Having a Body Is Hard Right Now - It's Not Just You
Plus some links, resources, and reminders.
If you’ve been experiencing an uptick in negative thoughts about your body, or restrictive thoughts about food lately, you’re not alone.
The air feels thick with uncertainty—politically, socially, and in the way bodies are talked about, controlled, and commodified. The push for GLP-1s as a so-called solution to weight stigma only deepens the message that existing in a larger body is a problem to be fixed, rather than a beautiful and intentional reality to be reveled in.
Meanwhile, the world itself feels heavy—wars, political instability, the erosion of rights—all of it making safety feel conditional and self-trust harder to hold onto. And in all of this, we’re still expected to move through the day: to make choices about food, rest, and self-care in a culture that ties our worth to productivity, thinness, and self-discipline.
It’s no wonder so many of us feel exhausted, disconnected, or unsure how to exist in our bodies at all. If you’re feeling this, I hope you can locate the problem outside of you. I hope you can remember that you deserve care, softness, and space to simply be.
In a culture that continues to celebrate thinness and restriction, reclaiming this truth is not easy, and I would never suggest it is. It’s also more difficult depending on the intersecting identities you hold, the experiences that have stolen your self-trust, and the environment you live in.
What I do know is this: you deserve better, you deserve more, and you deserve to feel at peace in your own skin. You are not on this earth to spend your life controlling your body or being controlled by others’ opinions.
Something that changed my life once: Our thoughts are not facts, nor are they even a product of our own inner knowing. When we have a negative thought about our body, we are thinking the culture’s thoughts, not our own.
Our peace is found in getting curious: where did this thought come from? and in deeping our self-compassion: having a body is hard, and I still deserve respect and kindness.
“With all the sharpness and harshness and violence and fear that has been around, perhaps the softness of my body is a blessing. It has been able to nurture me in a way that my mind could not.” — Tracee Ellis Ross
Bravery doesn’t always look the way we expect. It’s not just the big, bold moments—it’s the quiet, everyday choices that honor your body and your well-being, even when the world tells you not to. Even when no one else knows.
Today, I thought I’d share a few things I’ve written or produced lately (podcasts, articles) that touch on this experience. My hope is that at least one of them feels like a warm hug.
Podcast episodes that explore the complexities of having a body right now:
Amanda Martinez Beck, author and fat activist, on Ozempic and body peace, and what the true purpose of a body is.
A conversation with therapist Edie Stark and fat activist Sharon Maxwell that examines: “is Ozempic the end of body liberation?”
Dr. Charlotte Markey, a body image researcher, on how body image touches everything.
A few recent newsletters on body image:
The impact of self-doubt on our embodiment and how we can regain trust in ourselves.
Musings on whether fake-it-till-you-make-it can improve body image.
And the ever important topic of our changing bodies, and why we need more discussions that not only normalize this, but celebrate it.
Healing your relationship with your body is about taking back the energy, time, joy, and presence that gets stolen by self-doubt and shame. It’s about no longer being at war with yourself. It’s about ultimately making this world a safer place for all bodies.
Your body is yours. And that means you get to choose:
Control or compassion? Restriction or respect? Abandonment or acceptance?
I hope, with time, you choose the one that feels like home.
Talk to all of us in the comments.
What is something that grounds you when you recognize an uptick in negative body thoughts? What would you tell a best friend?
I recently saw this quote: "My body has carried me through hell and back. I will not demean it with my words. I will not punish it with my actions." This has become my mantra this week. I spent over fifteen years abandoning, resenting, loathing, and punishing my body, so I keep reminding myself that, no matter what, I'm not going back to the hell that results from disordered behaviors. I've personally had a significant uptick in negative body thoughts this week, so I appreciate your writing, Abbie, as always!