influences us, each person also develops deeply personal narratives.

These internal stories often sound like:

"If I lose weight, I'll finally be confident."

"People won't accept me unless I look different."

"In order to date, I must be x size."

"I have to eat x way in order for my body to stay the same"

These beliefs can become so automatic that they feel unquestionably true.

One goal of therapy is not simply replacing negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Instead, we become curious. Where did these beliefs come from? Have they actually improved your life? Would you say these things to someone you love?

Over time, clients begin separating who they are from the harsh inner critic that has shaped so much of their experience.

That critical voice is not your identity. It is a learned narrative, and learned narratives can be reframed, rewritten, and revised.

3. Understanding How Emotions Influence Body Image

One of the biggest surprises for many clients is discovering that body image often has very little to do with the body itself.

Body image frequently shifts depending on what's happening emotionally.

Stress at work.

Conflict in a relationship.

Loneliness.

Perfectionism.

Grief.

Anxiety.

When difficult emotions arise, the mind often looks for something concrete to blame. The body becomes an easy target.

Many clients notice that on emotionally difficult days, their body suddenly feels "too big," "wrong," or "not _______ enough," even though nothing physically changed overnight.

The emotion changed.

The interpretation changed.

As therapy progresses, clients learn to pause and ask a different question.

Instead of asking, "What's wrong with my body?" they begin asking, "What am I feeling right now?"

That shift allows the focus to move away from fixing the body and toward caring for the emotions underneath. As emotional awareness grows, the urge to cope through eating disorder behaviors often becomes less powerful.

4. Healing Your Relationship with Food

Body image and food are deeply connected.

Many people enter treatment believing food has extraordinary power.

"I've been good because I ate this."

"I've ruined today because I ate that."

"I can't trust myself around food."

"If I eat what I really want, I'll never stop."

These beliefs often develop after years of dieting, food rules, or the eating disorder itself.

Recovery involves examining not only what you eat but also what you believe food means.

Is food something to earn?

Something to fear?

Something to control?

Or can it become nourishment, enjoyment, connection, and self-care?

As your relationship with food becomes more flexible, body image often begins to soften, not necessarily because your body changes, but because your relationship with yourself changes.

Better Body Image Doesn't Mean Loving Your Appearance Every Day

One of the biggest misconceptions about recovery is that the goal is to wake up every morning loving your appearance.

For most people, and in our current culture, that may not be realistic.

Healthy body image is not about feeling confident in your body every moment of every day. It is about having a relationship with your body that no longer dictates your happiness, self-worth, or daily choices.

It means trusting yourself around food, treating your body with respect, participating in meaningful experiences, and allowing your value to extend far beyond your appearance.

Recovery is about creating freedom and flexibility over perfectionism

Healing Is About More Than Your Body

Eating disorders often convince people that changing their body will solve emotional pain.

Recovery teaches something different.

As your relationship with food heals, as you question cultural messages, as you quiet your inner critic, and as you learn healthier ways to navigate difficult emotions, your relationship with your body begins to change too.

Not overnight.

Not perfectly.

But meaningfully.

Body image work is an essential part of eating disorder treatment because it helps ensure that recovery isn't simply about changing behaviors. It's about healing the beliefs, emotions, and experiences that allowed the eating disorder to take hold in the first place.

If you're currently in treatment, trust the process.

There is a reason your eating disorder therapist isn't asking you to tackle everything at once. While body image work often becomes a larger focus after nutritional and behavioral stabilization, small body image interventions may be woven throughout treatment based on your individual needs and stage of recovery.

The goal isn't simply to recover from an eating disorder.

The goal is to build a life where food, weight, and body image no longer occupy the center of your world. And where your ability to recognize and regulate your emotions in sustainable ways that are not tied to extreme behaviors. 

Ready to Begin Healing with Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah?

Whether you're working with an eating disorder therapist in person or receiving online eating disorder therapy in Utah, body image healing is an important part of long-term recovery. While the timing looks different for every individual, addressing the beliefs, emotions, and experiences underneath body dissatisfaction helps create recovery that lasts beyond simply changing eating behaviors.

Recovery isn't about becoming a different person. It's about reclaiming the life the eating disorder has taken from you. It happens one meal, one conversation, and one compassionate step at a time. 

I provide in-person and online eating disorder therapy in Utah, making specialized treatment accessible whether you live in Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden, St. George, Logan, or a rural community. Virtual therapy allows you to receive evidence-based care from the comfort and privacy of your own home.

If you are ready to learn more or know someone who is struggling, please reach out:

• Give us a call at 801-699-6161 or book a consultation

• Learn more about Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah

• Recovery happens one meal, one conversation, and one compassionate step at a time — and you don't have to take any of them alone.

Other Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

Body image healing rarely happens in isolation. It is often tangled up with eating disorder behaviors, anxiety, perfectionism, and the deeper emotional patterns that keep the inner critic in charge. At Inside Wellness, we offer more than body image counseling in Utah. Alongside specialized body image support, we provide eating disorder treatment, anxiety therapy, support for perfectionism, online eating disorder therapy in Utah, and therapy for burnout, all designed to address the full picture of what recovery actually requires.

Whether you are navigating body image distress alongside an eating disorder, working through the emotions underneath, or simply looking for a therapist who understands how these things are connected, our team is here to help. You do not have to have it all figured out before reaching out. With the right support, healing gets to be about more than managing symptoms. It gets to be about reclaiming your life.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn more about how therapy can help you build a more peaceful relationship with your body and yourself.

Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah: Is Virtual Treatment Right for You?

If you've been thinking about reaching out for help with an eating disorder, you may be wondering whether online therapy is actually effective. Can meaningful healing happen through a computer screen? Will your therapist really understand what you're experiencing? Is virtual treatment as helpful as sitting together in an office?

These are thoughtful questions, and you're certainly not alone in asking them.

The good news is that for many people, online eating disorder therapy in Utah is not simply a convenient option; it's an incredibly effective one. In recent years, virtual therapy has made specialized eating disorder treatment accessible to people who may have otherwise gone without care because of distance, transportation, scheduling challenges, or a lack of local providers.

As an eating disorder specialist, I've had the privilege of watching clients make remarkable progress through virtual therapy. While online treatment isn't the right fit for everyone, it has opened doors for countless individuals seeking compassionate, evidence-based care.

Let's explore some of the reasons why.

Specialized Care Shouldn't Depend on Your ZIP Code

Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that require specialized treatment. It’s similar to the medical system.  You see your primary care provider for basic things, and you see a specialist for specific symptoms; the same is true for therapy. 

Unfortunately, not every community has therapists with advanced training in eating disorders. And not everyone has the means to get themselves to a therapist's office.  College students, for example, may not have a car or time to leave campus and drive 20 minutes to see someone in person.

That's one of the greatest benefits of eating disorder therapy online in Utah.

Whether you live in Salt Lake City, Provo, Logan, St. George, Moab, Cedar City, Vernal, or a small rural community, virtual therapy allows you to work with a clinician whose expertise matches your needs, not simply the closest available therapist.

Instead of settling for convenience alone, you can prioritize specialized care.

Therapy Happens Where Real Life Happens

One unexpected benefit of online therapy is that healing occurs in your everyday environment.

Traditional office therapy certainly has many advantages, but virtual sessions allow your therapist to understand your life in a different way.

You might attend therapy from your living room, your college apartment, or even a quiet office during your lunch break.

Practicing skills in the actual environment during the session can lead to better success outside of the session.  

Sometimes they talk about family interactions while sitting in the very environment where those interactions occur.

Rather than separating therapy from daily life, online sessions often help clients practice new coping skills exactly where they'll need them most.

More Flexibility Means More Consistent Care

Recovery requires consistency.

Yet life is often busy.

Between work, school, parenting, medical appointments, and everyday responsibilities, driving across town for therapy isn't always realistic.

Online therapy removes many of those barriers.

Without commuting, clients often find it easier to keep appointments and stay engaged in treatment.

Some people find that sharing over a screen feels less vulnerable or that they are more relaxed in their own environment than in an office setting or a traditional therapy setting.

For college students, parents of young children, healthcare professionals, and individuals with demanding careers, this flexibility can make the difference between postponing treatment and actually beginning recovery.

Healing Can Feel More Comfortable at Home

Starting therapy is vulnerable.

Talking about food, body image, shame, or eating disorder behaviors isn't easy.

Many clients tell me they feel more relaxed in familiar surroundings.

Wrapped in a favorite blanket.

Sitting with a comforting pet nearby.

These small comforts can make difficult conversations feel just a little more manageable.

When people feel emotionally safer, they are often able to be more open, honest, and engaged in therapy.

