Body Image Pressure is Worse Than Ever. Here’s How to Stay Grounded.
Let’s be real - something is off.
Have you felt it too? This collective tightening around bodies, food, control. It’s like the cultural air has shifted. The era of body acceptance that once felt like it was growing now feels like it’s being rolled back.
The pressure to be thin isn’t new - but lately, it feels louder. Sharper in both subtle and overt ways. And that’s not your imagination.
We’re seeing a return to the 90s “heroin chic” aesthetic. The same era that glorified extreme thinness is back in full swing - just with a 2025 filter and a “wellness” hashtag slapped on top. Add in the booming Ozempic craze, where people are praised for losing weight quickly, regardless of how it affects their health, and it becomes clear: we are in a dangerous cultural backslide.
And it’s not just media. Politically, we’re living in a time where governments are tightening control over bodily autonomy. It’s not a coincidence that body image pressure is intensifying when societal control over bodies is too. The message, implicit or explicit, is this: your body is a problem to be fixed, regulated, or controlled.
But here’s what I know to be true: your body is not the problem. The culture is.
The Real Cost of Disconnection
When we internalize these cultural ideals - especially the ones that hide under the guise of "health" or "wellness" - we begin to disconnect. Not just from food or from our bodies, but from ourselves.
This disconnection shows up in subtle ways:
Distrusting your hunger
Second-guessing your reflection
Feeling like peace with food must be earned
And it has real effects. Emotional. Mental. Spiritual. When we disconnect from our bodies, we disconnect from our inner knowing, our intuition. It becomes harder to hear ourselves and know the next right step.
So… how do we stay grounded?
The answer isn’t more control. It’s more connection. It’s quietly turning inward while the outer world keeps shouting.
Here are a few ways to begin:
🌿 How to we get grounded? We start by noticing that we’re not.
When we’re pulled into the scroll, the comparison, the panic.
When the voice in our head sounds more like a critic than a companion.
When we forget that our body isn’t the problem—our culture’s expectations are.
Grounding begins when you remember: this is your home. You get to decide how to care for it.
🌀 When the world gets loud, slow down.
Scrolling fast? Heart racing? Feeling "off" after being online? That’s your body whispering. Take a beat. Touch something real. Breathe into the soles of your feet. Slowness is resistance.
🌕 Ask: Who profits from my self-hate?
Because someone always does. Grounding includes critical awareness—seeing the system for what it is. When we start asking deeper questions, we reclaim power.
🔮 Reconnect with your inner voice.
The one under the noise. The one that doesn’t speak in “shoulds” or through shame and guilt. Sometimes you need stillness to hear. Sometimes you need community. Both are valid. Either way, in the words of the wise Viktor Frankl, create pause. You don’t have to meditate for 20 minutes. It can be as simple as locking your screen, taking a deep breath, and then choosing what you do next. Over time, you’ll signal to yourself that you’re listening.
Closing Thought
Staying grounded in a world obsessed with control isn’t easy, but it is possible.
Not through perfection. Not through “doing it right.” But through returning, again and again, to yourself.
If you’re struggling right now, you’re not broken. You’re human. And you're not alone.
At Here and Now Nutrition, I support individuals as they quiet the cultural noise and build a more connected, compassionate relationship with food and body. If you're ready to explore what that could look like, I’d be honored to walk alongside you.
💻 You can book a free 15-minute consultation by calling or texting 862-283-0034. Let’s see if we’re a good fit.