It starts when a person doesn’t feel good about themselves so they want to make others feel the same way so they start saying mean nasty things to others. If you don’t love and accept yourself then body-shaming is easy and it is easy to say nasty mean things to others too.
Body shaming is known as the action or practice of expressing humiliation about another individual’s body shape or size; a form of bullying that can result in severe emotional trauma, especially at a young age.
Body shaming is done by parents, siblings, friends, enemies, and schoolmates and is often portrayed in the media. “Why is she wearing that? It is not flattering at all.” Or “I am so ugly compared to her I will never find a date” are common thoughts and phrases used that are examples of body shaming. Negatively commenting about the size or shape of anyone’s body can be extremely damaging to them potentially leading to low-self esteem, anger, self-harm, and even mental health disorders, specifically body dysmorphia disorder.
Body shaming manifests in many ways: •Criticizing your own appearance, through a judgment or comparison to another person. •Criticizing another’s appearance in front of them •Criticizing another’s appearance without their knowledge.
No matter how this manifests, it often leads to comparison and shame and perpetuates the idea that people should be judged mainly for their physical features.
How body shaming effect the mental health
The stigma surrounding weight and body type can have long-term psychological and physical health consequences. Recent studies have shown that people with disproportionate bodies are often stigmatized.
When someone is body shamed, it can lead to feelings of avoidance and opting to isolate oneself due to the humiliation felt. There is also a note of an increase in feelings of low self-esteem, self-image, and self-worth. Worse, it can make a person feel lonely and sorry for oneself – which can lead to depression. If body shaming is too frequent or has more impact due to any reasons, it may also lead to anxiety, depression, and social isolation.
People with anxiety tend to overthink everything, and when it comes to remarks about their bodies, it is no different. Constant negative remarks may make people anxious to the extent that they suffer from panic attacks and depression phases.
So what does Body Shaming actually mean, let me break it down for you.
Body shaming can be described as the act of mocking or humiliating someone based on their physical appearance. It covers a wide scope including shaming people for their shape, size, skin color, hair color, hairiness, and general appearance.
Globally, the prevalence of body shaming was found to be in the range of 25 to 35 percent. In one study, the total prevalence of body shaming was found to be 44.9 percent. Body shaming stems from several years back when ideals surrounding women have changed.
Thin women were considered more attractive than heavier women, and men who were taller and muscular were preferred to lanky ones. Since then, standards of beauty for women have been generally unrealistic and unattainable.
Body shaming may be considered a form of bullying. It includes making inappropriate or derogatory comments about their body size or shape.
Body shaming is not merely criticizing someone who is overweight, but even those who are underweight. People of all shapes and sizes can be victims of body shaming. Body Shaming can be soul-destroying for everyone especially if you are overweight.
How to overcome body shaming
It’s difficult to love your body without effort, and it can take many years of work to get there. There are many challenges to face before one feels compassion, acceptance, and ultimately love for their body.
Keep in mind that acceptance and love for your body as it is doesn’t mean that you can’t still work toward health goals. However, when you work toward those goals with love, support, and compassion for yourself, you’re more likely to get there, and you’re definitely going to be happier along the way and beyond those goals. Feeling better about your body may seem far away for some of you; impossible even.
However, there is hope that you can wake up in the morning one day soon, and feel for your body in a way you can’t imagine yet, just as your body is right now. The work to get there might be hard, but it’s definitely worth doing. You’re going to be with yourself for the rest of your life, so it serves you to be someone you enjoy being with and not someone who puts you down. To begin overcoming shame about your body, start with an openness to the possibility that this can be different for you, even if you don’t know-how.
The following tips will help you in your journey toward overcoming shameful feelings about your body: 1. Write down things you appreciate about your body. 2. Be aware of your negative self-talk. 3.Be selective of social media messages. 4.Believe you can love your body as it is. 5.Come out from hiding. 6.Create an inner-supporter. 7.Practice thanking your body.
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