Recovery Is About the Relationship, Not the Room

Some people worry that therapy won't feel as personal through a screen.

In reality, one of the strongest predictors of successful therapy isn't whether sessions happen online or in person.

It's the therapeutic relationship. And the skillset of the clinician.

Feeling understood.

Feeling accepted.

Feeling challenged in compassionate ways.

Feeling safe enough to be honest.

These qualities can absolutely develop through virtual therapy.

While the technology may look different, meaningful connection doesn't disappear simply because two people aren't sitting in the same office.

Virtual Therapy Makes Specialized Support More Accessible

Eating disorders rarely affect just one part of life.

Clients often benefit from working with multiple professionals, including an eating disorder therapist, registered dietitian, physician, and psychiatrist.

Virtual care often makes coordinating this support easier.

Whether your medical provider is local or your dietitian practices elsewhere in Utah, online treatment can help create a collaborative approach that supports your recovery from multiple angles.

Is Online Therapy Effective?

Research continues to show encouraging results for telehealth treatment across many mental health conditions, including eating disorders.

When clients are medically stable and appropriate for outpatient care, virtual therapy can be just as meaningful as in-person treatment for many individuals.

The most important factor isn't the screen.

It's receiving evidence-based treatment from someone with specialized training who understands eating disorders and creates a personalized treatment plan.

When Online Therapy Might Not Be the Best Fit

While I believe deeply in the benefits of virtual care, it's equally important to recognize that online eating disorder therapy in Utah isn't the right fit for everyone.

Some individuals need the structure and support that in-person treatment provides. Others may be medically unstable, require a higher level of care, or benefit from the accountability that comes with face-to-face appointments.

There are also practical considerations. Some people don't have access to a private space for therapy, struggle with reliable internet, or simply feel more comfortable connecting in person.

And that's okay.

There is no "right" way to receive therapy. The goal is finding the setting that gives you the greatest opportunity to heal.

Helping You Find the Right Fit

One of the values of our practice is that we don't believe every person is best served by us.

If you're looking for an eating disorder therapist in Salt Lake City, Provo, or another community throughout Utah and believe in-person therapy would be a better fit, we're happy to help connect you with trusted providers whenever possible.

Recovery works best when you feel safe, supported, and confident in your treatment.

Sometimes that means virtual therapy.

Sometimes that means sitting across from a therapist in an office.

Both paths are valid.

Our goal is simply to help you find the care that best meets your needs.

Taking the First Step

Many people spend months or even years wondering whether they should ask for help.

They tell themselves they're "not sick enough."

They hope things will improve on their own.

Or they wait until life feels less busy.

Unfortunately, eating disorders rarely improve in isolation.

Seeking help isn't a sign that you've failed.

It's a sign that you're ready to stop letting the eating disorder make decisions about your life.

Whether you choose in-person therapy or eating disorder therapy online in Utah, the most important step is simply reaching out.

You don't have to have everything figured out before making that first phone call.

You don't need the perfect words.

You don't even need to know exactly what recovery will look like.

You simply need a willingness to begin.

You Don't Have to Do This Alone. Begin Your Recovery with Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah

Healing from an eating disorder is about so much more than changing eating habits. It's about rebuilding trust with yourself, finding freedom from constant thoughts about food and body image, and creating a life guided by your values rather than fear.

If you're looking for an eating disorder therapist in Provo, Salt Lake City, or anywhere in Utah, compassionate, specialized care is available. Together, we can figure out whether virtual therapy is the right fit for your needs and goals. And if it isn't, we will gladly help you find an experienced eating disorder therapist who is.

Wherever your recovery begins, you deserve care that is thoughtful, evidence-based, and tailored to you. Recovery is possible — and you don't have to take the first step alone.

At Inside Wellness, we are here to help you get there.

• Give us a call at 801-699-6161 or contact us to get started

• Learn more about Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah

• You don't have to have it all figured out before reaching out — we will meet you right where you are.

Other Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

Eating disorders rarely travel alone. They are often woven together with body image distress, anxiety, perfectionism, and the quiet weight of never feeling like enough. At Inside Wellness, we offer more than online eating disorder therapy in Utah. Alongside specialized eating disorder support, we provide body image therapy, anxiety therapy, support for perfectionism, in-person therapy, and therapy for burnout, all designed to support the full picture of what recovery actually requires.

Whether you are just beginning to consider reaching out, looking for a therapist who truly understands eating disorders, or trying to figure out whether virtual or in-person care is the right fit, our team is here to help. You do not have to keep waiting until things get worse to ask for support. With the right care, recovery becomes something more than surviving. It becomes your life.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn more about how therapy can support your recovery and help you find your way back to yourself.

What Your Body Image Therapist Wishes You Knew Before Your First Session

If you're considering working with a body image therapist, chances are you've already spent years trying to "fix" how you feel about your body.

Maybe you've promised yourself that once you lose weight, tone up, clear your skin, fit into a certain size, or look more like the women you see online, you'll finally feel confident. Maybe you've become an expert at hiding, criticizing, comparing, and second-guessing yourself. Or perhaps you're simply exhausted from how much mental energy body image takes up in your life.

If that's you, I want you to know something before you walk into your first body image therapy session:

You are not alone, and you are not the only successful, intelligent, capable woman who struggles with body image.

In fact, many of the women I work with are high achievers. They're thoughtful, compassionate, hardworking, and deeply committed to the people they love. They show up for everyone else. Yet when it comes to themselves, they often carry an inner critic that is relentless.

Before your first session, there are a few things I wish every client knew.

Body Image Ebbs and Flows

Many women come to therapy hoping to reach a point where they never have a negative thought about their body again. Which makes sense because wanting relief for the rat race in your head is the goal. 

But healthy body image doesn't mean loving your body every minute of every day. I prefer to think of it like a relationship.  We want it to be mostly good, but life has ups and downs and we don’t expect even our best relationships to be smooth sailing every hour of every day. 

Just like confidence, motivation, happiness, and self-esteem, body image is dynamic.

It changes throughout our lives and even throughout a single week.

Hormones, stress, illness, aging, major life transitions, social media exposure, relationships, and countless other factors can influence how we feel about our bodies.

The goal isn't to arrive at a magical destination where body dissatisfaction never appears again.

The goal is to develop a healthier relationship with yourself so that difficult body image days don't completely derail your mood, your confidence, or your life.

Women are often surprised to hear me say that setbacks are not signs of failure. They're simply part of being human.

Body Image Is an Inside Job 

Most of us have been taught that body image is determined by appearance.

If I change my body, then I'll change how I feel.

While appearance can influence body image, the relationship is often far more complicated than we realize.

The truth is that body image isn't just about what you see in the mirror.

It's about the meaning you assign to what you see.

It's about your beliefs, your experiences, your self-worth, your relationships, your values, and the stories you've internalized about what your body is supposed to look like.

Many women spend years trying to solve an internal struggle through external changes.

Body image therapy helps us turn inward. Not because your appearance doesn't matter, but because lasting peace rarely comes from endlessly chasing the next physical improvement.

Often, the healing begins when we start exploring the thoughts, emotions, and expectations that have been quietly shaping your relationship with your body all along.

Positive and Negative Body Image Exist Across the Size Spectrum.

I’ve worked with women across the size spectrum and negative body image is not size specific. It can also be true that people of all sizes can have an absence of negative body image too. And while there are nuanced differences & lived experiences in body image at varying sizes & shapes, the internal criticism has more commonalities than not. .

A woman can live in a body that others admire and still struggle profoundly with self-criticism. Another woman can live in a body that doesn't fit conventional ideals and still experience confidence, freedom, and self-trust.

Body image is not determined solely by body size.

It's determined by the relationship you have with your body.

And relationships can heal.

You Don't Have to Love Your Appearance to Love Your Life

This may be one of the most important things I can tell you.

You do not need to love every aspect of your appearance before you give yourself permission to fully live.

Many women put their lives on hold while they wait to feel better about their bodies.

They postpone photos, vacations, dating, swimming, speaking opportunities, social events, new clothes, intimacy, and countless experiences until they feel more confident.

The hidden message becomes:

"I'll start living once I finally like how I look."

But life keeps moving.

One of the most transformative shifts that happens in body image therapy is actualizing that body image and life satisfaction are not the same thing.

You Get to Define What "Better Body Image" Means to You

One thing clients often expect is that therapy will have a specific finish line.

"What should I be aiming for?"

The answer may be different for every woman.

For some, better body image means spending less time thinking about food and weight.

For others, it means feeling comfortable in photos.

For someone else, it means exercising because it feels good rather than because they feel obligated.

It may mean wearing clothes you love, setting boundaries around appearance-focused conversations, reducing body checking, or learning to speak to yourself with more kindness.

