Summer and Body Image: Navigating a Season That Often Pressures Perfection

By Shannon Hendrick

Summer is often painted as a season of joy—marked by beach trips, vacations, cookouts, and sunshine. But beneath the surface, it can also stir up discomfort, insecurity, and heightened dissatisfaction with appearance. The combination of increased body visibility, disrupted routines, and the constant scroll of curated social media posts makes this season uniquely challenging for those navigating body image distress or body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). This blog explores how these experiences may show up and offer gentle, practical strategies for moving through this summer season with more compassion.

Body Dissatisfaction and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

Body dissatisfaction refers to a negative perception of one’s physical appearance and is often thought to stem from a perceived gap between how the body currently looks (actual body image) and how one wishes it looked (ideal body image). This might involve concerns about weight, shape, size, or specific features. While common, especially in a culture that promotes unrealistic beauty standards, body dissatisfaction can contribute to dieting behaviors, low mood, and even the development of eating disorders—but it doesn’t always disrupt daily functioning.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition marked by an obsessive preoccupation with a perceived flaw in physical appearance—often minor or entirely imagined. Individuals may spend significant amounts of time attempting to correct or conceal the flaw, sometimes through excessive grooming, cosmetic procedures, or compulsive exercise. Common behaviors include frequent mirror checking, comparing one’s appearance to others, and avoiding social situations or photographs. The distress can be overwhelming and can interfere significantly with work, relationships, and overall quality of life.

While body dissatisfaction and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) are related, they differ in intensity, impact, and clinical severity. For example: 

• Someone experiencing body dissatisfaction might look in the mirror before a beach day and think, “I wish my stomach were flatter,” or feel uncomfortable about how their stomach looks in a swimsuit. They may spend extra time choosing an outfit that feels flattering and experience moments of self-consciousness. While the discomfort is present, they would likely still go to the beach, engage with friends, and enjoy the day—despite lingering insecurities.

• In contrast, someone with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) may also look in the mirror before the same event but become intensely fixated on a perceived flaw—such as the belief that their stomach looks “disgusting” or “abnormal,” even if others see nothing unusual. They might try on outfit after outfit, spend hours scrutinizing their appearance in the mirror, and ultimately cancel plans out of fear of being seen or judged. The distress is so consuming that it disrupts social life, routines, and the ability to feel safe or at ease in their body. In some cases, this preoccupation may lead to compulsive behaviors, emotional withdrawal, or the pursuit of cosmetic procedures.

Why Summer Can Intensify Body Image Struggles

The transition to warmer weather often involves changes in clothing, social routines, and exposure to public settings. These shifts can heighten discomfort, shame, and anxiety, particularly for those already grappling with body-related distress. Some common contributing factors include:

• Revealing Clothing: Shorts, swimsuits, and tank tops can increase feelings of exposure, especially for those already self-conscious about their bodies. The pressure to “look good” and feel confident in summer attire can be overwhelming.

• Social Media & “Summer Body” Culture: Social media feeds often fill with curated and filtered images of “perfect” summer bodies, promoting narrow and unrealistic beauty standards. These curated images perpetuate the myth that happiness, confidence, or even belonging requires a certain body type.

• Increased Socializing: Summer gatherings—like pool parties, outdoor events, and vacations—may increase opportunities for comparison and fear of judgment.

• Disrupted Routines: With changes in structure—sleep schedules, meal patterns, or movement habits—self-regulation may become more difficult, intensifying emotional reactivity or negative self-talk.

The weight of these pressures is often compounded by internalized beauty standards, past experiences of body shaming and/or trauma, and the constant scroll of filtered social media posts.

How Social Media Shapes Our Self-Perception

It is important to consider social media and its impact on body dissatisfaction, particularly during the summer months. Research suggests that approximately 70% of individuals report experiencing seasonal fluctuations in body image, with dissatisfaction peaking in the summer months.

Confirmation bias—the tendency to seek out information that supports existing beliefs—can intensify body image distress. For instance, individuals who believe that self-worth or happiness depends on physical change, such as weight loss, are more likely to engage with content that validates that belief, even when it undermines mental and emotional well-being. As Dr. Pamela Keel, professor of psychology at Florida State University, noted in a CNN interview:

“Somebody who’s already thinking they need to be thin, or thinner, and is looking for other people to agree with them that it’s an important thing…we’re constantly looking for validation that we’re right, even if that validation is really, really harmful to our personal health.”

Platforms flooded with diet content, transformation photos, and “what I eat in a day” videos often distort what is real, reinforcing the idea that worth or wellness must be earned through physical change. The pressure to post or compare oneself to others may increase anxiety, trigger compulsive behaviors, or prompt withdrawal. 

Being selective with digital environments—choosing to unfollow accounts that promote harmful ideals and replacing them with those that center body diversity, reality, and acceptance—can be a powerful form of self-care.

Body Image Exists on a Spectrum

Body dissatisfaction can impact anyone—regardless of whether a clinical diagnosis is present. It can manifest in many ways, including:

• Persistent worry about appearance or judgment

• Preoccupation with how clothing fits or looks

• Avoidance of social settings due to body-related fears and discomfort

• Frequent comparisons to others

• Beliefs that confidence or joy must be earned through physical change

These experiences are both common and valid. With time, support, and self-compassion, it is possible to develop a more peaceful and accepting relationship with the body.

Worth Is Not Seasonal

Contrary to societal messaging, no one needs to “transform” in order to belong. A body does not need to look a certain way to be worthy of joy, presence, and connection. In fact, the body that already exists in the present is more than enough. 

Letting go of perfection and moving away from rigid beauty ideals opens up space for something far more meaningful: experiencing the present moment to the fullest extent and focusing on what truly matters—laughter, nourishment, movement, and meaningful relationships.

Gentle Practices for Summer

The following are compassionate practices that may help ease appearance-related pressure this summer:

• Wear What Feels Good: Prioritize clothing that feels physically and emotionally safe. Comfort is more important than trends or expectations.

• Reduce Body Checking: Repeated mirror-checking, scrutinizing photos, or compulsive comparison can often increase self-criticism. Noticing these behaviors and choosing to gently redirect attention elsewhere is a small but impactful act of self-care.

• Curate Social Media: Unfollowing triggering accounts and following those that promote body diversity, neutrality, and self-acceptance supports emotional resilience and can help reshape internal narratives. 

• Practice Body Neutrality: It is not necessary to love every part of the body to respect and care for it. Focusing on what the body does—mobility, expression, experience— rather than how it looks can foster gratitude and compassion over time.

• Prioritize Joy: Redirecting attention toward meaningful experiences—such as movement, food, nature, rest, or connection—can offer grounding and fulfillment beyond appearance.

When to Seek Support

If body image distress becomes overwhelming or interferes with daily functioning, support is available. Therapy may help with:

• Exploring the roots of body image concerns and beliefs

• Understanding the impact of early experiences, trauma, and societal messaging

• Learning to manage shame, comparison, and perfectionism

• Building a sense of safety in one’s body

• Developing skills to quiet the inner critic and reconnect with values beyond appearance

Final Thoughts

Body image is deeply personal and shaped by complex layers—family, culture, trauma, identity, and more. There is no “right” way to feel, no fixed timeline for healing, and no external standard that defines worth. 

It is valid to take up space and to experience summer without shrinking or striving to meet unrealistic expectations.For those feeling overwhelmed, support is available. Therapists, support groups, and communities rooted in body neutrality and acceptance can provide meaningful relief. Every person deserves to feel safe, seen, and valued—regardless of body shape or appearance.