Bodily self-consciousness and Self-acceptance
The terms “bodily self-consciousness” and “self-acceptance” sound simple but anyone trying to define it learns that it is not. The present essay aims to define those and related terms in order to establish a connection between them.
In my video “Body consciousness: What is it,” which is on my YouTube channel, I tried to explain and illustrate with examples the meaning of bodily self-consciousness (BSC), which is stated as the congruence between the body-image (BI) and the real body of a person. According to Cambridge Dictionary, congruence is defined as the “quality of being similar to or in agreement with something”. Thus, BSC is when BI is similar to the real body.
The term “body image” has been used to describe the perception that a person has about their physical body, thoughts and feelings. Therefore, BI has physical and psychological components. The research by Sherlyn S Jimenez, Barbara L. Niles and Crystal L. Park about a mindfulness model of affect regulation and depression symptoms described that the psychological component is tightly related with self-concept, or “the dynamic representations of what individuals think, feel, or believe about themselves.” Self-concept is known as one of the most significant and powerful regulator of behavior and affect, being central to depressive disorders. Since most affective states necessarily implicate the self, an unsettled self-concept could disturb it.
The development of congruence between BSC and BI is influenced by three factors: self-identification with the body, self-location, and the first-person perspective, according to professor of neuroscience in University of Tubingen Olaf Blanke. The first factor, self-identification with the body is the experience of owning a body. Body ownership is the self-attribution of the physical body and its parts, such as limbs, the perception of “my” body’s belonging. The second factor, self-location is the experience of where “I” am in space. This factor includes the self-location of “my” body not only as a unit but as its parts too. And finally, the third factor, the first-person perspective is the experience from where “I” perceive the world, the world from “my” point of view, “my” cognitive processes.
The second main term, “self-acceptance” (SA), is the acceptance of self in spite of weaknesses or deficiencies, and feeling positive about past life. Recognizing weaknesses or limitations doesn’t interfere with our ability to fully accept ourselves.
SA has been correlated with positive indicators of mental health and adjustment including leadership effectiveness, happiness, life satisfaction, and mindfulness. Researches with depressive symptoms patients (according to research about mindfulness model of affect regulation I mentioned earlier), women with HIV (research by M. Teti, B. French and others about positive transformation related to healthfulness, confidence and self-acceptance), and young black gays and bisexuals (research by M. C. Barry, M. Threats and others about the analysis of 322 conversations on the intervention website HealthMpowerment), shows a direct relationship between mental health and self-acceptance.
The first research, for instance, tested positive emotions, mood regulation expectancies, and self-acceptance, using self-report questionnaires among 514 college students. Higher levels of dispositional mindfulness were associated with higher levels of positive emotions, mood regulation expectancies, and self-acceptance, which in turn, were all inversely related to depressive symptoms. At another research, the transformations of 30 women living with HIV (WLH) was analyzed through participation in a pilot photo voice project to tell their story of HIV. The project included three group meetings, an individual interview, and a public exhibit. Among related transformations, women described healthier behaviors in regards to medication adherence, safer sex, and improved mental health. Mental health was supported by stronger spirituality, self-acceptance, and greater confidence, according to them.
If the similarity between body-image and real body is necessary in the development of bodily self-consciousness, self-acceptance is inherent to this process, because to access the real body it is required to have the acceptance of this body. The acceptance, or the agreement, depends upon the knowledge of the object. There is no way to accept something whose existence is unknown. If any characteristic is out of knowledge, it is impossible to have the acceptance or denial of it. Therefore, self-knowledge is essential for self-acceptance.
Self-knowledge develops self-acceptance. SA calibrates the BI closest to the real body. BI closest to the real body implies congruence, identified as BSC.
Let’s take as an example such a disorder as anorexia nervosa. It is an eating disorder, characterized by low weight, food restriction, fear of gaining weight, and a strong desire to be thin. It’s common for patients with anorexia to see themselves as overweight, even when they are critically underweight. In this case, the pathology is caused by psychological conditions established by the absence of BSC related to the weight. This disease shows a lack of congruence between the BI in mind and the real body. One of the goals of anorexia’s treatment is to help patients see the real size of their bodies. The patient must know their body and develop SA to then, calibrate their BI to what’s closest to the real size.
A low score of SA is linked with “wishes to be different than what he or she is”, which becomes a hindrance to access the self-knowledge. When it is denied, the BI tends to get distorted. The SA is a way to reach the real body, and consequently, the congruence between the body that exists, and the body that the person mentalizes.
It is proved that SA increases mental health, self-esteem, self-confidence, self-competence, well-being, and relieves stress, and knowing the tight link between SA and BSC, therefore, it is possible to assert that BSC also provides those positive benefits to the self.
Text Genises Azevedo
Edited by Law Yi Wan, Reshma Durai