Contrary to what social media sometimes suggests, the goal doesn't have to be unconditional body love.

For many women, a more realistic and sustainable goal is body respect.

Body trust.

Body acceptance.

Body neutrality.

Body Freedom.

Your version of healing doesn't have to look like anyone else's.

You get to define what success means.

Ready to Work with a Body Image Therapist in Provo, UT?

These concepts are good starting points, but shifting your relationship with your body takes deeper exploration, the right tools, and support from someone who truly understands the work. That is exactly what body image therapy in Provo, UT is here for.

If you are ready for the critical voice to get a little quieter, for comparison to lose some of its power, and for a bad body image day to become a bad moment rather than a bad week — we would love to help you get there.

At Inside Wellness, we offer a free 15-minute consultation so you can get a feel for whether we are a good fit before you commit to anything.

• Give us a call at 801-699-6161 or visit insidewellness.com to get started

• Learn more about working with a Body Image Therapist in Provo, UT

• More peace and more freedom are possible — and you do not have to figure out how to get there alone.

Other Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

Body image struggles rarely exist in isolation. They are often tangled up with anxiety, perfectionism, disordered eating, and the quiet exhaustion of holding yourself to an impossible standard. At Inside Wellness, we offer more than body image therapy in Provo, UT. Alongside working with a body image therapist in Provo, UT, we provide eating disorder treatment, anxiety therapy, support for perfectionism, online therapy, and therapy for burnout, all designed to address the deeper patterns that keep the inner critic running.

Whether you are spending too much mental energy on your body, struggling with comparison, or simply ready to stop putting your life on hold until you feel better about how you look, our team is here to help. You do not have to keep managing this alone. With the right support, something quieter and freer is possible.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn more about how therapy can help you build a more peaceful relationship with yourself.

When Recovery Goes Pool Side

Spending a full day at the pool with friends can sound like something you should be able to enjoy without a second thought. But in early eating disorder recovery, even simple plans can feel layered with anxiety. Especially when food, body image, and social dynamics all collide in one setting. If you're navigating that, body image counseling in Salt Lake City can help you build the tools to show up anyway.

If you’re feeling worried about following your treatment team’s recommendation to eat regular meals while you’re out with friends, I want you to know this: your concern makes sense. You’re not doing anything wrong by feeling this way. You’re doing something brave by even considering showing up differently than your eating disorder would prefer.

Recovery often asks you to do things that feel uncomfortable before they feel natural. Before it feels natural, normal or safe. 

Why Your Meal Plan Still Matters (Even at the Pool)

Your treatment team didn’t create your meal plan for “easy days only.” They created it to support your physical healing, stabilize your metabolism, and help your brain reconnect with hunger and fullness cues. That doesn’t pause just because you’re in a social setting.

In fact, these are the moments where following your plan matters most.  Not because you have to be perfect, but because you’re practicing living your life without letting the eating disorder make the rules. 

It might feel uncomfortable to eat a full meal when your friends are just snacking or skipping food altogether. Bodies have some basic needs, and being consistent right now is what yours needs most.  You are in recovery. You are rebuilding something important. Your body is learning to trust you and trust takes consistency & reliability. 

Your friends bodies have similar needs to be fed & fueled but how they go about that may have more flexibility if they have a pattern of taking care of it overall.  Your body will panic hardcore if it fears you are going to deny it as your ED had you do in the past, so for now, consistency trumps flexibility.  Also, the vast majority of people who have a healthy relationship with food will also be fueling their body often as well.

“What If People Notice?”

This is one of the most common fears: What if people think it’s weird that I’m eating? What if they judge me?

Let’s gently reality-check that.

Most people are far more focused on themselves than we imagine. They’re thinking about what they’re posting on Instagram, or whether they remembered sunscreen, etc. . The spotlight you feel on yourself is likely your fear based brain working on overdrive, which is what it loves to do, especially when we are self-conscious or we are doing something new.

And even if someone does notice? Eating a meal is a normal, human behavior. You are allowed to nourish yourself. You don’t need to earn that right by matching anyone else’s habits. Or by matching patterns they’ve seen you do in the past that were tied to your eating disorder. 

A helpful reframe: “I’m not doing something scary which doesn’t mean it’s bad, even if my ED says otherwise.”

Body Image at the Pool: A Tender Space

Pools can be particularly triggering environments. There’s often more body exposure, comparison, and vulnerability. It’s okay if your body image distress feels louder here. Working with a body image therapist in Salt Lake City can help you build tools for exactly these moments.

Instead of trying to force yourself to “love your body” in that moment (which can feel unrealistic), try aiming for something more neutral and grounded:

• “All bodies are allowed to exist here.”

• “I don’t have to like how I look right now in order to be with my friends.”

• “This body is getting me through recovery even though it feels really hard today.”

You are not a before-and-after photo. You are a person having a day with friends.

Practical Tips for Navigating the Day

1. Plan Ahead (Without Overplanning)

Know roughly when you’ll eat your meals and snacks, and what that might look like. Bring food if needed, or look up nearby options ahead of time. This reduces decision fatigue in the moment.

2. Normalize Eating Through Action

The more you follow through on eating regularly, the more your brain learns that it’s safe. You don’t have to feel confident first. Confidence often comes after the action. And people follow your lead.  If someone said that they were hungry earlier than the group, would you hold any negative feelings about it? I’m guessing you wouldn’t think twice about it, so trust that others can feel the same.

3. Have a Gentle Script Ready

If someone comments (even casually), you can keep it simple:

• “I’m just making sure I stay energized today.”

• “I realized I feel better when I eat regularly.”

• “I’m stepping into my eat-before-I’m-hangry-era” 

You don’t owe anyone a deeper explanation but since we all want to be understood, it’s okay if feel the need to speak to it in the moment. .

4. Anchor Yourself to Your “Why”

Before you go, remind yourself why recovery matters to you. Maybe it’s having more energy, thinking more clearly, being present with people you care about, or reclaiming your life from food rules. Keep that reason close.

5. Use Grounding Techniques When Anxiety Spikes

If you feel overwhelmed, try:

• Naming 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear

• Taking slow breaths (in for 4, out for 6)

• Sitting with a trusted friend or stepping away briefly if needed

You’re allowed to take care of yourself in the moment.

6. Choose Connection Over Comparison

When you notice your mind drifting into comparison, gently redirect your attention to the people you’re with. What are they saying? What are you laughing about? What do you enjoy about their presence?

Recovery is about expanding your life.  This requires expanding your skills sets with caring for your body in different ways that what you learned from diet culture and in the eating disorder. 

A Final Thought

You don’t have to do this perfectly. You just have to do it honestly. Every time you choose to nourish your body in a situation where your eating disorder would rather you didn’t, you are strengthening something new inside yourself. Something quieter, steadier, and ultimately more powerful.

You deserve to be at the pool.
You deserve to eat your meals.
You deserve to take up space.  Just as you are, right now.

And if you need support getting there, body image counseling in Salt Lake City is here to help. And this day? It’s not a test you have to pass. It’s simply a moment in your recovery where you get to practice choosing yourself.  Recovery is no joke, it requires many risks, many moments of failure, many struggles, but it DOES get easier the more you practice it.

A Note on Recovery, Hard Days, and Body Image Counseling in Salt Lake City

Recovery is not a straight line. Pool days, summer gatherings, and all the noise that comes with them can make that feel more true than ever. If following your meal plan in social settings feels overwhelming, or if body image distress is louder than usual right now, that's not a setback. It's a sign that you're doing something genuinely hard. And you don't have to do it alone.

Every time you choose to nourish yourself when your eating disorder would rather you didn't, you're building something real. Some days that feels empowering. Some days it just feels like survival. Both count. Both are recovery.

If you're struggling to show up for yourself this summer, at the pool, at the table, or anywhere in between, you deserve more than just white-knuckling through it. Body image counseling in Salt Lake City can offer real, grounded support from people who understand what this actually takes.

At Inside Wellness, we're here to help you get there.

• We are here to help — give us a call 801-699-6161 or visit us at insidewellness.com

• Learn more about working with a Body Image Therapist in Salt Lake City, UT

• You don't have to navigate recovery alone — support is closer than you think.

Other Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

Eating disorder recovery rarely happens in a vacuum. It's often tangled up with body image distress, anxiety, perfectionism, and the pressure to keep it all together in social situations that feel anything but simple. At Inside Wellness, we offer more than body image counseling in Salt Lake City. Alongside working with a body image therapist in Salt Lake City, UT, we provide eating disorder treatment, anxiety therapy, support for perfectionism, online therapy, and therapy for burnout, all designed to support the deeper work that recovery actually requires.

