Body Image Myths: Mental health and physical health are separate.

Hey, Jon here.
Let’s talk about a myth that sounds logical on the surface — but really falls apart when you look a little closer:
“Mental health and physical health are separate.”

A lot of us were taught to treat the mind and body like two different boxes. Mental health over here. Physical health over there. Different problems, different solutions.
But when it comes to body image — and honestly, to being human — they are deeply, constantly connected.

How you feel about your body directly affects your mental health.
Ongoing body shame can fuel anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, disordered eating, and social withdrawal. When you’re constantly at war with your body, your nervous system stays on high alert. You’re tense. You’re critical. You’re exhausted.

And it works the other way too.
When mental health is struggling — when you’re anxious, burned out, or depressed — it often becomes harder to care for your body with consistency or kindness. Movement feels overwhelming. Food becomes complicated. Sleep gets disrupted. Motivation disappears. That’s not a personal failure — it’s a human response.

Research published in Frontiers in Psychiatry has shown that body image disturbances — like dissatisfaction or over-focusing on appearance — are strongly linked to anxiety, low self-worth, and emotional distress. In other words, when body image suffers, mental health often follows.

That’s why healing is never an either-or situation.
You don’t have to “fix” your body first and then work on your mental health. And you don’t have to wait until your mind feels perfect before caring for your body.

What I see in my coaching work is this:
When people start softening body shame — even just a little — they often notice changes in mood, energy, sleep, and motivation. And when mental health feels more supported, caring for the body becomes more accessible, more gentle, and more sustainable.

This is why I work with the whole person.
Not just habits.
Not just thoughts.
Not just behaviors in isolation.

As I tell my clients all the time: everything is interconnected.
And honestly? That’s good news. Because it means that small, compassionate shifts in one area of your life can ripple outward and create meaningful change elsewhere.

Your body isn’t separate from your mental health.
It’s part of it.
And both deserve care. 💛