The Cognitive Dissonance of Body Positivity and the Role of Neuroplasticity in Personal Style
Why body positivity feels fake
Today I was sorting through my summer clothes, trying things on to see what I’ve outgrown. At the end of it all I sat next to the unexpectedly tall pile of “too smalls,” and I shed a few tears. I shed them not because of any conclusions or judgements that I truly held for myself, but due to the lifetime of programming that has taught us all that the bigger you are, the less worthy you are of love.
The unfortunate reality is that we were never born to hate ourselves or to be so consumed with our appearances, though it's the same cognitive mechanism that brought us to this place of insecurity that can bring us acceptance and confidence. This tool of construction and destruction is called neuroplasticity.
We experience thoughts as something that happens automatically, seemingly out of nowhere, when in fact thoughts are actually interpretations of the electrical connections between the neurons in our brains. These connections can be reinforced through repetitive stimuli to the point where there is an automatic association between stimulus and a thought. For example, you’re in middle school and every day kids are bullying you for your size, ridiculing your body and excluding you. This repetition creates an association in your brain that a bigger body is something shameful and unlovable, which over time if continuously reinforced can become a deeply held belief of your own.
Our experiences and environments physically alter the shape and connections made in our brains, but that doesn’t mean we have no control over our internal world, in fact it means the opposite. When we introduce new ideas, behaviors, or environments, our brain adapts to the new stimuli, and when we continuously reinforce those ideas, behaviors, and environments, our brain adopts them. A great example to understand this is to think about dominant and non dominant hands. You utilize the fine motor skills of one hand much more than the other, so the brain then automatically uses the dominant hand for all of these tasks, and it becomes an unconscious decision to do so. When you attempt to change hands while writing it's clunky and uncomfortable, but if you kept using your non-dominant hand for a few weeks it would become more natural.
One of the primary criticisms of the Body Positivity movement is that it feels fake. You can smile into the camera and say you love your body at any size, but you still cry in private when you’ve outgrown last summer's clothes. Many people intellectually agree with the idea of loving and accepting yourself no matter what, but they haven’t put in the repetition to genuinely adopt it into their beliefs. That being said, having insecurities is not a black and white concept that you can simply get over some day, but what you can do is minimize what you’re insecure about, and how much control those insecurities have over your mind and actions.
It is due to the malleable nature of our brain’s neuroplasticity that we were indoctrinated with fat phobia and false associations of unworthiness, and it is also through neuroplasticity that we have the ability and choice to take back control over what we feel and think and believe about ourselves.
So, how does one use this knowledge to make a positive change in their life? Well, it takes anywhere between three weeks, to some months, to some years depending on how long the narratives or behaviors have been reinforced throughout your life, and what other tributary beliefs are existing to keep you trapped in that mindset. In my opinion, in this conversation relating to personal style, I would say attempt to understand yourself, try anything that piques your interest, and begin a consistent cycle of gradual exposure therapy. I tell people to wear clothes that do not cater to your insecurities, starting at home for the afternoon and maybe take some photos or do something that makes you feel confident in the clothes, then wear them for a walk in your neighborhood, then for an entire day. Baby steps. Remember, you CAN change your mind, and it WILL be uncomfortable, until it's not.
Some bonus fun facts I learned about neuroplasticity while writing this piece:
- Studies suggest that brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand can potentially ward off Alzheimer's disease, and in general is a good exercise for your brain by creating new neural connections between the two hemispheres of your brain. New experiences are the workouts our brains need to stay in shape.
- “Synaptic pruning” is when the brain adapts to new environments by disposing of unused or unnecessary neural connections while strengthening and preserving those that are used more frequently.
- Scientists used to believe that the brain stopped generating new brain cells during childhood, but it is now found that we have the power to create new brain cells throughout our lives, even ones lost due to synaptic pruning. The creation of new brain cells is called “neurogenesis.”
