Body Positivity: It Starts With You

Most of us have grown up comparing our bodies with others. This typically starts when puberty hits since some people surge forward to adulthood while others are left behind. Unfortunately, we see a lot of young children comparing themselves to their peers.

It’s natural to experience jealousy every once in a while, but many have taken it to an unhealthy level. It seems like we’re more afraid of becoming fat than we are of a nuclear war or perhaps even cancer. It’s apparent that we’re experiencing a dearth of self-love.

But the journey starts with you.

It starts in your actions and it starts when you reframe your way of thinking. People might tell you time and time again that you’re beautiful but you may not choose to hear it. We must know that we’re more than what that number on the scale tells us. We’re more than the size of our jeans. We’re more than the space between ourselves and those to which we compare ourselves with.

The journey starts with you but only if you’re willing to act.

Here are some of the best ways to change your habits and start embracing your body, the way it is:

• Avoid talking negatively about yourself, even if it’s for comedic purposes. All comedy is rooted in truth and negative self-talk can quickly become the starting point of a downward spiral.
• Ditch social media sites that are harmful. Thinspiration sites are one of the most toxic forms of media out there. These sites perpetuate an unrealistic, unhealthy ideal that will only hurt you in the end. Unfollow these sites and other media channels that dredge up similar feelings. There’s no harm in blocking, unfollowing, or unsubscribing people and pages that hurt you. After all, you have the control over your social media sites.
• Embrace social media sites and friends that are helpful. Just like there are bad sides to every coin, there are also good ones. Social media often gets villainised, but these sites can also be a great way to spread positivity.
• Acquaint yourself with empowering hashtags to find like-minded people that want to improve their lives in healthy ways.

Once you start flooding your life with positivity, it’s a wave that cannot be stopped.

Embracing body positivity won’t happen overnight. But following these tips and tools can help you get started in a way that’s healthy.

Love your body, even when it seems impossible.

Your health will thank you.

Eating Disorder Care is a website that aims to offer hope, information, and resources to individual eating disorder sufferers.

Featured image credit: Unsplash