Join Sophie Kuhn Bedaña, LMSW in this invitation to pause, breathe, and question the stories we’ve been sold about our bodies, “self-improvement,” and discipline.
Every January, the world gets louder about fixing, shrinking, optimizing, and controlling bodies—as if our worth resets with the calendar.
The phrase of “New year, new body” is common during this time. These kinds of New Year’s resolutions often present themselves as harmless self-improvement. But the truth? These resolutions are steeped in diet culture, healthism, and fatphobia. In other words, they’re anything but harmless.
This kind of messaging teach us that thinner, more disciplined, more productive bodies are better bodies; that control is a moral virtue.
Over time, this messaging injures our relationship with ourselves.
We learn to mistrust hunger, rest, softness, pleasure—anything that can’t be optimized or measured. Perfectionism slips in wearing a wellness costume, insisting that if we just try harder, plan better, buy the right products, we’ll finally feel okay in our skin.
And when that doesn’t work, the blame lands squarely on us—not the system that profits from our dissatisfaction.
This is where body image injury shows up: in the shame around taking up space, in the anxiety of being seen, in the relentless self-surveillance that replaces self-compassion.
Productivity culture backs this up, praising bodies only for what they can produce, endure, or overcome. Listening to your body becomes a problem if it interferes with goals.
So if this year you feel the urge to reject the “new body” narrative, fuck yea! That’s not resistance to growth—it is growth.
Your body doesn’t need fixing. It needs safety, respect, and maybe a little righteous anger on its behalf.
Looking to work with someone on body image injury in a space that creates safety for all kinds of bodies? Sophie has availability for individual clients!
Are you trans or gender non-conforming and interested in exploring the intersections of eating disorders within your trans identity? Sophie is currently enrolling the second co-hort of her group, COMING HOME TO YOU: Exploring Eating Disorder Recovery and Body Image Injury within the Trans Experience.
Ready to sign up for the group or ask questions? Reach out to Sophie directly!
