In the body positivity movement, self-acceptance has been bypassed in our quest for self-love.
A lot of women and men live their life hating their own bodies and in fear of being fat. The body positivity campaigns have taken on the internet with a clear message – positive body image is fundamental for our physical and emotional wellbeing.
We spend a lot of our time looking at the images of ‘perfect bodies’, comparing our bodies to them and thinking that will never be us. There are many obstacles we’ve alone created to believe that our body is not good enough and sometimes, it is not easy to transform these beliefs about our bodies overnight.
A clinical psychologist, Alexa Conason believes there are two options:
1) feel awesome about our body all the time and;
2) remain stuck in oppressive diet-culture.
But sometimes we forget the most obvious one – acceptance. Acceptance is at the core of freeing ourselves from the imprisonment of self-hatred; it is a process of opening our eyes to our current reality. ‘Acceptance meets you where you are’ and that means that we can accept our body and still want to change it – it means that acceptance only speaks to the present moment, not about the future.
A lot of people believe that body positivity is about feeling positive about your body all the time, but it is not – it is about acceptance.
For full article – https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/eating-mindfully/201705/is-body-positivity-leading-us-astray?get=params
If you are experiencing difficulties with your mental health, please seek advice from a medical professional or the Samaritans helpline at 116 123.
