Bad Body Image Essay

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Many people do not like themselves, more specifically many people do not like their bodies. In the age of social-media and a perfection obsessed society, people are exposed to how the ideal body should appear constantly. When people cannot live up to the standards of Hollywood or Instagram models they start to feel bad about themselves. Self-hate can have a negative impact on a person's life by leading to eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses. Research shows a bad body image can also “impair academic performance and reduce sexual pleasure” in all types of people (Breines, 2017). Self-compassion can lead to a healthy body image, which not only reduces the risk for many problems, but also has benefits. Images of picture perfect models on social media can make some people …show more content…

When people are worried about how they look they are less likely to notice how they feel. Feeling of pain or hunger can go unnoticed as well as feelings of pleasure of hunger. Not being in tune with our bodies can cause us to miss many health warning signs detrimental to our well-being. Being comfortable in one's skin can help show them just how amazing the human body is. Self-compassion ties in with a sense of care and concern for the person as a whole. Knowing all the miraculous functions our bodies can carry out can help people take pride in themselves. One study even shown that after three weeks of self-compassion people reported a spike in body appreciation (Breines, 2017). Self-compassion might not take away all negative feelings one has towards their body, but it can reduce the extent of those feelings. This can reduce self-punishment, which can take many forms from self-deprecation to denying food. Sometimes self-punishment can lead to an even worse body image, or eating disorders. Practicing self-compassion can be effective in working towards reducing these

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