Body shaming refers to humiliating, criticizing, or even pouring out negative things or words about a person’s physical appearance. It can be about the person’s height, size, age, or even dress code. Body shaming can make you feel unattractive, leading to mental health problems such as depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders, anxiety, or even body dysmorphic disorder.
Body shaming is typically a form of bullying that all genders experience. It happens online and offline; hearing these negative compliments can quickly lower your self-esteem.
Nobody should be ashamed of their appearance since no one chooses to be how they look. Instead, one should embrace, accept and love themselves the way they are. Remember that you can’t please everyone in society, so feel good about yourself. Body shaming has become so common nowadays, but there are some tips to deal with it.
To easily deal with body shaming, you must recognize if it’s happening to you. This will make it easy for you to avoid, recognize, and help you deal with it.
Dealing with Body Shaming
Below are tips on how to overcome or rather deal with body shaming:
Accept Yourself
Most people who experience body shaming live in denial. So, the first thing to do is to accept yourself and stop hiding from society. Don’t worry about what people say about your appearance. Love yourself, and don’t listen to their critics. It’s good to fight hate with love. Never limit yourself or what you can do because of body shaming. Take little steps in your uncomfortable situations and observe how you feel to help you overcome the discomfort.
After some time, you will overcome denial and stop hiding. If some situations make you feel less confident, take a little step, go outside with less coverage and see what happens. Pay attention to what you feel.
Remember, life is too short to live in denial. You can also find activities to help you feel good and become more confident with your body. Activities such as walking or dancing will cost you nothing and will eventually make you feel comfortable.
Embrace Positivity to Defeat Body Shaming
Being positive is the initial step to dealing with body shaming. Body positivity is about understanding yourself and embracing your appearance to care for your mental health. Be grateful for what you have, and be patient with what you are missing. No matter how heavy or light you are, your body shape, or your skin, it’s vital to love yourself.
No one is perfect, so try to accept and appreciate yourself despite your shortcomings. Once you embrace body positivity and stop worrying about what people say about you, that’s the moment you will overcome body shaming.
Take Responsibility and Be Accountable
Accept your body as it is right now. Believing that your body is not fit enough feels like a reliever and makes it easy to find ways to work on what you believe. However, be proud of your body no matter what. This will help you find balance since some people will compliment you with no bad intentions, but their comments will come out as mean.
For instance, gaining weight is the most sensitive topic. One can body shame you by calling you fat. Some will call you fat genuinely. Since we all know the health risk factors associated with being overweight, you should consider taking responsibility and accountability.
Take precautions; after all, it’s your health being addressed. Act for your body and health; with time, you will look excellent and appealing and feel good about yourself. Body neutrality!
Be Careful on Social Media Platforms
As mentioned earlier, body shaming can be experienced online. If you experience cyberbullying from your friends, feel free to cut off such toxic friends. You can as well choose not to follow them. After all, it’s your social media account, and you have control over it.
Surround yourself with people who encourage you on body acceptance and self-love. Look for feeds containing positive body messages and follow influencers encouraging body positivity. Some pages can promote your health if you aim to improve yourself physically. Try to follow those pages and if your objective is to be positive, look for pages that encourage self-acceptance.
Being Kind to Yourself Can Help Overcome Body Shaming
You will encounter many bullies, but the worst bully comes from yourself. It’s, therefore, essential to love and be kind to yourself. Treat yourself with kindness, self-love, and respect. Love and accept your body by engaging in positive self-talk.
Your inner bully is the worst nightmare since it can bring you down ultimately. Look at yourself in the mirror and love what you see. See good qualities in yourself and stop aiming for perfection. Instead, aim to be a better person by taking care of yourself.
Be Grateful to Your Body
Love your body and be grateful for it. This is an excellent way to deal with body shaming. Be thankful for what you have right now instead of complaining about what is missing. Thank God for good health and wish for good health always. Everyone has their flaws; it’s only that others are just too smart to show them or too secretive that they conceal them.
Don’t trust every photo you see on social media. Some are photoshopped, filtered, or edited and can be deceiving. Don’t look down at yourself but be grateful for who you are, what you have, and the chance to be alive.
Dealing with Body Shaming – Conclusion
Body shaming has always existed in society and affects one’s mental and emotional state. Love, accept and be positive about your body and also work to improve your appearance. For instance, if it’s about weight changes that you are being bullied for, look for practices that will help you look and feel good about yourself.
We all need to stop body shaming as it can cause trauma and low self-esteem to the victims.
Sometimes it’s hard to overcome body shaming. The good thing is that you can find help from a professional to ensure you are not mentally weighed down.
