Learning To Love The Skin You’re In
Improving Your Body Image
All of us perceive how our bodies appear in different ways. Some people feel they are too fat, others lament being too thin. You may obsess about the size of your nose, while your best friend may wish her feet were smaller.
Our perception of how we look is known as body image. Some people are pleased with their body image, however, many more dislike one or more aspects of their physical appearance.
Such feelings are especially prevalent among women. Peer body image can lead to significant problems, including depression, eating disorders or other health issues. It doesn’t take much to alter our body image for the worse. A recent study by the University of Missouri-Columbia found that women of all sizes felt more negative about their bodies after viewing the models in magazine ads.
Fortunately, there are ways to help boost your body image.
Know What You Can and Can’t Change
Improving your body image is as simple as changing your mind about how you look. As most of us realize, this is much easier said than done, however, that doesn’t mean it is impossible to shift your feelings about your appearance. To start, it may help to realize that virtually everybody has hang-ups about some aspect of their bodies. Even the most successful and seemingly confident people privately fret about at least one of their physical attributes, including women who model for magazines.
It is also important to recognize what you can and cannot change about your body. In some cases, it is relatively straightforward to change the aspect of your appearance that you dislike. For example, changing your eating habits and taking up an exercise program can shed pounds if you are unhappy with your weight. In other cases, achieving physical change may be more difficult. If you dislike the shape of your nose, your only real options are to undergo plastic surgery to have it altered for a more aesthetic appeal.
For the things you can change, focus on establishing goals and creating a plan for achieving them while using positive self-talk. Making specific goals is crucial. Don’t say, “I want to lose weight,” instead, say, “I want to lose one pound a week for the next three months.”
Shifting Your Attitude
Of course, there are always some things about your body that cannot be changed. We can never gain that extra 2 inches of height that we believe will make our lives perfect.
It is important that you learn to accept these aspects of yourself as they are. Poor body image can have serious consequences - a recent study by three organizations (Bradley Hospital, Butler Hospital, and Brown Medical School) found that poor body image contributes to depression, anxiety and suicidal feelings in adolescents.
Negative self-talk is the main source of poor body image. It is all too easy to obsess about the handful of things you don’t like about your body and to forget about all the other aspects of your appearance, and your person, that you do like.
Tips For Making That Shift
Don’t compare yourself to others - whether it’s the slim girl next door or the airbrushed ideals presented by Hollywood - it’s sure to undermine your body image. Instead concentrate on the positive aspects of your body and your life.
Remind yourself every day that your value reaches far beyond your physical appearance. Reflect on the positive things you have achieved during your day or in recent weeks. Think about the things for which you are grateful, from the love of your family to the warmth of the sun on a nice day.
Focus on the areas you can change in your life, and not on the areas you can’t. By doing this, you will learn to love the skin you’re in!