Body Image & You

Body Image & You



This blog is here to inspire people that have suffered or are still suffering from anorexia or body dysmorphia. In today's society we are constantly surrounded by media images that portray the unattainable thin body. These images are seen across advertisements, and social media. This continuous exposure puts young girls under the pressure of wanting this ideal body. The blog is here to help other girls that are dealing with a similar issue and courage them to find the help that they need.

You are not alone! Many girls experience body shaming due to media comparisons. Here you can find advice form others that have experienced similar issues. Our goal is to reach girls that are struggling with body issues and find the help that they need.

Our recommendations are not only to find an outreach program but to inform your parents on what they can do to monitor the media that has effected you. By decreasing media and modeling a positive self body image one can find their beautiful body.

12 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. The most helpful tool for me to hear other stories and talk about the struggles we all battle daily. Anorexia is not something that can be just turned on and off. This is something you deal with on a daily basis. It takes an immense amount of courage to tackle the "Ed" thoughts and push through to live a healthy and self-loving life style.

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  3. I grew up as a dancer on a competitive team. We had competitions almost every weekend in many different places over Arizona. There was one dance I was in that groups of girls had different versions of the top part of the costume. There were bra-like tops, crop tops, and full-length tops. I was one of those girls who had a full-length top. At that time, I was a little "chubbier" than the other girls, though I didn't want to believe that I was. As I looked around at all the stick skinny girls in their crop tops and myself, along with 2 other girls in the full tops I put the pieces together that we were the "not as skinny" girls on the team. They did not want out chubby bellies to be flapping all over the stage. When I realized that, I couldn't seem to get it out of my head. Every day that I went to day (which was every day), I couldn't stop looking in the mirrors and comparing my body to everyone else. Alongside of that, I started to notice even more the models in the magazines I would look at and the types of pictures all the other girls I knew would post on social media. That was when I decided that I needed to do something about my fat stomach. I tried to curb my appetite to not eat as much as I did, but my mom noticed that I was getting very faintish more often. I was never diagnosed with an eating disorder, but I very well thought that I needed to stop eating to look like everyone else. Not only did eating less make me faintish, but I could not keep up at dance, and it honestly just made me even more hungry. Thats when late at night I would run down to the kitchen and eat everything. What we see in the media about womens bodies and how they should be tall skinny tan and toned is NOT an "ideal body image". An ideal body image is being able to be comfortable in your own skin and love yourself the way you are. From my experience as an adolescent girl, I want to reinforce this to as many girls that I can and have then realize that there is no such thing as an "ideal body image". Don't harm your body, don't fall into the trap that the media makes of women. LOVE YOURSELF- each and every one of you is perfect just the way you are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  4. As a dancer, it is easy to get wrapped up in the world of what should be. For example, I should have a body like hers. These "shoulds" don't allow us to live life to the fullest and accept our individuality. Being comfortable in your own skin is the key to happiness and success. Be unique. Be you.

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  5. I remember having negative body image thoughts as young as three years old. I grew up in a family that was extremely appearance oriented and I was also a dancer...being raised in those two environments among with other factors, put a lot of pressure on me to look a certain way. I started restricting my caloric intake at the age of 10. I would hide food or throw it away whenever I could...I created rules for myself of what I could or couldn't eat. This eventually led to me binging in secrecy when I was 11. I spent the next five years starving and binging while my weight fluctuated up and down. When I was fifteen years old I learned how to make myself throw up. I realized that I could eat whatever I wanted and I didn't have to fear that I would gain weight. The binge purge and restricting cycle continued until I was 17 and then I began to have medical consequences and was not able to properly function. I entered my first treatment center just a month after I turned 18 and I have been to treatment a total of 13 times now. I would always tell myself that I wasn't skinny enough or sick enough to go to treatment and once I got down to "X" amount of pounds I would stop. But whether I was at my lowest weight or my highest weight, I never looked how I wanted to. It wasn't until I ended up in the hospital because of severe medical problems that I finally realized that no matter what I did to my body, it would never be enough for the eating disorder.In my eating disorder's eyes I would never be skinny enough, pretty enough, etc. For me I had to make a choice, surrender to the idea that I was not defined by a number, or ultimately die from my eating disorder. I have now been in solid recovery for a year and it is not easy. I still get caught up in comparing myself to others and obsessing over what I need to change about my body, but I also realize that I am worth so much more then my appearance and what is at the core of my soul matters way more then any number ever could.

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  7. I too have had issues with excepting my body and realizing it's not all about shape and size. We are all so fixated on having the perfect body to impress people, but this should not be our main focus. I have realized this past year that I am not fat, yes of course I can work out to tone up my body, but dropping 10-15 pounds is not the healthy option. We need to be happy with who we are and what we have. Be yourself not someone else. We may all want to look like Victoria Secret models, but that's not a healthy skinny. We all have different body types and should be satisfied with what we have right now. Love yourself.

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  8. I this past 8 months have suffered from dysmorphia, extreme anxiety, and extreme depression. I ended up having to drop out of school. And was hospitalized for attempting 3 times..I amdoing so so so much better now. I am so happy you are creating this blog..it is gonna be an amazing thing for young girls. seriously this so special to me it's gonna help so many people!!

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  9. This is an amazing idea and will help people express how they feel and what they have been through

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  10. stop looking at yourself in the mirror and saying you are fat, look and say I CAN, I BELIEVE IN MYSELF I CAN DO IT. you ARE and you are worth it and this is the only way you will understand it and BELIEVE IT.

    WHY you want to lose weight, is it becuse you want to be healthier? or because you want to look like a certain stereotype? or because you just want to feel comfortable in your own skin?


    If you just lay around and cry you are not going to resolve anything .
    You don't have to stop eating in order to lose weight,
    There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG with asking for help. There will be people who are most likely going to support you with this and maybe even join you. skinny isn't healthy!!!!! Don't throw up or stop eating.
    don't make the problem bigger by falling into this disease

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  11. every time you turn on the tv, or read a magazine, it shows such a small population of people that are generalized into the entire girl population, and turns it into the ideal body type. It never talks about how to be healthy, or happy with yourself, you always see ads on "how to lose fat in these 5 simple steps" "how alessandra ambrosio got a flat stomach with this new supplement!" "how to look like taylor swift!" there are never ads on how to be happy with yourself, or how to accept and love body types as equal!!! the media needs to change!

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  12. I opened up my Facebook once and saw a bunch of pics with khloe kardashian wearing this corset that makes your waist super small! I clicked on the link that took me to the website where you can buy one and saw a bunch of pictures with different girls wearing it and their results. they looked so unbelievably skinny and i thought that is what I would want. I bought one on amazon for only 30 dollars and wore it all night and even wore it to school one day. I wanted to look like khloe so bad I actually passed out because it squeezed my lungs until I couldn't breathe. the doctor told me the damage it had done and I realized the damage i did to myself but also the damage girls go through just to look like people they see in the media

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