Whether you're navigating meal plan anxiety in social settings, working through body image distress, or simply trying to find steadier ground in your recovery, our team is here to help. You don't have to keep pushing through alone. With the right support, recovery gets to be something more than survival. It gets to be your life.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn more about how therapy can support your recovery and help you find your way back to yourself.

You Already Have a Beach Body

Every year, around May, it starts. The ads. The articles. The before-and-after posts. The quiet panic of realizing you own a swimsuit and have a body that is — by any stretch — not the one the algorithm says you should have. If that hits somewhere tender, you are not alone. And this piece is for you.

Let’s be honest about what the phrase “bikini ready” actually means. It doesn’t mean rested, or nourished, or sun-protected. It means smaller. Smoother. Closer to a very narrow, very filtered, very specific idea of what a woman’s body should look like in two pieces of fabric in public. And for many women, especially those navigating perfectionism, food anxiety, or a history with eating disorders, that message doesn’t just roll off. It lands. It sticks. It costs something.

This summer, as a body image therapist in Salt Lake City, I want to offer you something different. Not another plan. Not a “body-positive” workaround that still secretly wants you to change. I want to talk about befriending your body, today. Not when it’s smaller, not when it’s “better,” but right now, as it actually is. At Inside Wellness, we work with women navigating exactly this.

The Real Cost of “Beach Body” Culture

The pressure isn’t imaginary, and it isn’t shallow. Research consistently links exposure to appearance-based messaging to increased body dissatisfaction, disordered eating behaviors, and anxiety. If you’ve ever felt your mood shift after scrolling for twenty minutes, that’s not weakness. That’s your nervous system responding to repeated messages that your body is a problem to be solved.

For women with a history of eating disorders or disordered eating patterns, this season can feel like walking through a minefield. Restriction gets rebranded as “clean eating.” Over-exercise gets rebranded as “summer prep.” The language is cheerful. The harm is real.

The “beach body” narrative also carries a particular kind of cruelty for perfectionists. If you’ve built your life around achievement and control, your body becomes another project. The one your inner mean girl thinks  you are perpetually failing. There is always another goal, always a way you fell short. That cycle is exhausting. And it keeps you from actually living in your body, which is the only place you have ever actually lived.

What It Means to Befriend Your Body

Befriending your body is not the same as loving every inch of it all the time. Forced positivity can feel just as hollow as the criticism it’s replacing. Befriending means something closer to  working with your body rather than against it. Listening to it. Noticing what it needs. Choosing, even in small moments, to treat it with the same basic care you’d extend to someone you genuinely like.

It means letting your body exist in summer. In water, in warmth, in rest.  No requirements, no earning, no looking a certain way. Just being, just living, just you. 

Five Ways to Start Befriending Your Body This Summer

Notice the noise and name it

When you feel the familiar internal spin out as  scrolling past a before-and-after, dreading a pool party, scrutinizing your reflection, try simply naming what’s happening: “This is the ‘not enough’ story.” You don’t have to believe every thought you think. Creating even a small gap between the trigger and your response is the beginning of freedom. Awareness isn’t a cure, but it is always the first step.

Curate what you let in

Your social media feed is not neutral ground. Unfollow, mute, or archive accounts that consistently make you feel worse about your body. Full stop. Replace them with accounts that show a wider range of bodies doing actual things: swimming, laughing, living. What you see repeatedly shapes what feels normal. You are allowed to protect your own environment.

Ask what your body needs from you as if it felt safe & whole 

Shift the question. Instead of “Does my body look okay in this?” try “Will I be comfortable? Can I move freely? Will I feel the sun and the water?” Connecting to function over appearance is a quiet but powerful reframe. Bodies are not decorative objects. They carry us through experiences. This summer, try letting experience be the goal.  Feel the cold of the water, the warmth on your shoulders, the sound of people you love and when your brain panics & your thoughts wander, gently bring yourself back into the moment and into the conversation. 

Practice neutral body statements

You don’t have to love your body to treat it with respect. If “I love my body” feels dishonest, try something true and neutral: “This is my body today.” or “My body got me here.” Neutrality is not defeat.  It’s often a more honest and sustainable place than forced enthusiasm. Over time, neutral statements can create the conditions for something warmer to grow, but they’re also genuinely enough on their own.

Let yourself take up space

Go to the beach. Get in the water. Wear the swimsuit. Not because you’ve “earned” it, not because you feel confident every second, but because you are a person who is alive in summer and you are allowed to be there. Every time you choose participation over avoidance, you are practicing the belief that your body, right now, is enough to show up. That belief grows with evidence. Give yourself some evidence.

A Note on Recovery, Hard Days, and Body Image Counseling in Utah

Some seasons are harder than others — and summer, with all its noise about bodies and beaches, can be one of the hardest. If you're in recovery from an eating disorder, or if the messages of this season are genuinely destabilizing, that's not weakness. It's a very human response to a very relentless culture.

Befriending your body is a practice, not a destination. Some days the friendship holds. Some days it takes everything you have just to be neutral. Both are valid. Both count.

If you're struggling to show up in your body this summer, you deserve more than just getting through it. Body image counseling in Utah can offer real support from people who understand what this actually feels like.

At Inside Wellness, we're here to help you get there.

• We are here to help — give us a call 801-699-6161 or visit us at insidewellness.com

• Learn more about working with a Body Image Therapist in Salt Lake City, UT

• You don't have to navigate this season alone — support is closer than you think.

Other Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

Struggles with body image rarely exist in isolation — they're often tangled up with anxiety, perfectionism, and the pressure to feel "good enough" in a season that seems designed to make that harder. At Inside Wellness, we offer more than body image counseling in Utah. Alongside working with a body image therapist in Salt Lake City, UT, we provide eating disorder treatment, anxiety therapy, support for perfectionism, online therapy, and therapy for burnout — all designed to address the deeper patterns beneath the noise of beach body culture.

Whether you're navigating disordered eating, working through perfectionism, or simply trying to find a more peaceful relationship with your body this summer, our team is here to help. You don't have to keep pushing through alone. With the right support, something softer is possible — a way of living in your body that doesn't cost you the whole season.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn more about how therapy can help you find your way back to yourself.

This One Habit Might Be Making Your Body Image Worse

What is body checking?

Why does it happen, and how can you gently reduce it?

You know how it goes. You're standing in front of the mirror turning left, turning right, scrutinizing your body from head to toe. You're often caught and self-criticism and checking various aspects of your body to make sure everything looks okay. Adjusting your clothes before you walk out the door or into a room.  This is a pattern that many people start engaging in without even realizing it.

It is called body checking, and it is all too common.

Body checking usually starts as a way to feel better about your body, to make sure nothing seems to be changing.  But over time it often ends up causing increased anxiety or an increased need to check and make sure everything feels okay.

Body checking is something that is very common for many college-aged women. Body checking isn't about vanity, it's about trying to feel safe or in control of how your body looks and feels.

So what exactly is body checking?

Body checking is any behavior where you repeatedly monitor or evaluate your body to see how it looks or to check its size or shape.

 Some common examples include:

• Frequently looking into mirrors or reflective surfaces

• Turning sideways to evaluate your stomach or legs

• Touching measuring or pinching certain areas of your body

• Trying on multiple to see which one makes you “look best” that day

• Checking how clothes fit throughout the day

• Comparing your body to others in public or online

• Taking repeated photos of yourself to evaluate your appearance

• Weighing yourself repeatedly and excessively to manage your mood

Body checking will often come with an increased desire to continue to do those behaviors routinely and repeatedly in order to experience the desired feelings of safety or relief.  Over time behaviors will often expand into additional categories or more frequently in order to achieve the same amount of relief 

Why body checking feels helpful but often backfires

 Most body checking behaviors are driven by a very basic human need: the desire to feel reassured, calm, safe,  or certain.

 People often think: 

 “I just want to know where things stand today”

 or 

“maybe I'll feel better if I check”

 And for a few moments you sometimes do feel better

But then there is a moment body checking starts to look very similar to other checking behaviors that we often see with anxiety disorders or O.C.D. 

 Checking behaviors have the goal to reduce worry, fears, or distress. An example of this can be checking to make sure you lock the door or that you turned off the stove before going to bed. While doing this once makes sense to ensure safety, doing this repeatedly will bring relief to your brain in the moment, but over time it will teach your brain that the only way it can feel reassured or safe is to keep checking, and to do so repeatedly. And so these behaviors morph from 1-2x’s into multiple times per day or each time you have the thought pattern.

