Body Image & Identity

[Listen to an audio version of this blog here.]

I was running up one of my favorite mountains in the rain. I love running in the rain, especially here in Southern California where the rain is rare. The world turns shiny and green and everyone slows down, as if we’ve all agreed to take a beat to breathe and come clean. I hadn’t run up this particular mountain in almost 10 months and I smiled as I glided up the winding switchbacks. I felt strong and completely in control of my body. What a wonderful feeling.

Feeling strong in my body led me to think about how complex our body images are: how so many factors can influence how we see ourselves. How tired we are, if we feel strong, if we feel sluggish, if our body shape has changed, if our clothes fit us well, if we’ve eaten too much or not enough, if someone says words that trigger us.

I found this chart a while back that does an pretty good job of visualizing identity.

Our identities are complex, and our bodies are inherently tied to them. Most of the factors in the chart above are tied to our bodies either directly or indirectly, so it makes sense that our bodies and body image influences our identity to some…