Body Image: Beauty in your Skin

When you look at your body, what do you think, how do you feel and how do you react because of your body? The answer you give to yourself is what we call Body Image. We all have unique and different ways we visualize our bodies. It is so because we are simply different people, from different backgrounds, societies, families, etc. which will contribute to what we think is the most ideal body type. Sometimes, they may see themselves realistically, however, some may see themselves in a different way to how others see them. Today we would be talking briefly about why you need to find beauty in your body, and your skin and how it can positively affect your mental health.

Essentially, people may likely get a sense of inadequacies and other negative emotions if they believe their body/skin does not match the ideal body that they have in their mind. Sometimes, preoccupations with this thought can lead to bigger problems like body dysmorphic disorder. I would explain that; body dysmorphic disorder can be an excessive preoccupation with one or more perceived defects or flaws in physical appearance that are not observable or seem slight to others, in fact at some point in the course of the disorder, the individual has performed repetitive behaviours, examples can be checking the mirror often, comparing one's appearance with that of others, in response to the appearance concerns. The fact is that those who eventually go for plastic surgery have this psychological problem.

Now I need you to understand that while it is your body, and I am talking about beauty in your skin or body, the decision to do whatever makes you happy with yourself eventually lies with you. I am only letting you know that there could be a treatable illness which could be the reason for your persistent unhappiness with your body and as such, can seek help from a professional. Also, you must note that having a positive body image isn't just about the absence of flaws in your body image, it just basically means practising acceptance, self-care and love for your body. In fact, it has been shown through research that those who have a positive body image are more physically active, reduces bad eating habits, smoke less and also consumption of alcohol is low too. This is so because accepting and appreciating your skin and body would lead you to important healthy physical lifestyle changes.

You may hear some people say they do not feel good about a part of their body, or skin, and this can be from childhood when the parent or friends of the family speak to the child about their parts of their body in a negative light. This can lead to the individual growing up with punctured self-esteem, frequent low mood and dissatisfaction with life. A lot of time, communication can be poor especially in social gatherings as this has subconsciously affected their self-confidence. Most times they are reactive at every slight comment about them as this is only how they can respond because of the bottled up emotions right from childhood. The media plays a huge role in pushing the ideal body image, especially for young people who are on social media platforms. Most times, they are usually unrealistic and for those who are not resilient to those messages.

You may even find out that those who may have gotten the best version of their body may feel the need to constantly show off that body to everyone regardless of whether they are disregarding the moral value of the society. These just go to show that our mental health is affected by how well we accept our body and skin this is because issues like anxiety disorders, eating disorders, depression and the likes can be well addressed by developing a positive body image. A positive body image will hence increase your self-esteem, resilience (especially to negative messages on display in the media which are the usually unrealistic portrayal of the ideal body), mood, confidence, and even life satisfaction, which would naturally reduce or eliminate depression and anxiety.

Generally speaking, our treatment of our bodies will be more favourable if our ideal body image is more realistic. Many people also have a realistic ideal body image, while some have an unrealistic ideal body image in which no amount of time spent in the gym, dieting, or plastic surgery will help them achieve. And you see those people getting so obsessed about a lot of corrective surgeries and time in the gym and they still seem insatiable. You may want to identify and correct the negative thoughts in that situation to help you. Also, if you can avoid comparing yourself to others it would go a long way in building a positive image. Compare yourself with yourself, thereby you would keep recording progress easily. You may also want to know why you are so critical about your body/skin, is it because you are trying to control your appearance as a way to regain a sense of control in other areas of your life. Focus on the positive aspects of yourself, keep gratitude journals, challenge the media portrayal of the ideal body image, be positive and surround yourself with positive people, and most importantly, learn to appreciate and accept yourself.

Thank you for the read. Till the next time....

Speak to an expert!!!

Speak to a psychologist!!!