10 New Ways To Think About Your Body
Filed Under: Body Acceptance
26 May 2023 | Written by Xenia Ayiotis
In the US and Canada, the end of May signals the start of the summer season. This time of year can bring up a lot of challenging emotions around body image. Our culture’s preoccupation with body size triggers feeling of inadequacy and unworthiness amongst so many of us because we aren’t meeting society’s impossible standards.
Research shows that 55% – 80% of women and 35% of men don’t like how they look. Our body image can have a deep effect on many aspects of our lives. It can impact our relationships, our mental and emotional well-being & our day to day life. The one thing I hear the most in my coaching sessions, is clients talking about how they don’t want to go out because they’re ashamed of weight gain and they fear of judgement from others.
I remember the panic before summer and feeling pressure to lose weight. After every diet I went on, I would gain the weight back. I was constantly preoccupied about what people would think of me. I believed they thought I lacked control and that I just couldn’t stick to anything. In my mind they were thinking – “she let herself go”….again.
How do we navigate body image challenges in a culture that perpetuates the judgement of people on the basis of body size?
How do we even begin to accept ourselves in a society that is so focused on appearance?
Learning to accept our bodies is not linear. It’s a messy process that requires ongoing awareness. Perhaps somewhere between acceptance and rejection lies a middle way of respecting and befriending our bodies so that we can foster a connection to our body where we can respect and care for it as it is, despite imperfections and limitations. If we want to feel free and at peace with ourselves, we need to learn how to accept and respect our bodies regardless of the body’s appearance.
“Your Body Is An Instrument NOT An Ornament”
– Lexie & Lindsay Kite –
If you are feeling mixed emotions about your body, here are ten new ways to think about your body:
- Hating myself and holding myself to unrealistic body standards doesn’t help my body.
- Trying to become smaller is not my life’s purpose.
- I am learning to treat my body with kindness.
- I appreciate what my body DOES for me.
- I may not love how my body looks, it still deserves my care and respect.
- I am learning how to stop fighting my body and to work WITH my body.
- The most important & interesting thing about me, is NOT how I look.
- I have qualities that have nothing to do with my appearance.
- I am learning to disengage from society’s messages about what makes my body worthy.
- I am learning how not to let my body size dictate how I feel about myself.
This summer, do you hide, blame and shame yourself?
Do you deny yourself the joy of warmth, water and the outdoors?
Do you deprive yourself of pleasurable food?
Or… do you go do the things you love and live a meaningful life in your “here and now” body?
Wishing you well,
Xen
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