Authored By: Angel Yadav
Edited By: Loyna Kaur
Body shaming is becoming very common day by day. It should be treated so that no one suffers from eating disorders. Following five key steps makes us feel positive about ourselves and helps us to spread positivity around us. No one deserves hate for their bodies, everyone should accept the fact of how they look and be fine with it. ‘It is not okay to body shame.’
One can experience body shaming at any point in their life whether it is a girl or a boy. Being body shamed makes us feel bad about ourselves and eventually, we start hating our body for the fact that we are too thin or too fat. Fifty-eight percent of college-going girls feel pressured about their body weight. Ninety -five percent of people in the world are suffering from eating disorders and only ten percent of these people seek professional help. People who are unhappy with their bodies and don’t seek health and nutrition information may develop these disorders. These are just unhealthy relationships with food that result in fasting, constant dieting, binging, and purging.
Now the question which comes into our minds is who are the ones who can develop this disorder?
Most of the time people who want to lose weight or gain weight, and people with obesity develop eating disorders. Weight stigma can cause many health problems attributed to obesity; weight stigma can encourage weight gain. Negative assumptions and cruel comments from friends and family have been reported as one of the most common experiences of weight stigma.
(Body positivity is the key- loving yourself is the greatest revolution.)
You should follow five key steps to brush off body shaming. Firstly, always do something which makes you happy such as spend some time with the people you love the most, sing at the top of your lungs, dance around the room, take yourself out for lunch, and binge-watch your favorite series. Secondly, do something that makes you feel beautiful; get a new haircut, treat yourself with a manicure and wear your best outfit. Thirdly, do something which makes you feel accomplished; learn how to bake, run if you like to, find your hidden talents. Fourthly, do something nice for others; small acts of kindness can make you feel happy, beautiful, and accomplished at the same time. And the last one, do not affect yourself because of other people; not everything people say is true sometimes it is us who make it true.
To prevent these disorders, you need to focus on yourself completely, you are beautiful just the way you are and you don’t need anyone to tell you that you are beautiful or ugly. It is very important to seek professional help if you are getting affected and are having symptoms of eating disorders. Eating disorders are nothing but the outcome of our negative thinking, once we start thinking positively and start spreading body positivity everything and everyone seems beautiful.
There is always a way to tackle body shaming, if someone you know is body shaming on the internet let them know that it is not okay. Speak up by leaving a comment, this doesn’t mean that you have to be mean just be polite and prove your point. If someone you know is suffering from body shaming actively discuss their concerns with them, if they are concerned about their weight, let them know they are fine as they are. Compliment them not for their body but other things, remind them what their body is capable of, help them to see the reality of beauty expectations, and most important be a good role model.
(Everybody should be comfortable in their own skin- photo from an article from the magazine ‘the DISPATCH’.)
(Via @howlinillustrations on Instagram)
(Men body positivity is as important as women body positivity.)