The body positive movement has blown up on social media, with tons of influencers preaching self-love and body confidence. I love this message and I think it can be really beneficial for a lot of young girls and boys alike to see on the internet. However, being positive about your own body can be a difficult thing to do. It's not as easy as these influencers sometimes make it out to be.
I have been struggling with my body image since I was a kid. I remember swinging on the swings and wondering if the motion of pumping my legs would help me get rid of my stomach fat. I don't remember my exact age, but I do know that I was way too young to be worrying about what my body looked like.
It only got worse as I got older. Being a dancer, poor body image became ingrained in me. That negative train of thought became my brain's default. No matter what people told me, no matter how beautiful they said I was, I never believed them.
Today, I am so happy to see people of diverse body shapes telling their stories and encouraging body positivity. It's a great message to have out there, but I think we need to realize how hard it can be for someone with body image issues to love their body.
Most people don't just wake up after years of negative self-talk and insecurity and decide that today is the day they are going to love their body. It takes much more than that initial decision.
I want to love my body. I want to be healthy and I want to take care of myself because I love my body, not because I want so badly for it to look different. I want to have a better relationship with food. I want to be confident in how I look. But just because I want all those things, doesn't mean I can just do it.
It's so hard to change how your brain is wired. It takes weeks, months, sometimes years to finally get to a place where you are fully happy with your body. It takes a lot of mental work. And it's not an easy journey. You will have days where you can't look at yourself in the mirror. Sometimes you just have to accept that and try again the next day.
It's not just seeing a post online that says "You're beautiful just the way you are" and believing it. You have to convince yourself to believe it until you actually do.
Everyone who experiences body image issues can take inspiration from posts and what influencers have to say about self-love and body positivity, but we all need to remember that truly loving yourself takes so much more than that.
I'm not there yet and I know I have a long way to go before I can eat a healthy meal and not think about how many calories I'm eating and how much I'll have to exercise to get rid of it. I have a long way to go before I can look at my body in the mirror and truly love what I see. But I know I will get there. And so will you.
