If you suspect you have body image issues or BDD, then I'm going to share an exercise with you in case it helps that I think is worth pondering but you don't need to answer to me. Just explore it yourself... it has helped me. You may already realise this... so ignore me if so.

Think about all the issues you fixate on about your own body. The flaws you perceive with it. Write it down.

Now you've had that written down, consider how you would judge someone else you are close to. Perhaps a family member, a close friend or a boyfriend/girlfriend. Think about what you notice on them. If they seem so much better in comparison to you then think about how you would judge them if they had your flaws. Would it matter to you? Would you even notice it? Do they notice on you or others?


This will work for most people. How you've judged them should be your measuring stick. It's a perception shift. People with body image or BDD tend to judge themselves more harshly than they do with others. They can't escape knowing their flaws, and this can lead to a fixation on it. Making it out to be worse than it is. Measuring it as worse. Even though it may not be as big a deal on others as it is on themselves.

It's worth asking yourself... can you apply how you judge/measure others with yourself? Can you be kinder to yourself? If not, why not? Is there something that you fear? Do you gain from your fixation and judgement of yourself? What would it take to let go of it?