Learning to love you

I am sure that many of us can find common ground in that we may not always have the healthiest relationship with our body image. Be that because we feel we are too big, too small, have too much cellulite, too many wrinkles and stretch marks or whatever your insecurities may be. So many of us let what we have been told we need to look like in order for society to label us as ‘beautiful’ determine our self-worth. But beauty is not about fitting a mould, beauty is about being yourself, it’s about the fact that we are all so unique and diverse.

What we always need to remember is that bodies change. It is not possible for us to maintain the exact same body over time, be that due to age, illness, mental health or anything else that impacts on our physical appearance. Self-love comes from understanding that regardless of how your body may change, of how you may look, you are still beautiful because you are yourself and your worth is based on so much more than appearance.

I know – from personal experience – that this acceptance is much easier said than done, but if you become more aware of how you talk to yourself, how you treat yourself and how you let others treat you, growth will begin to occur. Tell yourself every day that you are beautiful, strong, kind and that you can do this. Little changes like this, when consistent, make big differences. Please do not forget to treat yourself with the kindness and respect that you would treat a loved one with. You are beautiful and anyone who tells you otherwise should not be allowed the privilege of holding any value in your life. Bodies change, your value does not, please remember the two are not associated.