Checking reduces anxiety

So the brain asks for more checking the next time the anxiety appears

Body checking can work in the exact same way each time you check and feel even slight relief your body and brain learn:

 This is how I handle my anxiety

 To be clear, body checking does not mean that someone inherently has OCD or an anxiety disorder. Many people dealing with body image issues, disordered eating, or an eating disorder will often begin engaging in routine body checking as a way to manage their anxiety and body image beliefs. In the short term this does provide relief but in the long term it usually creates more of a monster that is not fun to manage.

 Why body checking usually makes your body image worse

 Unfortunately body checking tends to increase distress over time for a few important reasons

 It keeps your brain focus on appearance

Whatever we repeatedly check becomes labeled by our brain labels as important and or potential threat. When you repeatedly evaluate your body, your brain starts to treat your body like something that needs to be constantly monitored in order to keep the threat at bay.

 This keeps your attention stuck there

This strengthens your inner critic or your 

Most people typically don't body check when they feel confident, they check when they feel unsure or uneasy. That means that the brain usually scans the body looking for problems instead of neutrality. Over time this can strengthen critical thinking patterns rather than calm them

 It builds dependence on reinsurance

Each time checking reduces anxiety your brain learns a reassurance is needed to feel okay and this can make their urge to check happen more often and feel harder to resist

 Most people eventually say:

 “I don't even realize I'm doing it anymore”

 That's because this pattern becomes automatic

 How to start reducing body checking

The goal isn't perfection, the goal is helping your brain learn a new way to be calm and decrease the current pattern.

 Here are a few gentle ways to start:

1. Just start noticing it

 Awareness alone begins so we can habits.

 You might simply think: “Oh I'm noticing I'm checking right now.”

 No judgment forcing yourself to stop immediately  is often unrealistic. just noticing Bill's choice

2. Practice delaying instead of stopping

Instead of trying to eliminate checking overnight, tried delaying it. Tell yourself I'll wait 5 more minutes when you feel the immediate urge to check. 

Urges & sensations rise and fall like waves.  Noticing & delaying an urge teaches your brain the anxiety can settle and shift without checking every time.  

3. Make mirrors functional instead of evaluative

Try using mirrors only for practical purposes like getting dressed or grooming rather than repeated inspection

 Some people find it helpful to:

•  avoid full body checking during the day

•  reduced drive by checking mirrors

•  cover or avoid mirrors that tend to be triggering the checking patterns

 This goal isn’t long term avoidance of all mirrors, it’s intentionally limiting your exposure points as your brain learns new ways to self sooth, and surf the urges or discomfort that checking can bring until those loops have been broken and your brain feels more free

 4. Gentle redirection to your attention

 Body image distress often shrinks when your brain's focus begins to expand

 When you notice your brain hyperefocusing on your body, gently ask yourself to focus on something else for a few moments.  A few things you can ask it to focus on:

• What do I want to be present for right now

• What are 3 things I can see, hear or smell around me right now 

• What pleasant event do I have coming up later today, this week or this month

• What is was last song you listened to that make you smile

Your brain can't focus two things at the same level, one will win out. 

So redirecting your thoughts, even if it is only possible for a few moments, will start shifting your brain’s focus. A gentle reframe If you are struggling with body checking it doesn't mean you're doing something wrong, it usually means that you're trying to cope with this discomfort the best way you know how.

Body checking is not a character flaw, it is a learned response to anxiety. A learned response can be unlearned with practice, repetition, and support — and body image counseling in Utah is one place where that work happens. Many people find that as they reduce body checking frequency, something unexpected happens. They start thinking about their body less, not more. If you're ready to explore that, working with a body image therapist in Salt Lake City, UT can help you get there.

If You Feel Stuck, Body Image Counseling in Utah Is Always a Good Place to Start

Some brains lock into patterns more quickly than others — and have a harder time breaking out of them. That's not a flaw. It's just how brains work. Each of us is wired differently, and finding relief often means finding the right tools and the right support for where you are right now.

If you're struggling with body image distress or body checking, you deserve more than just white-knuckling through it. You deserve real, lasting relief.

At Inside Wellness, we're here to help you get there.

• We are here to help please give us a call 801-699-6161 or on our website: insidewellness.com 

• Learn more about working with a Body Image Therapist in Salt Lake City, UT

• You don't have to keep managing this alone — support is closer than you think.  

Other Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

Body checking rarely shows up on its own — it's often tangled up with anxiety, disordered eating, and the pressure to feel in control. At Inside Wellness, we offer more than body image therapy in Salt Lake City, UT. Alongside working with a body image therapist, we provide eating disorder treatment, anxiety therapy, support for perfectionism, online therapy, and therapy for burnout — all designed to address the deeper patterns driving the need to check, compare, and reassure.

Whether you're navigating body image issues in Salt Lake City, UT, working with a perfectionism therapist in Salt Lake City, Utah, or looking for an eating disorder therapist in Utah who understands the full picture, our team is here to help. You don't have to keep managing this alone. With the right support, those loops can loosen — and your brain can learn a quieter, freer way to feel okay.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn more about how therapy can help you break the cycle and reconnect with yourself.

Challenging Your Critical Brain When It Comes to Body Image

You’ve been there more times than you can count, and definitely more times than you care to admit aloud.  Those moments when your negative body image hijacks your moods, and sometimes derails or causes you to cancel your plans, even though this is the opposite of how you want your reality to be.  You genuinely believe that if this or that part of your body only looked differently, that you would feel okay, you’d attend the event, or you feel freed up in your own mind to be more present. You are cycling through every TikTok or IG post about how to change x about your body, but you’ve been there & done that, and your brain just finds more reasons to self-blame & reject yourself. You are discouraged, dejected, and “loving” your body seems like a scam. 

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and this is exactly the kind of pattern that body image counseling is designed to help you unpack and understand.

So What’s a Girl Supposed to Do In Moments Just Like This One…..

It is SO easy & SO convincing to listen to the messages from our culture right now about how a body “should” or “shouldn’t look”.  And quick fix ideas are so convincing & readily available, so refusing them can feel impossible.  So how do you actually show up in your life, even if your body image thoughts are always critical or show up in the most inconvenient moments or ways?

We’ve been socialized into believing that body image is an actual body problem. But what if we have that major detail completely wrong? I’m not being naive that cultural norms exist, have an impact, and that biases & discrimination can be very real. BUT, if we view this as a cultural problem, not a body problem, how might we fight our internal thoughts? This is often something explored more deeply in body image counseling, where the focus shifts from changing your body to understanding your thoughts.

Our brains are prediction machines & are organized to look for danger & keep us safe. 

This is essential to survival if we think about it.  Without this function, we might not be here today without our ancestors learning how to seek food & shelter, learn survival skills, and protect the young & vulnerable from outside threats. So while it seems like it would be so nice to divorce ourselves from that survival brain when it comes to self-criticism & body criticism, we might not survive without it.

However, letting that part of our brain go unchecked or run wild might kill our spirits, too. So what we want to do is learn how to label the threat-based thoughts & determine what to attend to & what to challenge & set aside. Our brain is also a prediction machine, so learning how your brain handles perceived threats can empower you to reject, befriend, or redirect its desire to keep you safe.  

So What Can We Do When the Fear-Based Brain Starts Attacking Our Body Image?

Name it to tame it, then reframe it:

This is a therapy phrase that exists for a reason.  Our brain actually has to understand what is happening in order to make sense of our experiences. And when it does this accurately, we can start to have a sense of calm because our brain loves clarity/certainty.  But here’s the catch, our brain does not care if the story we tell ourselves is true, it just has to make sense.  So this is often why believing the internal story that our body is flawed will reinforce itself.  But when we name the thought with accuracy, then our actions can be more empowering or serve us better.  

For example IF your internal story is something like:

“My body is too (fill in the blank with what your critical brain tells you) to wear this swimsuit & be seen at the beach.” 

Then our action will be in response to the perceived threat- your body.  In turn, your desired action might look like canceling our plans & hyperfixating on trying to change our bodies. 

Let’s Reframe it:

Spoiler alert: this can be tough if we try to find something we believe is different about our body (or whatever the topic of her critical brain is in any given moment). But if we return to the reality that our brain’s job is to warn of potential threat or perceived danger, then we benefit by labeling it as such. 

“Ouch, that was a painful survival brain thought disguised as a body shame thought. It's misfiring now.” If we can label is as mis-firing then we can see it as a voice we may not want to trust. 

Then re-framing it could sound like:

“Thanking it for wanting to keep you safe, but this is a perceived threat, not a real one. The truth is the beach is fun & we can be safe there with our friends who love us”.  This sometimes is enough to help us move forward, but when it is not, allow for other voices than the one in your head.

