What is 'body image'?

What is 'body image'?

Jamie Feusner (Psychiatrist, Professor, UCLA) gives expert video advice on: What is 'Body Dysmorphic Disorder' or 'BDD'?; What is 'body image'?; How do you know BDD is a real disorder and not just an excuse for vanity? and more...

Body image is how somebody feels about their appearance. And body image the term, I think, usually people think about two different aspects of that. One may be how internally they feel about themselves and the other may be how they actually see themselves. So, for example, when somebody looks in the mirror they may see themselves a certain way and think a certain thing about their appearance. And internally though, they may have a certain idea about how their appearance is. So I think body image really probably constitutes both of those components.