Body Image

Today I thought I'd write a bit about body image. Body image is a very tricky and complex subject so for now I will try to keep it simple.

What is body image? Body image is the way a person sees their own body. It's very sad that nowadays, mainly because of the media, most people have a poor or negative body image. The messages that we get are so strong and abundant that it is almost unavoidable to not compare ourselves with the airbrushed, underweight models and actors. How sad is that? They don't even look that way!! Marilyn Monroe used to be seen as the most beautiful woman and she was curvy and a size 12. If she tried to be famous now, Hollywood would consider her too overweight and modelling agencies would call her "plus-size".

So what can we do about this? The obvious answer would be to not buy any magazines or watch any tv or movies but in my opinion this is unrealistic! A much more useful and realistic approach would be to start appreciating our own bodies and stop comparing ourselves to others. We are all different and we should be embracing these differences! Stop judging yourself and start being nicer to yourself! Your body is just the wrapping to the gift of your personality. Wrapping paper comes in all colours and textures etc.. but ultimately people want the gift not the wrapping! Have you ever noticed that a person's looks can change once you get to know them? Body image is the way we think and therefore to change the way we see ourselves, we need to work on changing our thinking around this.