Check the facts with a supportive friend:

Good friends & caring family will always want you to be with them & participate in the fun.  When they see you, they value all of you.  They are not reducing your value to how your body does or does not look.  They love you for you & your body is just one part of it. The part that allows you to be with them!  The body they love to create memories with, laugh with, hug, and share connections.  They often see us with more kindness & compassion than we can see ourselves, especially when our critical brain is on overdrive. So, before you cancel or assume that they are focusing on your body, maybe check that out. 

This could sound like:

My brain is telling me that my body is unacceptable today and that I shouldn’t come to the event- is that what your brain is thinking?  

Or

My brain is so consumed with how my body looks that I want to cancel & not come today.   Can you remind me that I should come & that you prefer I show up instead of staying home?

I’m having a hard time getting out of my head & body criticisms.  Can you help keep me engaged in the activities or conversations today if you notice that I seem distracted by my thoughts?

It’s tempting to have them reassure us about our bodies, and if that’s what you need, that’s okay too.  But if we remind ourselves that this is a brain problem, then asking them for support with the brain messages will likely help a bit more.  Everyone has topics or times when that survival brain goes a little wild, so most people can understand that while not agreeing with the messages it is sending, you're in the moment. 

The Critical Brain Eases With Time, Practice, Support & Challenging It. 

While one’s relationship with their critical mind can be complicated & body image can feel messy, it can also be more straightforward than we think.  We often forget how many things we have done in life when we have felt nervous, underprepared, underqualified, untrained, un (fill in the blank).  All of these things are based on partial truths or only on the fear/critical side of our brains.  When we are starting a new job, it can be true that we are untrained, or under prepared b/c sometimes the only way to be qualified or competent is to do the job & learn as we go. 

Seeking support, seeking training, being patient with ourselves, and making lots of missteps.  And sometimes we take a job where we are qualified, but we are nervous, we don’t know the nuanced dynamics of the system, the new colleagues, so our critical brain fires loudly. Reach out for support, but we show up repeatedly.  And in the process of challenging our negative thought patterns, seeking support from those around us, and practicing what feels uncomfortable, our brains start to relax out of that overprotective, fear-based state.  And in time, our critical voice steps back, we find more presence, more self-trust, and more support.

Working with a body image therapist or engaging in body image counseling can support this process, helping you build awareness, challenge those patterns, and develop a more compassionate relationship with your thoughts and your body.

Ready to Quiet Your Critical Brain with Body Image Counseling in Utah?

If your inner critic feels loud, constant, or overwhelming, you’re not alone—and you don’t have to figure it out by yourself. Body image counseling in Utah can help you unpack the patterns behind your thoughts, ease the pressure you put on yourself, and build a more compassionate, balanced inner dialogue. At Inside Wellness, we support driven individuals in learning how to shift their mindset without losing the parts of themselves that help them succeed.

• Give us a call, we can help 801-699-6161.

• Learn about your Body Image Therapist

• You deserve more than just managing your thoughts—you deserve to feel at ease in your own mind.

Other Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

Struggles with body image rarely exist in isolation—they’re often connected to anxiety, perfectionism, and the pressure to feel “good enough.” At Inside Wellness, we offer more than just body image counseling. Alongside working with a body image therapist, we provide anxiety therapy, eating disorder treatment, support for perfectionism, online therapy, and therapy for burnout—all designed to address the deeper patterns that keep your critical brain running.

Whether you’re stuck in cycles of self-criticism, constantly comparing yourself, or feeling overwhelmed by your thoughts and emotions, our team is here to help you make sense of what’s happening beneath the surface. You don’t have to untangle it all on your own. With the right support, you can begin to quiet the noise, challenge unhelpful patterns, and build a more compassionate relationship with yourself.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn how therapy can support your mental health, soften your inner dialogue, and help you move forward with more clarity and self-trust.

Imperfectly Adulting- Holiday Season Edition

The holidays tend to bring up a complicated mix of emotions for many of us. Part of us look forward to the connection, the traditions, the lights, and the change of pace. And another part of us quietly braces for “the most wonderful time of the year”.

We brace for the expectations.
We brace for the planning.
We brace for the emotional labor we’ll instinctively take on, whether or not anyone asks us to.

If we’re honest, a lot of us carry an invisible weight this time of year. We want things to feel meaningful. We want people we care about to have a good experience. We want to show up well, thoughtfully, generously, and be fully present.

But somewhere along the way, those intentions twist into a kind of pressure that lives inside our bodies:

Make it perfect. Keep everyone happy. Don’t let anything fall apart. Don’t let anyone down.

It is a lot. Full stop.
More than most people realize.
And we rarely say it out loud.

So this piece is an invitation for all of us who overthink, who overfunction, and overextend:
What if we permit ourselves to imperfectly adult-it this year?  Let’s try to let ourselves show up more honestly, show up messy, and show up outloud- even during the holidays.

This Pressure We Feel Is Likely Learned & Can Be Set Down or Tossed Aside

Many of us grew up absorbing messages that were the norms at the time, but can be challenged-our culture is now the culture of doing what actually works for you, your family, and your life. 

So if you’re getting tripped up over the: 

• “Be helpful.”

• “Don’t cause disappointment.”

• “Keep the peace.”

• “Be pleasant.”..........

It’s perfectly okay to kick those norms to the curb or ask them to kindly or not so kindly step out of your way.

Our Effort Deserves to Be Seen

Before we try to change anything, we deserve to name this truth:

Our desire to create meaningful experiences is beautiful.
Our instinct to care deeply is generous.
Our ability to sense the emotions in the room is a strength.

We’re not failing because we feel overwhelmed.
We’re not “too much.”
We’re not behind.

We’ve simply been carrying unrealistic expectations, often quietly, consistently, and alone.

No wonder our shoulders are tired.

We deserve a holiday season that offers emotional breathing room.

Our Bodies Deserve Our Respect 

Being raised in & exposed to a culture obsessed with thinness, dieting, body monitoring, and “earning” food and taking a holiday & turns into a minefield of expectations, guilt, and self-loathing. Not to mention fertile ground for eating disorders to take hold or dive deeper into a space that serves no one. 

We got here because we have been socialized into equating our worth with our bodies
It’s because we were trained to self-monitor
We were trained to take responsibility for things that were never ours to hold.

Seeing it clearly is the first step toward loosening its grip.

Three Gentle Shifts We Can Ease Into This Season

We’re intentionally keeping this list small. Women like us tend to take a list of ideas and turn it into a new self-improvement project. That’s not what we need.

These shifts aren’t “perform better” suggestions, they’re invitations to soften into a way of being that may serve you better.

1. The “Bare Minimum” Version Is Still Enough

So many of us default to all-or-nothing thinking:

• the perfect meal

• the perfect home

• the perfect outfit

• the perfect gift

• the perfect emotional presence

This year, we can ask a different question:
“What would the truly sufficient version look like?”

Examples might include:

• Lead with what works- I typically say- “let me know what I can bring that’s from Costco, Harmons, or Trader Joe’s”.  People seem to appreciate the honesty & get a good laugh!!

• wearing what feels comfortable

• hosting simply instead of impressively

• choosing just one gathering instead of every gathering

• allowing good-enough to be… good enough

The bar is yours to set & it does not have to be high for the holidays to be meaningful.

2. A One-Sentence Interrupt for Body Criticism

Many of us find our inner critic getting louder this time of year. When that happens, we don’t need to jump from self-judgment to self-love. That gap is too big.

We just need a gentle interrupt.

Something like:

• “My body is not a holiday project.”

• “I’m allowed to enjoy this without monitoring myself.”

• “I don’t need to earn being here.”

We may not fully believe it in the moment, but the interrupt helps us step out of the spiral and back into presence.

3. One Thing That’s Just for Us

Not a list of self-care tasks.
Not a new routine.
Just one thing.

One moment, one choice, one act that supports our need in a way that feels real.

It could be:

• leaving a gathering earlier

• asking for help with dishes

• a slow, quiet morning

• wearing cozy clothes

• stepping outside for a breather

• skipping something without apologizing

One small shift can change the entire tone of the day.

We’re Allowed to Experience the Holidays Differently

We don’t have to earn rest.
We don’t have to host perfectly.
We don’t have to carry other people’s emotions.
We don’t have to micromanage our bodies to feel worthy.
We don’t have to be “on” the whole time.

We’re allowed to be present—not perfect.
We’re allowed to take up space—not shrink.
We’re allowed to have limits—not just capacity.
We’re allowed to receive—not just give.

If holidays have always felt overwhelming or pressure-filled, it’s not because we’re doing anything wrong. It’s because we’ve been trying to meet expectations no one could reasonably carry.

This year, we can try something different.
Softer.
Kinder.
More human.

