Self Image Definition
Self Image Definition: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Improve It
If you’re looking for a comprehensive self-image definition to understand yourself better, this is the right article for you. When we discuss self-image, we refer to a set of beliefs a person holds about themselves. Self-image includes perception of your physical appearance, personality, strengths, and weaknesses. It evolves as we grow and gather experiences, relationships, and messages received from other people in our lives. How we think others perceive us is also a part of self-image.
Understanding self-image is crucial for confidence, relationships, and success. Understanding how and why we have a certain set of beliefs can help us more easily identify negative patterns and change them. Learn the three dimensions of self-image, factors that shape it, and how to improve the beliefs you have about yourself.
What Is Self-Image?
Self-image is the mental picture each person holds of themselves. Every person has a unique self-image, and even growing up in the same family, going to the same school, and doing the same activities every day doesn’t imply that two siblings will have the same self-image about themselves.
Self-image is a very personal inner experience that others might not even be aware of. That is why many confuse self-image with self-esteem, which is your overall opinion of yourself. Self-esteem can be more noticeable to others than self-image.
In early childhood, we start to develop our self-image based on our experiences, feedback, and social conditioning. Everyone and everything we interact with will impact our self-image, especially during childhood and adolescence. As we grow, our self-image can change, depending on our experiences and relationships. The intriguing thing about self-image is that our experiences influence it, yet our self-image then influences our behaviour, confidence, and emotional health. In other words, it is crucial for all areas of our lives. Ensuring our self-image is positive is key to living a joyful, fulfilled life.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is self-image?
Self-image is how you see your appearance, personality, abilities, and worth. It’s shaped by personal experiences, social feedback, cultural messages, and inner beliefs.
How does self-image affect daily life?
The way we think, feel, and behave will be strongly influenced by our self-image. If our self-image is negative, we will have issues with confidence, decision-making, relationships, and physical health.
Can self-image change over time?
Self-image evolves with your experiences, mindset, and environment. The way you perceive yourself can change with major life events, relationships, or self-work. The key is to stay conscious of your self-talk and intentionally build a more compassionate and empowering inner narrative as you grow. It can change when you work on it, which is why we made this webinar to help you solve it step-by-step.
The Three Dimensions of Self-Image
When talking about self-image, it’s important to remember that it consists of three dimensions: physical self-image, psychological self-image, and social self-image.
Physical self-image refers to the way you perceive your appearance and body. Are you happy with what you see in the mirror? What thoughts and emotions appear when thinking about your physical appearance or looking at yourself in the mirror?
Psychological self-image refers to the way you view your personality, abilities, and values. How would you describe yourself to someone who doesn’t know you? What do you see as your strengths, and what would you say are your weaknesses?
Social self-image refers to the way you believe others see you. How do you feel when you walk into a room full of people? Are you comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people?
These three dimensions of self-image are interconnected, and sometimes the line between them is blurred. Sometimes, your negative physical self-image will negatively impact your social self-image, or your negative social self-image could reinforce the critical inner dialogue.
Factors that Shape Self-Image
Almost everything and everyone can shape our self-image. However, we are more affected by the opinions of people who are closest to us and experiences that mean the most to us. The first factor that starts to affect our self-image when we are children is family and childhood experiences. As we grow up, we become impacted by the cultural and societal norms, such as beauty standards and success metrics.
Peer relationships and social media play a huge role in how we perceive ourselves. Spending a lot of time on social media can lead to comparing yourself to everyone else online. In the same way, relationships we engage in and build over time can have a major impact on our self-image.
Past failures or achievements are another factor that shapes self-image. The way you deal with undesired outcomes and fears will have a major impact on your self-image. For example, a person who has faced a lot of failures without support from their family or friends will probably have a more negative self-image than someone who never felt alone during difficult times.
That little voice in our heads that appears and disappears plays a big role in our self-image. Is this voice your little helper, or does it criticize you constantly? Pay closer attention to it and identify in which situations it is most active. Your self-image will become more positive when you notice that your self-talk and inner dialogue patterns are more positive and kind.
Improving Your Self-Image
We made an entire video on how to do this!
Self-image is not a static evaluation of yourself. It changes throughout the years, depending on your experiences and the effort to feel better about yourself. If you’ve concluded that you have a negative self-image after reading the previous few paragraphs, you will want to hear about recommended techniques to improve it.
Instead of running away from your negative inner talk, try challenging it for once. Invite them into a dialogue and get to know them better. This exercise will allow you to understand why this voice is speaking to you in such a way.
Why not give this inner voice a name, like “inner critic,” to engage in a conversation with it the next time it appears? This process will help you separate yourself from that inner critic and provide you a broader perspective.
Think about how you view your mistakes and failures. Are you kind to yourself in these moments? Self-compassion is crucial if you want to improve your self-image. Think also about the people, content, and environments that are part of your life. Are they inspiring and supportive?
Spend some time visualizing your ideal self. What would need to change in your life to achieve that? What obstacles in your thinking and behavioural patterns do you notice? Write them down and contemplate actions you can take every day to move closer to that ideal version.
To truly work on your self-image issues, consider talking to a therapist. Oftentimes, we are unable to go to such depths and lengths on our own, and a mental health expert can guide you through this process and provide you with the right type of support.
If you want a therapist to help you, schedule a session!
About Life Coaching and Therapy
Life Coaching and Therapy (LCAT) is a therapy and coaching practice that transforms our clients lives through our flexibility multi-technique approach and pleasure-skills training provided by systematically trained and licensed therapists!
Get to know our founder and owner, Amanda Pasciucco, (a.k.a. The Sex Healer) PhD, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), and an AASECT Certified Sex Therapist (CST) who has developed innovative therapy programs and therapy videos that get results.
Our team of compassionate, licensed therapists and certified sex therapists helps all clients who visit us for a variety of personal, relationship, intimacy and sex problems.
LCAT provides on-site appointments, as well as video chat and text therapy programs.
Learn more about how LCAT can help improve your life at What We Do.
