Body image problems are one underrated issue that can secretly kill your confidence and make you unable to know how to love yourself. Some of us have been there! Scrolling through social media suddenly becomes a lucrative sport. We use it as a means of comparing ourselves to our favorite models, only for them to become the winner.
Just right there, we begin to hear that little voice of self-doubt creeping in. These things, though they seem little, are capable of affecting your confidence, and relationships, down to your overall satisfaction. Instead of self-pity, you can take hold of yourself, reverse this negative trend, and learn how to love yourself.
The way to effectively resolve body image problems would first of all require you to have an understanding of their hidden indicators. Oftentimes, These symptoms appear, mostly in a very slow manner, and may not be so visible right away.
Source: Pinterest
Let’s cite an example you may be familiar with: most times, you might notice that you avoid looking at yourself in the mirror. Perhaps, you choose to turn away from your reflection so that you don’t picture what your shape looks like. You are always comparing your physique with others all the time, be it your normal friends that you hang out with daily or your favorite celebrities on Instagram that you don’t fail to check on steadily. This can be a reason why your self-esteem is being trampled upon and you do not know how to love yourself.
One thing that is flawless about the internet and specifically social media is how it’s crafted to create a highly edited version of reality, where every girl appears to have the ideal ‘life and figure’ you occasionally dreamt about.
What you don’t realize is that your self-image is affected by the high exposure to unrealistic and filtered images. Thanks to the likes of Instagram and TikTok, it’s a freeway access to come across these sorts of images.
Source: Pinterest
Once we’ve constantly fed our minds with these unattainable standards, the influence it has over us is that it covers our eyes to our sense of beauty and makes us feel self-conscious about the way we look.
When you browse through social media quite often, You have a high tendency of falling into the “comparison trap“. Here you tend to assess or evaluate yourself based on the perfectly created life, and bodies of other people.
Source: Pinterest
Social media influencers often promote seemingly perfect lives to you, but it’s important to remember that these are strictly showbiz. A lot of what goes on there is manipulated and crafted just so they have extra cash in their pockets. The world behind the screen is purely like yours, if not worse. The temptation to keep up with social media trends may cause you to question your own unique beauty. Reminding yourself that what makes up real life is diverse can help you learn how to love yourself more.
A useful technique that can help boost your self-worth is to embrace positive affirmations. I know your mind is already going toward “Here they come again, these motivational speakers” but then, let’s face it, affirmations are a real game changer.
However, The focus is more on us using these affirmations for ourselves. To do that, we’d have to make sure these affirmations stick to our minds. You could place them in spots where you can’t avoid them. For example, Your phone’s lock screen or you could just paste them on your bathroom mirror. The fact that you’d get to keep looking at these words can lay an imprint in your heart that can alter the definition of how you see yourself. For instance, When the thought of “I don’t like my legs” comes, fire back with, “My legs are strong and capable, and they deserve their fan club!” It is one of the sure paths of learning how to love yourself.
The game changer here is celebrating every little victory along the way. Whether you’re flaunting a new outfit acknowledging small wins, it can charge up your self-confidence in no time. The hidden secret you should know is that each positive affirmation you give to yourself is like a tiny victory dance for your self-esteem. So, go ahead and dance like no one’s watching (and if they are, just give them a wink!).
In addition to the systems you’ve placed within, you’d also need to surround yourself with people who think you’re amazing just the way you are (and aren’t shy about telling you so). These are the people who’ll hype you up when you’re feeling down and less motivated with your self-affirmations. They will help you learn how to love yourself. It’ll really be difficult to keep up with the positive affirmations if all of your circle is filled with the opposite.
When you have yourself surrounded by these kinds of people, you shouldn’t be shy about letting them know what you need. If it’s a pep talk, a hug, or just someone to laugh with over the absurd beauty standards out there, your support network is certainly there to help.
Source: Pinterest
Accepting yourself doesn’t have to be a difficult thing to do. One of the starting points should be, wearing clothes that give you a sense of comfort and confidence. You’ll feel better about yourself when you dress to flaunt your best characteristics.
Recognize and appreciate your excellent attributes and strengths. Turn your attention from the shortcomings you perceive to the qualities that set you apart and are remarkable. Set clear boundaries. Positive affirmations as discussed earlier should already take the place of negative self-talk. When you notice yourself being judgmental, change your focus to the positive aspects of who you are.
By implementing these suggestions into your everyday activities, you can cultivate an optimistic view of yourself and learn how to love yourself. Congratulations, you beautiful queen!