Are You Passing Down Your Pain? The Truth About Mother-Daughter Body Image | The Tamsen Show

Most women don’t remember the first time they started judging their body, but they do remember where they learned to do it.

In a deeply personal exchange, Dr. Shefali revealed how body image is passed down like an emotional heirloom. And not through words, but through energy.

You might tell your daughter she’s beautiful, but if you’re constantly criticizing your own body in front of the mirror, counting calories, or hiding your aging skin… she’s learning that love has conditions.

This isn’t about blame, it’s about awareness.

“We have to heal ourselves so that our daughters don’t spend decades recovering from our wounds,” Dr. Shefali says.

That healing starts with self-acceptance, not self-correction. It starts by looking in the mirror and choosing compassion, not criticism. Because when you make peace with your body, you give your daughter permission to do the same.

If you’re ready to break the cycle and raise a generation of women who don’t apologize for their bodies, listen to the full episode of The Tamsen Show Podcast.