Body Image and Weight.

  

I would guess that the majority of the people reading this have an opinion on their weight. The way their body looks would mean a lot to them. I hope I'm wrong, but from experience I find that a person's weight and body is ridiculously over talked about. Nearly everyone has an opinion on their body shape and unfortunately most of the time this is a negative one.

I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again, the media. Its totally messed up. I'm entirely convinced that 100%, yes 100% of this whole opinion that the skinny look is best is derived from this corrupt communication network. If teenage girls(they're the main people affected by poor body image) didn't constantly see skinny models everywhere they wouldn't possess the burning desire to achieve this body type which looks so glamorous and a bearer of happiness. Men too have super fit body builder, muscly body types to idolise and the whole thing is just super pressurising, depressing and dangerous.

“To all the girls that think you’re fat because you’re not a size zero, you’re the beautiful one, its society who’s ugly.” -Marilyn Monroe.

People can go to desperate measures to lose weight, and often they don't do it the 'correct way'. The way that takes a while to see results and doesn't alter your diet immediately so you can get skinny in a week. Out of desperation to reach this impossible goal people starve themselves and make themselves desperately weak, for what? That's an easy question for me to ask when I'm not currently in the mindset that these people are in. For some reason the craving to become very thin or to just change your body to look "perfect" is so strong and overpowering that people just can't let it go.  In some cases eating disorders develop.

If you told a caveman about eating disorders I highly doubt he'd ever be able to comprehend the concept. They would have seen food as its meant to be seen, as a means of surviving. At what point did it change in our eyes? Now people have huge emotional attachments to a thing which is just supposed to nourish the body. This Mr. Flintstone type character wouldn't be able to understand why someone wouldn't eat when they're hungry and had food available, and all in the name of image? He'd laugh in your face.

That is an ignorant response though. I think that the way some people treat eating disorders is terrible. "Why don't they just go eat a cheese burger?", "But they're skinny, why can't they see that?" Its not as simple as shoving cakes down their mouths. Its a psychological condition that should stir pity in the soul, not anger in the mind. Patience can be lost when there is a lack of understanding and I know that well, but these people don't want to live the way they are, its like they're puppets to the eating disorder and can't escape its clutches. People need to take a little more care when dealing with anorexics/ bulimics because they're not as fortunate to have your attitude towards food and your own body.

"Don't be defined by your size"

I believe that a lot of perfectionists and people who were heavy as children can be particularly susceptible to eating disorders. Another problem is that every woman's apparent desire to be super thin is pretty out in the open and accepted. On tumblr and other sites like it, you often see picture quotes reading "I need to get skinny" and 'thinspiration' is commonplace. The fact that most people don't react when a girl says she feels fat or is trying to lose weight is more fuel to the fire. Human Beings also have an aid to their weight worries, the weighing scales. Woohoo! They have numbers to obsess over. And then there's calories. It almost turns into a sickeningly pleasing activity for people to count calories and weighing themselves everyday, however it only leads to depression because you're almost always disappointed standing on the scales and when you find out there's like 400 cals in a brownie.

I believe in honesty. So although this is pretty hard for me to do I will admit that I suffered from a very mild eating disorder/ weight obsession a year ago. Very few people know because I feel embarrassed that I ever could have been so 'weak'. I don't even feel qualified to say I suffered from one because I didn't lose enough weight to be anorexic or whatever but in my mind it was very strong. I believe it was because I went through a perfectionist period and that I've always been an over thinker (think and then think some more;)). I was also overweight as a child and I was always told this, even though I was very young. I never thought I could reach a weight that other kids in my class had. Its a sad thought for a child to have. Anyway, It was a tough year for me. I constantly counted calories and wanted to lose more weight. It was my biggest insecurity and I know how hard it  feels to try and move on. I should have but I didn't receive professional help. However, it is the greatest achievement I have ever made to say that I dragged myself over the finish line of recovery. I can now say with 100% conviction that I have not one ounce of an eating disorder/ body issues in me. The reason I'm telling you this isn't to blow my trumpet, but to maybe try and help others suffering from the same thing.

It took a lot of repercussions and stumbling backwards before I made it out the other end but what helped me was letting go of the perfectionist values I possessed. I grew emotionally  and became happier and more confident in other areas and this lead me to move forward with the problem, I genuinely don't know what else worked for me. It was simply me working hard at being happy. Another reason I don't like people knowing is because I don't want them to judge me on that, it bears no resemblance to who I am today. I have grown so much since then and have absolutely no issue with my weight (I'm being honest). Maybe you think I was being too personal telling anyone who reads this that information but I'm not ashamed of who I am, my past included. You shouldn't feel ashamed or weak because you're struggling or have struggled. I want people to know that from first hand experience I can tell you that eating disorders are not driven by attention-seeking  or just generally being annoying. Its society, perfectionism, remarks and various other truly complicated triggers.

To address people who are just insecure about their body, whether it be to eating disorder level or 'stereotypical  teenage girl level' all I can say is to try and really follow all the quotes that you agree with in theory, like the Marilyn Monroe one above, but can't act on. Once again I ask you to incorporate logic into the situation because if you're insecure about your figure, whatever you see in the mirror is more than likely irrational. Also build up a high self esteem and positive thinking attitude in other areas and your body issues should heal. Its hard, but its so possible.

This is such an important issue to me that no matter how much I say I'll feel like I'm leaving something out.
Remember, no one thinks about your weight a fraction of how much you do. Happiness is so much more important than the gap between your thighs or a flat stomach, which if you'll bear in mind you only want because of what you've been told, what society tells you. Don't be society's generic puppet. You're so much more than that.

       How do you feel about your weight?

                                                                        Love,
                                                                             Rachel!=)