Body image

Body image can be described as a subjective concept of one’s physical appearance based on self-observation and the reaction of others. Thus the image that individuals form of themselves has two parts to it, firstly how they see themselves and equally important how they perceive others reacting to them. When discussing body image, people are said to have a good or a poor body image, which in effect refers to the level of contentment that someone has with their body. Perception of body image is not necessarily related to the reality of what is before a person, for example someone with what outwardly would seem like a ‘normal’ body, may have a poor body image. Papadopoulus and Bor (1999) suggest a list of behaviours that those with poor body image might exhibit. Thus those with poor body image might:

• Edit social experiences to reinforce existing negative perceptions of themselves;
• View their bodies only as aesthetic objects;
• Minimise other positive aspects of their appearance;
• Have a heightened sense of body awareness;
• Comply with narrow social standards in terms of what is attractive.

What do these points mean with regard to someone with a skin condition? Editing social experiences means that an individual will choose to remember the unpleasant things that happen to them which in turn reinforce their beliefs about themselves. For example, someone with acne will remember how someone stared at them because this reinforces their belief that their acne is incredibly noticeable and ugly. They will not remember the pleasant instances where people smile and say hello. When someone has a skin disease they are likely to have a heightened sense of body awareness. Every day they are reminded of how their body is not ‘working’ for them because they have to treat it with creams, because it feels itchy or sore or because they have to display it to a health care professional. When parts of the skin are felt to be uncomfortable and unattractive, it is easy to forget or ignore the other parts of the body which are still normal, working well and attractive. All these factors can help to create a poor body image.