Body Trouble
9 December 2024
My period has just returned, my body is changing and I feel like my self-image has shifted, and I don’t feel comfortable wearing things I once would have.
Lately I’ve really been mulling over how much focus I used to pour into how my body looked. How much it would influence my daily mood based on how I saw myself in the mirror that morning. I know it’s shallow, and I think reflects an element of immaturity (not to mention insecurity).
In the last few months I’ve been working on this part of myself, and have some mantras which I use to re-centre myself whenever I’m having a wobble:
The people who matter, love you for who you are and not how you look.
You’re a better person to be around when you’re not worrying about how you look.
It's ok for your body to take up more space than it did before. Own your body, and own that space.
When you think of the people you love the most in your life, does their body shape have any influence on that? No.
I know I’m a better friend, wife and mother when I’m listening to my body, nourishing it with what it needs, not depriving it because of some twisted perception that it needs to be smaller/firmer/smoother.
My body will change as I grow older and that’s ok. I’m making a conscious effort to stop living by standards of the past, embrace the change and do what i need to do to feel comfortable with where I’m at now.
I’m now buying new clothes instead of wasting my precious time and energy trying to fit back into that box I once carved for myself. The people that matter to me don’t care, and I deserve to treat myself better.
Body image is something most of us struggle with at some point in our lives. Of course the media is a huge influence, both good and bad. A few years back I stopped following people whose posts left a bad taste in my mouth and started paying more attention to those who I identified with who talk openly about their struggles and endeavour to promote a positive and realistic body image.
There is so much more I could say on this topic: eating disorders and disordered eating, postpartum body changes, societal pressures and generational legacies. Maybe another time…
If you’re on your own journey of self-love and acceptance, I hope you find some comfort and solidarity in these words. We’re all in this together.
