Why Putting on a Swimsuit Feels Like a Performance Review

Summer Body Image Therapy in Toronto: Finding Freedom Beyond Appearance

Summer is supposed to be about connection—long days with friends, laughter in the sun, and time with the people you love.

But sometimes, all of that gets overshadowed by a quieter pressure: how your body looks while you’re living it.

The joy, the freedom, the presence—it can all take a back seat to body image anxiety.

Why does putting on a swimsuit feel like walking into a performance review? You scan yourself in the mirror like you’re prepping for scrutiny. You choose something “safe”—not because it reflects how you want to feel, but because it protects you from being seen too much. And maybe, quietly, you think: If I looked different, this would be easier.

That’s not a confidence issue. That’s survival mode.

We’ve learned to treat our bodies like projects—constantly managed, evaluated, and made palatable for the world. Not just at work. At the pool. At brunch. In every tagged photo.

Body image pressure sounds like this:

• “I’ll feel better once I lose a few pounds.”

• “I wish I could just enjoy myself without thinking about how I look.”

• “I’d rather not go if it means wearing that.”

Delete. Un-tag. Avoid.

These aren’t shallow thoughts. They’re deep, learned defenses. Quiet rules we’ve been living by for years.

And maybe this summer, you’re ready to break some of them.

3 Therapist-Backed Ways to Reduce Body Image Distress This Summer

(from our team at Stark Wellness Clinic in Toronto)

1. Don’t skip the event.Discomfort is real, but isolation often makes it worse. Therapy can help you tolerate those moments with compassion rather than avoidance.

2. Change how you scroll.Follow more body diversity and mental health accounts. Exposure to different body types helps shift what your brain sees as normal.

3. Stop waiting to feel “ready.”You don’t need to fix anything to show up. You just need safety—sometimes internal, sometimes relational. Therapy can help you build that safety from within.

   
   

A Thought Experiment

If your body image struggles were never really about your body…What were they about?

And what would it feel like to talk to someone who doesn’t try to fix you, but actually listens for the answer?

That’s what body image therapy looks like here.

No mantras. No pressure to “love yourself.”Just space to explore why it’s felt so hard—and how to let that pressure go.

Book a Free 20-Minute Therapy Consultation in Toronto

If you’re curious, you can meet one of our Toronto therapists for a free 20-minute consultation.No pressure—just a quiet invitation.

Your body is not the problem.But the silence around it might be.

With care,

Rotem

Stark Wellness Clinic,

Torontowww.starkwellnessclinic.com