Start Perfectionist Therapy in Salt Lake City, Utah

If these reflections resonate and you want support in softening perfectionism, easing emotional over-responsibility, or quieting the internal pressure that shows up this time (and all times of the year), therapy can help. You’re not meant to carry everything alone. You deserve support—now, during the holidays, and every season after. You deserve to live with more ease. Start your therapy journey with Inside Wellness by starting these simple steps:

1. Give us a call at 801-699-6161 or message us on our website insidewellenss.com 

2. Learn more about perfectionism therapy

3. Start finding support and make the most of the holiday season!

Other Mental Health Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

At Inside Wellness, we understand the unique challenges that the holiday season can bring. That’s why we offer more than support with perfectionism therapy. Our holistic mental health services in Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah, also include eating disorder treatment, anxiety therapy, body image therapy, therapy for burnout, and support from body positive therapists who understand the emotional weight of navigating holidays.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn how online eating disorder therapy in Utah can help you today!

The Holiday Hurdles of Eating Recovery

Some days, you wake up already in a battle with yourself.

You notice the tension in your chest before your feet hit the floor. You’re tired of thinking about food. You’re tired of thinking about your body. And at the same time, it feels impossible not to think about those things.

You’re juggling deadlines, classes, and social expectations, all while trying to follow your meal plan or stay connected to your “why” in the recovery process. You’re hearing your friends talk about their “good” and “bad” foods, new workout plans, and attaching calories, guilt, and shame to every conversation & every holiday event. You feel like you’re going to snap!  Why can’t the voice in your head just stop talking for 5 seconds & leave you in peace?!?!

Working on recovery is feeling very overwhelming and overrated right now. 

Doing the hard things that will move you into a good spot with food, & your body feels like an anxiety fest and low-key punishment at the moment.  While you know that the prison in your mind is a nightmare, so is the initial phase of losing your E.D. frenemy.  You have come a long way already, but getting help and "loosening" your grip around food & your body holds less meaning in the moment for you than getting praised by people who are dripping in diet culture feedback.  While it absolutely takes so much grit, hard work, and discipline to defy your eating disorder voice, you preferred the other types of praise.   You may know, logically, that healing requires gentleness… but the practice of it still feels like walking around in shoes that don’t fit. Being less rigid, loosening your grip of overcontrol, and trying to dial back the perfectionism almost feels like losing yourself.

Feeling this way is normal, and it will NOT last forever, but if so challenging in this phase of recovery.  Your brain and body are trying to unlearn years of conditioning, fear, and self-criticism. And that takes time, support, and consistent care. 

There are some common Holiday Hurdles that can trip you up & that everyone in recovery goes through.  Let’s look at a few of them & give you a few tools to help you ride out the holiday season.

Body Changes & Distrust

Body changes can feel chaotic, especially if your eating disorder has become the primary way your brain has shut down any uncomfortable emotions it feels unprepared to feel, or does not feel it has the tools to work through.  While body hatred feels awful, our brains LOVE predictability, and predictability to the scared brain feels safe.  So wanting to feel safe, especially safe in your body, makes so much sense.  However, restriction, limitations, and self-punishment are miserable and require an ongoing feedback loop that will never let you be free. 

It’s the ultimate chasing-a-rainbow type of gig.  You feel like when you do certain behaviors, meet or maintain certain weights, that you will feel better. And you do, for a hot second or until your patterns are challenged, and then the train comes off the rails real fast.  True freedom comes with giving your body the freedom & fuel it deserves.  So if you feel as if recovery feels like you're initially moving backwards, this is probably a good sign that you are starting to move forward in long term peace & recovery.   

What can help:

Use grounding language-talk to your body like she is listening and deserves kindness
Try saying to yourself: “My body is shifting because it’s healing. I don’t have to like the sensations to allow them.” or “My eating disorder brain is SO good at lying to me. It sends false signals & sensations that are hard to tolerate, but my team swears they will soften the more I challenge the lies”. 

Reduce mirror checking.
You don’t need to earn your right to eat by critiquing your reflection. Cover mirrors, limit time spent in front of them, or put sticky notes with compassion-based reminders. When we are already anxious or stressed, reducing these trigger points can be wise.

Let your team guide the process.
You do not have to decide alone what is “too much” or “not enough.” Let your dietitian, therapist, and medical provider make those decisions while you focus on practicing the skills. They’ve seen this process work time & time again. And they are amazed at every step forward and see struggles or “failures” as just data that guides us towards better tools or a signal or practicing tools that you’ll become an expert at if you can give yourself more grace & more time.

Food is still a love- hate or a hate- hate relationship

Eating disorder thoughts often show up the loudest when you’re doing the most healing. Even when you’re following your treatment plan, meals can still feel overwhelming. You may worry about eating “too much,” choosing the “wrong” foods, or you might freeze at the sight of a full plate.  Or want to run away or run towards the table filled with holiday specialty items that you haven’t seen all year.  Any food that we have limited exposure to impacts how we feel about it and interact with it. This is true for all humans, not just someone who is in recovery.  If we look at this in a non-food way, it may make more sense.

When people come to visit Utah, especially if they love the outdoors, they are always amazed by our national parks or “hidden gems” of outdoor beauty. 

While this is absolutely true, they are also surprised by how many people who have grown up here have not been to every national park or sought out the “hidden gems”.  Why? It’s because often times when you have full access to something, the sense of urgency or “pull” towards it is lessened.  You may have an interest in seeing it, but you infrequently plan your life around it.  But if you plan an month long trip to Utah, then you are going to be very excited & you’re going to feel the pull to see all of the things.  And so it is with holiday or “special” occasion foods. 

Our brain is keyed up & excited because they feel special and time-limited.  So if you are feeling panicked about these thoughts or in shame, know that these emotions are occurring simply because of the time-limited, lack of access to these foods. This is not a signal of anything else your brain might be telling you.  Your body can be trusted & eating differently -with food types of larger amounts than normal, is normal.  Relax into the experience, and if you get scared, your team will be there to give you support & direction if it’s needed.

What can help:

Break meals into moments.
Instead of thinking about the entire meal, focus on the next bite, then the next. Healing happens one decision at a time, not in perfectly confident leaps.

Pair eating with something regulating.
Lo-fi music, a calming podcast, sitting with someone you trust, or even lighting a candle can soften activation in your nervous system.

Avoid negotiating.
You may feel tempted to bargain with yourself (“I’ll skip this part if I eat more later”). Reduction of negotiating helps build trust in your body’s signals and your team’s plan.

When Planning Anxiety Partners up with Food Anxiety 

College social life is full of last-minute plans, dinners out, late-night snacks, and events where food is typically included. This can spark anxiety about losing structure, losing “control”, or being judged. You might find yourself wanting to distance yourself from friends, having the urge to turn down invitations, or only saying yes if you know exactly what food will be involved. While your brain wants “over-control” in the moment, long-term “go with the flow” is a much easier way of living.

What can help:

Prep a simple script.
If you’re going out to eat, try: “My body knows how much food to eat, even when it’s at a restaurant.” “I don’t have to estimate calories because my body knows what it needs & tells me through my hunger & fullness cues”. Or “not one meal or one day can make or break my recovery or my body shape/size”. This keeps you connected without feeding your anxious brain hours of advance planning.

Have a recovery buddy.
Someone who knows what you’re working on, such as a roommate, close friend, or partner.  A silent cheerleader or gentle nod of reassurance can go a long way when the voice in your head starts to get loud.  

Allow imperfection.
Social eating will not always feel comfortable or smooth. It’s okay if you feel awkward, unsure, or emotional. You’re learning a new skill in real time.

Coping with the “should’s”  

Healing does not follow a straight line. There will be days when you feel strong, and days when a seemingly offhand comment, a clothing fit, a stressful class spins you out. Setbacks don’t erase progress. They’re part of the process.

What can help:

Name the critical voice.
Sometimes giving it a name (“The Drill Sergeant,” “The Shadow” “Captain Should”) helps create emotional distance.

Practice opposite action.
If the critic says “work out to compensate,” the recovery action might be “rest and eat anyway.” Opposite action strengthens your recovery muscles.

Use compassionate self-talk, even if it feels fake.
You don’t need to fully believe the kinder voice yet. Just practicing it helps your brain form new pathways.

Let yourself be human.
You are not a project to perfect. You’re a person who is healing in real time. And all humans, when learning in real time, cannot make progress without many attempts. Babies must crawl, stand, & walk before they can learn to run.  And they fall down countless times before progressing to the new skills.  Falling down IS an essential part of the learning process. So celebrate when your falling down moments lead to you getting back up & getting curious about the why!

Finding Steady Ground—One Step at a Time With Eating Disorder Help in Utah

If you’re reading this and recognizing yourself in these words, take a moment to breathe. Your body is not betraying you. Your worth is not conditional. And you’re not expected to know how to do this alone.

