“Body shaming is the act or practice of humiliating a person based on their body type by making critical and/or mocking statements about their body shape and size.” — Oxford English Dictionary.
But what about the other side of body shaming? The side where YOU are the person humiliating and being critical of your own body shape and size?
According to statistics shown by Park Nicollet Melrose Center, 80% of women in the U.S. are not satisfied with their body image; leaving most women with low self-esteem, but a high need to fit into the “beauty-body-norm.”
In the age of social media, our eyes are captivated by insta-models showing off their bikini-ready bods, the Kardashians’ constant advertisements of “waist-trainers” and diet supplements; the pressures are totally on to be that “body-norm.”
I can say honestly that I am part of the 80% of women unsatisfied with their body image. I have always felt that I could be thinner or prettier or have better skin. I beat myself up daily about what I wish I could change and I’m trying to change the way I think and feel about myself with positive thinking; however loving yourself can sometimes feel like the full time job you want to run away from, but can’t because of – priorities.
No, we can’t run away from who we are; so might as well run to ourselves with a bit of self-appreciation, in hopes that it will get easier to think highly of ourselves the more we practice it.
Here are 5 tips that I have been trying and hopefully it can help you on your journey:
1. Speak highly of yourself. If you don’t see something amazing and great in the mirror, no-one else will.
2. Write a positive affirmation on your mirror or somewhere you can see it each day; read it out loud and in that moment, BELIEVE. One of my favorite affirmations is, “I am deserving of happiness and love.”
3. Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you be the opinion of yourself. Who cares if someone says you have big eyes, all the better to see you with!
4. Surround yourself with positive people. If you have a great circle, you’ll have a great support-system.
5. Self-love. Love yourself before anyone else, because guess what? You matter the most, and without self-love no other love can exist.
I hope this can help someone understand the importance of being good to yourself, because after all, our bodies work hard enough to keep us alive and strong, it deserves to be loved. Our bodies deserve to be cherished. 💕
Start a self-love #girlgang by clicking here!
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