Body shaming: Here's how it can impact us; therapist shares recovery kit

From avoidance of mirrors to negative self-talk, here are a few ways by which body shaming can impact us.

Body shaming can have a grave impact on a person. When a person does not adhere to certain body standards or stereotypes set by society, they often face harassment that can come in the form of a joke or an embarrassment. However, this can affect a person and break their self-confidence. "Recognising Body Shame in Adults with C-PTSD from Sexual Abuse. For adults with C-PTSD who have experienced sexual abuse, navigating feelings towards one's body can be particularly challenging," wrote Therapist Linda Meredith. For women, usually body shaming happens in the case of weight, body shape, breast size and skin complexion, while for men, it happens for their muscle strength, height, hair loss, weight and body proportions. In either case, it can have a deep negative impact on the mind.

When a person does not adhere to certain body standards or stereotypes set by society, they often face harassment that can come in the form of a joke or an embarrassment. (Unsplash)

Impact of body shaming:

Avoidance: Body shame often shows up as the practice of avoiding mirrors or other reflective surfaces that may show us how we look like. We fear our own reflections.

Discomfort with intimacy: When we have feelings of shame with our own body, we have difficulty in being ohysically intimate with another person.

Negative self-talk: Body shaming from others can trigger negative self-talk and harsh self-criticism about our own bodies.

Clothing choices: We feel underconfident to wear what we like, hence, we let our body shame decide the type of clothing we should choose.

Physical neglect: We no longer take care of our bodies, because we feel disgusted and shameful about it.

Body shame recovery kit:

Priotising ourselves: We need to learn to prioritise ourselves and focus on our self-talk more than what others think of us.

Healthy practices: We should focus on healthy lifestyle choices that can keep us healthy, fit and happy.

Remove ourselves: Environments or situations where we feel triggered – we should learn to remove ourselves from such places.

Self-compassion: Instead of giving in to the opinions of others, we should learn to be compassionate and empathetic with ourselves and choose our own happiness.