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Many holiday-makers are desperate to slip on their swimwear, slather on the sun cream and soak up the rays this summer.

For others the thought of revealing their bodies in a bikini on the beach will bring a wave of worry.

But there are ways to cope with these body image anxieties, says聽our member Caz Binstead.

It鈥檚 better to think with the long-term in mind, rather than choosing short-term solutions or setting yourself unrealistic goals, she adds.

鈥淏e kinder and more compassionate to yourself," says Caz.

鈥淧eople need to reconnect with their bodies. They聽need to recognise that just because they think something about their body, doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 true. They need to look at the facts more.鈥�

Social media and Love Island

Sometimes these body image anxieties can stem from the 鈥榩erfect鈥� bikini bodies and lifestyles people see on social media.

鈥淧eople compare themselves to others and that can be a real trigger,鈥� says Caz, who is on the executive of our Private Practice division.

鈥淭hey see these Instagram images or Facebook posts. They get into comparing mode. To them, it looks like everyone else has a great life on Facebook and that they all have a great body on the beach.

鈥淥ften, I have to say that people aren鈥檛 going to put pictures of them having a bad day, or slobbing around, on social media. What people put up on social media are images of them looking their best.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the same with Love Island. The people we watch on that show are not really every day, typical people in how they look. It鈥檚 important to remember that.鈥�

Sometimes these body image anxieties can be sparked by something that was said in the past that played on a person鈥檚 mind. This is especially聽the case for young people.

Caz adds: 鈥淚t can often come down to worries about body image growing up, a bad experience with a boyfriend, or parents saying their child has put on a bit of weight.

鈥淵oung people are very subjective. If somebody said I was fat I would be able to look at that objectively and know that was just opinion. But young people hear that message and they really internalise it and believe it.鈥�

For some people low self-confidence can manifest itself into anxiety about how they look.

Reflect on feelings

鈥淭here are things people feel when growing up, such as feeling different, like they don鈥檛 fit in or feeling social anxiety. They may think they can control these by controlling how they look. For instance, some people wear lots of make up for this reason. It鈥檚 a coping strategy.鈥�

Caz warns against short term solutions for the holiday season.

鈥淧eople develop coping strategies around going to the beach or on summer holiday that make them feel better. Perhaps they don鈥檛 go to the beach, or maybe they wear a big sarong. But these are short term coping strategies.

鈥淭here鈥檚 often a problem as the summer holidays are approaching, that people set unrealistic targets for how they want to look, and then feel like a failure. They鈥檙e putting too much pressure on themselves.鈥�

She adds: 鈥淎s therapists we鈥檙e trying to get people to think about the long term. The solutions need to be more sustainable.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to reflect on feelings and this is what we do in the therapy space.

鈥淕enerally, there鈥檚 a correlation between anxiety and self-esteem. When anxiety is up, self-esteem is down. If self-esteem is up, anxiety goes down. Helping get this balance right is a really important part of the work therapists do,鈥� says Caz, who has a private practice in Clapham, south London.

鈥淔eelings about their body can be a projection of other issues, such as self-esteem. People can get really caught up with the idea of feeling fat, but they are disconnected from why they are feeling this way. They鈥檙e not aware of their other feelings, such as low self-esteem or low confidence.

鈥淎s a CBT therapist, sometimes, I will say 'let鈥檚 work on those feelings'. Let鈥檚 have an understanding that it鈥檚 not just about body image.鈥�

She also says it鈥檚 important to try to accept change.

Graded exposure

鈥淭his is the same for life in general. People don鈥檛 deal with change well. It鈥檚 important to remember that bodies do change. A woman her 30s will look different to a woman in her 20s. These are natural changes in life. But people find that change really difficult.鈥�

One thing Caz recommends is 鈥榞raded exposure鈥�.

鈥淐reate a pyramid,鈥� she says. 鈥淪tart with what is the least feared thing. That could be looking in the mirror for five minutes a day. The most feared, for instance going to the beach in a bikini is at the top.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 jump from the least feared to the most feared. You just go on to the next rung of that ladder, maybe sitting in a garden in a bikini. Then move up to another step, when you鈥檙e more comfortable with your body. It鈥檚 about setting realistic targets.鈥�

And hopefully these realistic targets will result in a relaxing seaside summer holiday, with minimum worry or stress.

If you want to talk to a 香港六合彩精准资料 counsellor or psychotherapist visit our Therapist directory.