"If we trace our beginnings, we find that the instinct of connection to the body begins at birth. There, we see natural and freely expressed enthusiasm, curiosity, and desire. This early environment conveys numerous messages to us that we carry throughout life about how to act toward ourselves and others. This is where we learn to take in information, and it is where the narcissistic adaptation begins regarding whether to reveal our truths or cover up our bodies and personalities."
"Body narcissism concerns one's attitude to the body and intense need for appreciation, but the inability to be open to intimacy. To a narcissist, the body reveals a person needing positive and adoring reactions. This is to compensate for the conflict regarding their body, although they often receive projections of standing out and appearing unusual. Although it appears otherwise, the narcissist is not confident about their physical self and experiences distorted body images."
Connection to the body originates at birth through natural enthusiasm, curiosity, and desire, which form foundational messages about self and others. Lifelong patterns either disrupt or foster the psychological relationship between body and psyche, shaping self-regard and authentic expressiveness. Body appreciation functions as a means to gain intimacy, love, and to convey emotional reactions. Body narcissism reflects an intense need for admiration paired with an inability to be open to intimacy and secure in the physical self. Distorted body images, projections of standing out, and mind-body dissociation become mechanisms that sustain defensive and compensatory behaviors.
Read at Psychology Today
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