Body Image Issues are a common problem. A lot of people loathe themselves over not having a good body image but their notion of a good body image is murkier than it’s clearer. The idea of their physical self can generate both positive and negative feelings as they compare themselves with other people in the environment.
A lot of people feel anxious and depressed when they compare themselves with others and fail to consider that every person is different. Body diversity is something marvelous about mankind and should not make anyone feel bad about their body as the maximum level one body can push itself to is different for everyone.
#1. The Family Factor
We all come in the world as children, and when we make the transition into adolescence, we relate our body type with that of our parents and nearly almost all children have a similar body type as that of their parents. But the ones who don’t can often evaluate themselves negatively and feel bad about themselves. They may feel like they don’t fit in their own family and this can disturb them very much. What they need to consider at this time is that they have not considered their entire family only their parents and when they do they will realize there are ones similar to their body image as well. Being thicker or thinner to one’s parents should not break one’s self -esteem. What one should do is find ways to achieve the desired result by exercising daily to cut the fat down or eating more to gain ideal weight.
# 2. The Culture Factor
Every country is different, and culture is a big part of the country’s shape. In a lot of countries tall and thin women are preferred whereas men need to be muscular and big. This has a lot to do with the cultural perspective that is supported and advocated by all forms of media- TV, newspapers and radio commercials. The way the best men and women of a particular country look and appear influences the perspective of an average person of that country. The ethnic group one is born in makes one look for the admired people of that group and then compare oneself to the admired person. The culture factor is destructive to people who blindly adhere to it and focus on only one person resenting they are not like them. What they need to do is distance themselves from their culture and look for examples outside of it which is in fact very hard to do but is the only step to breathe easy when they fill themselves with one person obsession.
# 3. The Gender Factor
All of us want to attract the opposite sex or the same sex depending on our interests. There are pressures we put on ourselves just because of our gender as we cater to an image in our head that is how our gender should be. Most women believe that they need to have a svelte waist to promote the size of their hips and breasts and if they are not thin and, tall men won’t be attracted to them. This is detrimental to their self-esteem and makes them think that they don’t possess a self-worth. In order to be skinny women take extreme steps to cut down their diet and often turn anorexic. What they need to embrace is the phrase that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and not everyone gives importance to the tall skinny type. Most men, on the other hand, grow up believing that they need to be muscular and have to be toned at all times. This idea of being aggressive at all times can put them in direct conflict with their life and at odds with others as they try to meet up with the demand of being hyper-masculine and think of pack more and more energy all the time.
# 4. The Porn Factor
Sex can never go out of fashion, and most people live by this truth. They care about the sexual aspect of their lives very much. It is right up there with money and work. People have always been curious about the sex lives of others, and porn caters to this curiosity. When we watch porn and compare it with our sex life, we run the risk of obsessing over one body part and do our best to fix it. This is very wrong as we try to go against the way we are built and tinker with our body’s natural design. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is one where we exaggerate the severity of the perceived flaw and end up taking measures that make us actually repulsive. The cry for breast enlargement and changing the look of other sex organs is a result of negativity that stems from pervasive thoughts occupying several hours of our day.
# 1. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
Comparison leads to nothing else but troubles. It’s important that you don’t compare yourselves to others and practice self-confidence after asserting that you are okay with your body’s design. Their genetic material is different to that of yours, and that is what is to it. All kinds of people exist so just be your kind.
# 2. Change What You Can Change
A lot of people begin wrong and then realize their mistake only when it is too late. They try to change things that are out of their control and will forever remain out of one’s reach. If there is a little belly fat hanging around sure you can exercise daily to lose but you cannot change the size of your legs and fret about they are not taller than what they are will only make you go insane.
# 3. Don’t Overhaul Your Diet
Too much negative thinking about something can give birth to fear, and unusual fear can affect one’s ability to make rational decisions. Changing your diet completely and in one fell swoop can affect your body all of a sudden. This kind of change always gets more resistance than acceptance. The thing one must do is make little changes which one can take and are not that challenging.
# 4. Stop Addressing The Same Issue Over And Over Again
The cause of caring just about what is wrong with your body and what you don’t have is sure to drive you mad when you are done with all the facts. You need to lose yourself in a cause that is selfless and not concerned with you so that you stop agonizing yourself over it.
# 5. Build A Support Group
You need to surround yourself with people at this time. Being alone here will only compound your worries. Speak to your friends and family and let them speak their mind instead of guessing and assuming what they think of you. A lot of people don’t speak what they really think, but you have to urge them to say it so that once honesty is on the table both of you can confide your misery and joy to each other.
# 6. Don’t Put Too Much Faith In Commercials
The advertisements that you see around yourself contain people who are insanely fit and very attractive. You need to stop them from hijacking your sense of self as they can make you feel worse about you by believing they are what all people should look like.
# 7. Set Realistic Expectations
You are a person, and the main body functions are the same as other people with slight variations and changes. All you can do is achieve the highest possible level of your individual self and not stay under the illusion that your whole body will go through a metamorphosis.
# 8. The Quest For Perfection Is A Stupid Quest
There can be no perfection so please don’t chase it. Each person exists in the same spirit as the other, and the skin they are in is just an extension of their spirit. Perfection would be a standard goal that all men and women should have but there isn’t a perfect standard. All of us are born with different abilities, and when we hone them to their best, we do ourselves great good. It is important that you do not abandon the idea that life can be good altogether under the impression that perfection is everything.
# 9. Change The Way You Dress
The best way to kill sadness is to behave in a light-hearted manner so that you remove the seriousness of the situation. Whenever you care too much about a particular aspect of your body or want to conform to something that others display. Throw yourself a surprise something that you will never wear which will tell you to be just the way you are.
All of us are happy when our mind is in agreement with our body so don’t disrupt this balance by feeling small over one aspect or the other. Instead, keep valuing yourself throughout your life as harmony comes from self-contentment instead of self-loathing.
Let us know how you overcame the anxiety of body image issues. Share your life episodes in the comments below.
10 Opinions
9 Opinions
Share
