This special issue of the Caribbean Journal of Psychology (CJP) emerges from the “Dying to Be Beautiful?” Symposium, a biennial conference dedicated to addressing critical healthcare challenges related to body image and mental health within the Caribbean and its diaspora. Comprising seven novel manuscripts, this collection of scholarship applies a sociocultural lens to advance body image and mental health research and action in the Caribbean through the examination of economic dimensions of beauty, body image and eating behaviours, mental health considerations, including trauma and adolescent health risk behaviours, specifically substance use. This compendium of articles highlights the influence of historical, social, cultural and economic factors on beauty ideals and body image in the Caribbean, which often contrast with dominant Western norms. The authors explore the increasing impact of globalized media, the prevalence of body dissatisfaction across age groups and culturally specific manifestations of disordered eating and mental health challenges. Furthermore, the issue addresses the nascent understanding of trauma in the Caribbean context and examines the risk and protective factors associated with substance use among Jamaican adolescents. By bringing together research focused on Caribbean populations, this special issue underscores the urgent need for culturally relevant research, assessment tools, interventions and policies. It calls for increased awareness, advancement of prevention strategies and interdisciplinary collaboration to foster improved mental and physical well-being within the Caribbean, advocating for culturally affirming approaches to healthcare and a dismantling of harmful, externally imposed beauty ideals.