VO5 Summer of Love Series: Body Image

Former Member

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Hello! 

As you may have seen from last week, The Mix has partnered with VO5 to create a series of discussion threads over the next few months. This weeks theme is Body Image - and we would absolutely love to hear your thoughts!

We all deserve self love and to feel comfortable in our bodies; however with so many holiday snaps being shared on social media, it can be quite easy to compare ourselves and wonder “why don’t I look that way?”.  But it is so important to recognise that we are all unique and we are all perfect just the way we are. 

With this in mind, I would love to hear your tips for feeling confident in who you are and loving your body image?

To start this discussion I would like to share this article with some really useful tips in protecting ourselves from pressures to look a certain way, and the importance of body kindness. It would be great to hear what you think

Jellyelephant

Great article!

body image is so hard especially with so many pressures on young people (and adults!) to look a certain way. I used to be so anxious about my appearance and I’d spend hours before college crying and trying on outfit after outfit, doing my makeup over and over... a lot of times I would get so stressed I wouldn’t leave my house. Over time I have used a technique where I put myself in someone else’s shoes. So I think “do I laugh at others appearance? Do I care what anyone else looks like? Do I like people any less because of what they look like?” And the answer is no. Most people are too preoccupied with themselves and their own self doubts to worry about others. I know that I like people and make friends based on their personality rather than appearance - so I try and remember that other people probably are the same and that helps me feel better about going out in public. 

Another thing i do I do is make sure I don’t follow any negative instagram accounts or any that will make me feel bad. I follow a lot of body positive instagrammers (such as @bodyposipanda) and I have lately been following accounts that promote intuitive eating which is a really interesting approach. My fave is @heytiffanyroe on insta she is so positive and all about self love/self care and intuitive eating. She is an American therapist and I love her account it always makes me feel better about myself! 

X

Former Member

I've definitely made a lot of positive steps recently to boost my body confidence. I've deactivated Instagram for a start, since I was really struggling to be authentic with people and was feeling like I had to cultivate a certain image for social media that was not healthy at all! I've since started following a ton of body positive activists, mostly on Twitter because there's a lot more opportunity for discussion. 

I'm especially proud that I've started dressing the way I want without feeling like I have to look a certain way in clothes. I'm no longer dressing for the body I wish I had. 

Former Member

Learning to appreciate your body is definitely not something that comes overnight for most people and it has certainly been a journey for me!

I agree that unfollowing instagram accounts that make me feel less-than is something which has really helped me (as well as reducing my time scrolling generally!) I also totally agree that putting yourself in others shoes and dressing to feel confident in your skin are great tips!

Something else which has helped me is trying to think of the purpose of each element of my body which I don't like an appreciate it for what it does. For example, mentally thanking my stomach for digesting my food, keeping me alive. Although this sounds a little bit strange and may not work for everyone, it has really helped me to appreciate that the purpose of my body is to keep me alive, not just to look good! 

Former Member

Hi @Jellyelephant, thank you so much for sharing! Those sound like some absolutely fantastic tips. I can completely agree with the usefulness of cleaning through your instagram feed to make sure the only content you will be seeing is positive. It is so important to look at a post and just stop and think "does this make me feel good?" - and if no, unfollow! I also especially loved your idea of putting yourself into other people's shoes. I think that is a really great way to look at things and I would like to try this out myself too. Thank you so much!

@Past User it is interesting that instagram came up for you too - I think that's a really great discussion point in itself! I am so pleased to hear you feel comfortable in dressing how you want to dress. That's a great achievement that you can feel proud of. Who you really are is always the best way to be Thank you for sharing!

@alice123 Thank you so much for sharing! I think your idea about thinking of the purpose about each element is fantastic!! I think that could help a lot of people, I really appreciate you sharing that I definitely agree it is so important to recognise the strength and purpose of our bodies - and I am so pleased that this has helped you! Fantastic, thank you

This has been a really great discussion so far guys, thank you all!