Eating disorder recovery requires tenderness, skill, repetition, and support. A therapist at Inside Wellness who specializes in this work can help you navigate the moments that feel messy, overwhelming, or confusing. They can help you understand what’s happening in your brain and body, learn coping skills that actually fit your life, and build a relationship with yourself that doesn’t depend on constant self-criticism.

If the challenges you’re facing feel bigger than what you can carry on your own, reaching out for eating disorder help is a strong, courageous next step. You deserve support that helps you feel grounded, safe, and capable of healing. If you’d like help beginning or continuing that journey, follow these simple steps:

1. Give us a call at 801-699-6161 or message us on our website insidewellenss.com 

2. Learn more about online eating disorder therapy

3. Start receiving support to find lasting healing!

Other Mental Health Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

At Inside Wellness, we understand the unique challenges this time of year can bring. That’s why we offer more than just eating disorder treatment. Our holistic mental health services in Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah, also include anxiety therapy, body image therapy, therapy for burnout, and support from compassionate therapists who understand the emotional weight of navigating holidays.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn how online eating disorder therapy in Utah can help you today!

Supporting Your Loved One in Eating Disorder Recovery at Thanksgiving

When You Want to Help but Don’t Know How

If someone you love is recovering from an eating disorder, Thanksgiving can be nerve-wracking.  Not just for them, but for you as well. You might worry about saying the wrong thing, triggering old patterns, or preparing for an internal or external fight about food.  You notice your anxiety starting to mount and yet the actual day isn’t even here yet. Your care comes from love, but there are limits to what love can do and if doing it for your love one worked, you would have it done by now.  This battle is not yours to fight but it is yours to help defend.  

The good news? You don’t have to be perfect to be supportive. You just need to approach Thanksgiving with awareness, compassion, and curiosity about what your loved one might need.  This may look like knowing what defending recovery might look like to your loved one—and knowing that online eating disorder therapy in Utah can be a critical piece of their ongoing support system.

What Thanksgiving Feels Like for Someone in Recovery

For a person healing their relationship with food, Thanksgiving can feel like walking a tightrope. There’s pressure to eat “normally,” pressure to appear “fine,” and pressure to not make anyone else uncomfortable. At the same time, there’s exposure to foods that once felt forbidden and commentary from relatives about calories, carbs, and weight and everything diet culture that landed them here in the first place. 

They may be managing invisible battles — intrusive thoughts, body image distress, guilt, or anxiety about eating publicly. That one crazy relative who always manages to say the wrong thing at the wrong time, no matter the topic. It can feel like they hopped on to a roller coaster that lasts all day or all weekend and they just want to be on solid ground.  Your calm, accepting presence can make a world of difference

What To Do to Support Them

1. Ask first. Before the day arrives, gently check in:
   “Hey, I know Thanksgiving can be tricky. Is there anything I can do (or avoid doing) that would make the day easier for you?”
   
   That one question communicates respect and collaboration.  It says, I’m on your team and I want to know how to be your teammate not your opponent, not the referee, not your coach calling plays & telling you how to do it “right”.  Ask if they are willing to share what their dietician or an eating disorder therapist encouraged them to focus on and how you can support those goals.
   
   
   

2. Model neutrality around food. Enjoy the meal without labeling foods as “good,” “bad,” “healthy,” or “indulgent.” Try to speak about food as nourishment, enjoyable, and a day to create connection & memories. Keeping the morality conversations at bay will keep you’re loved one’s negative critic at bay as well. 

3. Protect the environment. If relatives start in with diet talk (“I’m being so bad eating this pie”), you can intervene:
   “Let’s keep the food talk kind today, we’re all just here to enjoy the meal.” or If you family responds to more lightheartedness something like “‘I’ve never seen guilt make for a good side dish, let’s ditch this convo & just enjoy ourselves”
   
   
   

4. Offer emotional presence, not pressure. You don’t need to make them eat or praise how much they eat. Simply sitting beside them calmly and engaging in normal conversation is often the most supportive thing you can do.
   
   
   

5. Shift the focus of gratitude. Help keep the table talk centered on connection and appreciation instead of bodies.

What Not to Say (Even If You Mean Well)

Some comments, though well-intentioned, can feel loaded for someone in recovery:

• ❌ “You look so healthy!” (This may be heard as “You’ve gained weight.”)

• ❌ “You’re doing so much better now, right?”

• ❌ “At least you’re eating again!”

• ❌ “I shouldn’t have seconds, but I can’t resist.”

• ❌Any negative comments about your own body

Instead, focus on connection-based statements:
✅ “It’s so good to see you.”
✅ “I’m really grateful to spend today with you.”
✅ “I love our Thanksgiving traditions.”

These affirm the relationship, not their body.

Understanding HAES and Diet Culture

Your loved one’s recovery is probably grounded in Health at Every Size (HAES) principles. It is the belief that health and worth aren’t determined by weight. Diet culture, on the other hand, equates thinness with virtue and food restraint with success.

Every time you refuse to join in negative body talk, or you eat joyfully without guilt, you help dismantle that system. This system is is main contributor to your child’s inner battle & pain points. We want to model that life can be meaningful at any size and that their worth & being present is more important to you than their size.

If You Notice Struggles

Even with the best preparation, Thanksgiving can bring up old patterns. If you notice your loved one becoming withdrawn, anxious around meals, or overly focused on what others are eating, try not to panic or shift into frustration.  Curiosity is always the winning ingredient at this meal.  Typically the interactions you see play out with food make sense in context of their underlying beliefs, comments others may have said that day, or memories from past holidays that were fraught with overwhelm or struggle.  While we want this to be a day of connection, ease, and them being able to eat to fullness or overfullness (given that’s a normal part of the day) we know this may not happen until they are further down the road of recovery.  

Try implementing anything that they have identified as helpful to you for this day, even if that includes doing nothing given that you may be eating with extended family or friends and we don’t want them to feel singled out & go into a shame spiral. Also, don’t forget to breathe.  Not one day if going to make or break recovery, if your child’s treatment team isn’t panicked (and they are not or you’d likely know about it), then you don’t need to be either.  Mis-steps & “failures” in this journey are the best data points to moving them forward. Recovery isn’t linear, needing extra support doesn’t mean they’ve failed. It means they’re human.

Caring for Yourself, Too

Supporting someone in recovery can be emotionally draining. Give yourself permission to have feelings about it including excitement, hope, confusion, worry, and even frustration. Consider scheduling a family consultation or short-term session with an eating disorder specialist to learn more about how to help without burning out..

Gratitude Beyond the Table

This Thanksgiving, let gratitude mean more than the food on the plate or the weight on the scale.  For you, and for your loved one.. Let it mean appreciating the courage it takes for your loved one to keep choosing recovery.  And gratitude for your own efforts & courage that keeps you walking beside them.

Your presence matters more than you know.

Is Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah the Support Your Loved One Might Need This Holiday?

Thanksgiving can be full of joy, but for someone in eating disorder recovery, it can also bring stress, anxiety, and triggers. At Inside Wellness, we offer online eating disorder therapy in Utah that makes it easier for your loved one to receive support—whether they need a grounding check-in before the holiday or deeper guidance afterward. These sessions can help reinforce the skills they’ve been building, provide space to talk through food- and family-related challenges, and remind them they’re not facing recovery alone. If you’re noticing your loved one struggling, trust your instincts; it’s okay to reach out. Encouraging therapy isn’t pushing them; it’s offering them a lifeline.

• Give us a call at 801-699-6161 or message us on our website insidewellenss.com 

• Learn more about Online Eating Disorder Therapy

• Because the holidays should feel like connection, not pressure—and help is always available.

Other Mental Health Services Inside Wellness Offers in Provo and Salt Lake City, UT

Supporting a loved one in eating disorder recovery during the holidays can be emotionally complex. While you may be focused on creating a peaceful, inclusive environment, it’s normal to feel unsure about what helps, and what doesn’t. That’s why Inside Wellness offers more than just eating disorder treatment and body image therapy. Our services in Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah, also include anxiety therapy, burnout support, and care for perfectionism; because recovery affects everyone in the system, not just the person in treatment.

Whether you're navigating difficult family conversations, worried about triggering moments at the table, or just trying to be a steady presence for someone you love, our therapists are here to support you, too. You don’t need to have all the answers, just a willingness to show up with compassion and curiosity. And if this season brings up your own emotions or stress, we offer space for you to process and reconnect with your intentions.

Visit our blog or FAQ to learn how online eating disorder therapy in Utah can support both individuals and families through the emotional ups and downs of the holiday season.