Building body gratitude at midlife to feel more confident

Throughout a woman’s life during puberty, pregnancy and menopause many body changes are experienced. These stages, as well as the influence of media and society, can lead to negative body image and body dissatisfaction. In the menopause years, both the physical and emotional symptoms experienced can make it a challenge to have a positive body image. However, this is the time when body gratitude and self compassion can lead to positive experiences and increase confidence in the midlife years, as it is at the heart of the non-diet approach.

What is body gratitude?

Gratitude can be defined as being thankful or feeling appreciation for things you have in your life. It could be the sun shining through your window, a nice hot cup of coffee in the morning, listening to the birds, a lovely and warm house to live in, as a few examples. When we have more body gratitude, that is being thankful for our bodies and what they do for us, such as, our heart pumps blood and oxygen around our body, our lungs breathe air in and out, and nutrients are delivered to our cells without us even thinking about it. We can also have body gratitude for things such as our legs allow us to walk to places, we can see with our eyes and smell with our noses. We tend to have a more positive body image about ourselves and higher self esteem when we engage in body gratitude and appreciate what our bodies do for us, every day of our life.

When we tune into our bodies in this way, we naturally start to look after ourselves with kindness, our self talk becomes more positive and we generally feel much happier and satisfied with our bodies and life in general.

Body image and Menopause

Body image is the internal view that we have of ourselves and our physical appearance and it can be hugely influenced by the media and society, often in a very negative way. The menopause years most often are accompanied by many physical and emotional challenges. Studies have reported that body image concerns and body dissatisfaction ranged from 40% to 80% in menopausal women, and that it affected them more as they aged.

Studies have also found associations found between different types of symptoms and body dissatisfaction such as:

Physical symptoms of weight gain and changes in skin and hair
Increased body discomfort caused by vasomotor symptoms – hot flushes and night sweats
Somatic symptoms such as headaches and sleep issues
Psychological issues such as mood swings, low mood, irritability and tiredness

Although the menopause experience is very individual for each woman, it can be very complex and involves many changes as above. More studies are needed to understand the complexities of symptoms and body image concerns, but there is no doubt that including body gratitude as a self care practice could only be a positive experience. (but I’m definitely not saying it can or will be easy at times)

Why is body gratitude important in midlife?

Even though, in many cases, women experience many challenges in the midlife years and beyond, finding some positivity through body gratitude (even glimpses) can change the trajectory of the menopause experience. Gratitude in general (and body gratitude) is associated with greater body image, better physical and emotional wellbeing, higher self esteem and life satisfaction. When we feel good about ourselves and our life, we take good care of ourselves, and gratitude magnifies this further, increasing health, wellbeing and happiness.

How to practise body gratitude

There are many ways to practise body gratitude. At the centre of it self compassion. Dr Kristin Neff, an associate professor in psychology at the University of Texas, has outlined three elements of self compassion:

Self kindness vs self judgement
Common humanity vs isolation
Mindfulness vs over-identification

Some ways to build body gratitude to feel more confident in midlife include:

Gratitude journaling
Body scan and body appreciation meditations
Affirmations
Slowing down and being mindful of how amazing your body is

These tools do not have to take a lot of time in your day, and are a simple way to build body positivity in your menopause years and beyond. If Affirmations resonate with you, you can download some body positive affirmation cards here.

As a menopause nutritionist and holistic health coach we are able to go deeper on these strategies in sessions and help you find what works best for you. Please book a Discovery Call if you would like to know more.