You can in all probability think about what damaging physique discuss is predicated on the few examples listed above. It might sound comparatively innocent on the floor, till you look deeper at why individuals do it—and the way it impacts all events concerned.
In a 2015 evaluation revealed within the journal Body Image, researchers regarded into why individuals interact in what they name “fat talk,” referring to “self-disparaging remarks made to other people about one’s weight or body.” The analysis discovered that folks take part in one of these damaging dialog in an effort to scale back nervousness about their physique—primarily by venting or (*4*) by way of verbalization.
The downside is that it would not work like that, in response to licensed skilled counselor Alicia Muñoz, LPC. She notes that it’s normal to complain to others in an effort to scale back the discomfort you feel and eliminate your self-judgment, however sadly, the damaging physique discuss solely finally ends up reinforcing these damaging emotions.
“Speaking negatively about your own or another person’s body, or commiserating with others who speak negatively about their bodies, doesn’t actually ‘get rid’ of self-judgment and discomfort—it increases it,” she explains to mbg. “The things you say get reinforced as you repeat them.”
Indeed, the aforementioned examine discovered that partaking in conversations like this has been linked with all the things from low physique esteem, to physique dissatisfaction, to a drive for thinness, and extra.
To make issues worse, the analysis additionally discovered that folks interact in damaging physique discuss to spice up “social cohesion,” a time period which describes the connection shaped by individuals once they bond over one thing—which on this case, can be emotions of dissatisfaction round their our bodies. One pal says they really feel ugly, and the opposite chimes again that they really feel ugly, too.