Why Are We So Hard On Our Bodies?

It's hard to walk past a mirror and not look at yourself. Even men stop and gawk at themselves. And not many of us like what we see when we look at our reflection (read: are my thighs REALLY that big??).

The good news comes in the form of a study authored by Dr. Sherrie Delinsky of Massachusetts General Hospital. In a story by Reuters, the study found that a therapy known as "mirror exposure" eased some of the negative thoughts and behaviors of women with body image problems serious enough to put them at risk of developing an eating disorder. The goal is to help women let go of their constant self-criticism and learn how to better respond to distressing thoughts about their bodies, according to Delinsky.

So instead of looking at yourself and saying "MY THIGHS ARE HUGE," we might note instead that we see a difference in the proportions of the top of your legs in comparison to your arms, and those proportions might not at all be that negative. When you describe yourself objectively - somehow your thighs seem to shrink before your very eyes. Parts are just parts, not a reflection of you.