It's not a term that everyone is familiar with. Body dysmorphia is obsessively focusing on one or more perceived flaws of the body. Let me tell you, it's not just occasionally talking about how big your thighs are and getting over it. It's not complaining about how gross your stomach is.
Body dysmorphia is a demon. It sits there inside your head all day, forcing you to focus on that stomach. It tells you how ugly your stomach is, how it should be smaller, how it should be flatter, how it should be more defined, how it's not healthy enough. It forces you to compare yourself to all these models, to everyone on Instagram, even to your own best friends. It makes you believe that you are not worthy enough just because of that ONE body part.
You could be out having the time of your life, yet that monster is still there. It tells you not to eat that piece of pizza because it will go straight to your thighs. "Oh, and speaking of your thighs, they're ugly", says the voice. And 30 minutes later, you're still criticizing them.
These negative thoughts fill your entire mind until you can't even think anymore. It consumes your entire day, and doesn't allow you to enjoy your life. "After all, what's the point of having fun if your arms aren't perfectly tanned and toned?" it says.
The demon constantly has its large, black arms constricting you around the throat until you can't breathe or think straight. If there is one day where you would like to feel confident in your own body, it won't let you under any circumstances. It drags you by the collar everywhere you go. You try to smile, but deep down, you're in misery, constantly focused on that one body part that you just wish was different.
Unfortunately, it is just a part of you that you have to learn to deal with and overcome. For now, you just have to work on bettering yourself step by step, and learning to drown the demon.
