Body image and confidence/lack of confidence

Like almost every girl, I struggle a great deal with the way I see myself body image wise. I'm starting to see these embracing your body campaigns all over the internet and it's really nice to see people finally coming forward and speaking up us women and men who see these airbrushed impossible bodies everywhere in our world and torture ourselves trying to obtain them.

I wanted to ask each of you to share three things:

1-a story of a time when you felt self conscious about something with your body image
2-the things about your body that you struggle feeling secure in
3-(most importantly) you MUST find 5 positive words to describe your body that you truly feel about yourself. You are beautiful. Find your beauty and own it.


I hope this thread helps you guys as much as it will hopefully help me. And of course, since you guys will be doing it, I am going to share these three things myself:

- My story: I had just gotten off of medications that had caused serious weight gain for me and I was finally feeling confident in myself again. In my view, the weight had gone away and I was feeling normal and comfortable in my skin once again.
I was meeting my boyfriend at the time in a parking lot, and he was already in a car with some people I didn't know, one of them a very pretty girl. I got in the car and everyone in the car was acting very strangely and I felt uncomfortable immediately but didn't know why. later, I found out that apparently as I was walking up to the car, that girl I didn't know said to everyone in the car, "who's that girl walking towards us? she's fat."
That was a few years ago now, and I still don't feel that I've recovered fully from what she said. I wish I was never told about it.


- The things about my body I struggle feeling secure with are: my weight, cellulite, acne, unwanted hair, back rolls, large upper arms, and an almost double chin that runs in my family

- 5 beautiful things about myself: funny enough, I'm starting to see my curviness as quite beautiful, I hear my smile is stunning, my red hair, my teeth, my eyes, my backside ;), and I really love the tattoos I have. Not originally part of my body, but they are a part of me.


Okay, now it's your turn

[lifer76]

I saw you in your video, you are beautiful. I understand we as human beings conditioned by our environment do want to fit in the model of what we see as the perfect body; however in my journey of discovery I have also learned that if I just quiet down certain aspects of my ego such as how I should look based on profit driven media and just be healthy and enjoy this experience called life then stress goes down significantly, I mean a lot. Again you are very beautiful and from reading some of the content in your website you are beautiful inside and outside, take care

[Faith33]

Hi sweetbee,
I'll have to agree with lifer76 here.

You are just as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside.
An ignorant comment made years ago shouldn't still be affecting your life today, however I empathize with you. Ignorant comments from various people have echoed in my head for decades until I decided to turn the volume off to them.
Being comfortable in your own skin will eventually lead to happier day to day living. If you think about ( and the older you get, the more you think about it)
how short our life time on this earth really is, you'd rather spend it smelling the roses and picking more daisies, instead of wondering if your arms are jiggling when you wave or if your legs aren't looking very slim in your new pair of jeans.
Enjoy your life sweetbeefaerie....you are beautiful.

[SpiritCarrier]

1-a story of a time when you felt self conscious about something with your body image
2-the things about your body that you struggle feeling secure in
3-(most importantly) you MUST find 5 positive words to describe your body that you truly feel about yourself. You are beautiful. Find your beauty and own it.

This is hard for me to do but I think it is a good exercise so I will try.

1. The first time I was naked in front of my Twin Flame. I knew my body was not what he was expecting. I have a lot of scars and stuff like that. He was disappointed and I saw it clearly in his face. He still loves me, he is not shallow, but it hurts a little bit each time I am without clothes in front of him. I avoid the situation.

2. My arms and legs. They are flabby and I hate it. My teeth need some work.

3. I have beautiful eyes, I love my red hair, I like my feet. My toes are cute, I have a curvacious figure, and finally I have very soft skin.

I had trouble finding 5 things. I think it is because we each take a lot for granted about ourselves. Thank you for this exercise it really did help me take a good look at myself.

Peace and Light,
SC

You guys have both made my morning. Thank you very much <3 means a lot to me.

Originally Posted by SpiritCarrier

This is hard for me to do but I think it is a good exercise so I will try.

1. The first time I was naked in front of my Twin Flame. I knew my body was not what he was expecting. I have a lot of scars and stuff like that. He was disappointed and I saw it clearly in his face. He still loves me, he is not shallow, but it hurts a little bit each time I am without clothes in front of him. I avoid the situation.

2. My arms and legs. They are flabby and I hate it. My teeth need some work.

3. I have beautiful eyes, I love my red hair, I like my feet. My toes are cute, I have a curvacious figure, and finally I have very soft skin.

I had trouble finding 5 things. I think it is because we each take a lot for granted about ourselves. Thank you for this exercise it really did help me take a good look at myself.

Peace and Light,
SC

Thank YOU for your reply. Even these women in the media that are airbrushed into this idea of "perfection" are coming forward and sharing pictures of their "imperfections" because they are not imperfections. they are a part of them and they give them personality and are part of their story. They're sharing pictures of cellulite, flabby arms and legs, stretch marks, acne, scars, stomach rolls and more. Even that person that you look at and you're like "wow they are so beautiful, they must not have a care in the world! how lucky!"--that person has something they are self conscious about too! Everyone has something.

It's time that we start teaching our little girls and little boys that they are perfect the way they are and that their little unique things their skin does or their bodies do are perfection and a part of them and their story.

You are beautiful. I've been repeating this mantra to myself every time I remember to: "My body is my home. It's the only one I have, and it is the perfect home for me. I love every inch of myself."

Sweetbee, beautiful soul, thank you for posting this! I think it's so important that we talk about self-love and body acceptance. I recently saw before and after photos of Lady Gaga in an ad campaign and could not believe how different they looked. The amount of "photoshopping" that goes on is ridiculous. Anywho, to answer your questions:

1) I used to always feel self-conscious at the beach or pool because I have fair skin and everyone around me was tan. In western cultures, tan is beautiful so I've always stuck out as "the white girl." I live in the East now where white skin is considered beautiful. Strange how that works.

2) As I get older I find myself not worried as much about body issues, but I still struggle every now and then with my fair skin, legs, which aren't as toned as they used to be, and fine hair.

3) I love my big, brown eyes, my height and build, the fact that I can get away with pretty much any hair color, and my scars because they remind me that I'm a survivor.

1: I kept going to the Dr with unexplained weight gain, excess body and facial hair and an a absence of my monthly cycle. Over 4 year 4 different doctors told me ' eat less, lose weight and you'll get better. I felt ignored and worthless coz they wouldn't help. Finally got diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome , a start but still no help.

2: I hate that I get facial hair, its a battle every day. I am overweight and have hunched shoulders due to bad posture from breathing difficulties as a child.

3: I have pretty blue\green eyes, my curves match my size, I am short which I think is cute, I never feel I have to wear make up and my smile seems to be infectious.

I enjoyed this, thanks!

i'm part cherokee and have a long, straight nose. it wasn't until junior high that i became self conscious of it. your nose does grow fastest. but now, i like my nose. and against an adult face, it doesn't look so big. lol

i've always been blessed with a slim curvy body. until children........gained a few pounds, body parts changed position... then through the years but even then i liked myself.

i've never 'hated' my body image. in my late 60's now and although my weight could be less, my skin could be firmer and that one daggone hair that insists on jutting out of my chin could disappear, i'm pretty content.

i guess because i have a healthy dose of self esteem. i like me and if you don't, that's YOUR problem, not mine. (age will do that-you just don't care)

but i do like my long red hair with white streaks. i have pretty (so i've been told) eyes. hmmm.....that's all i can really boast about.

i had an experience once when my ex and i went to new orleans on vacation. i was 8 months pregnant. i walked into a shop and the clerk (a very young girl) had the gall to call me fat. saying she'd hate to get pregnant.

being a red haired, scorpio cherokee woman, i snapped that i could always lose the weight but she would ALWAYS be ugly. (on the inside)

[12meadows]

sweetbeefaerie, I love this:
quote:
"My body is my home. It's the only one I have, and it is the perfect home for me. I love every inch of myself."

you made me smile :)