Thanksgiving — a chance for students to take time to enjoy themselves, find comfort in family and focus on the feast ahead. But for some, it is the daunting task of showcasing themselves in front of everyone they know after not seeing them for two to three months. Especially if your family decides to go on vacation in a hot climate area. Personally, I am taking an embedded course and will be traveling the week of break, meaning suns out bums out. With the ever-changing trend of your body transitioning into real adulthood, I’ve learned that Body Dysphoria is more than just your appearance.
What is BDD?
Body Dysmorphic Disorder, known as Body Dysmorphia or BDD, is characterized by an excessive preoccupation with a real or imagined defect in one’s physical appearance, according to Hofstra University.
Individuals with BDD have a distorted or exaggerated view of how they look and are overly concerned with actual physical characteristics or perceived flaws, such as a certain facial feature or imperfections of the skin. They frequently think of themselves as ugly or disfigured. People with BDD often have recurring negative thoughts about their appearance, even when reassured by others that they look fine and that the minor or perceived flaws aren’t noticeable or excessive.
Quote pulled from “STUDENT COUNSELING SERVICES – SPECIAL ISSUES: Eating Disorders” Hofstra.edu
People who struggle with BDD are commonly in our age group today and throughout puberty into adulthood, we are constantly worrying about our bodies and how we look every day. This stems beyond just our perception of ourselves, it’s the actual physical change that can affect us as we still see one version of ourselves in the mirror. But this affects all people with any body type and the stereotype surrounding this marriage that feeling bad about yourself only stems from one group of people is wrong.
#VacationBlues
Sadly clothing and society can play a major role in the reason why people are feeling worse about themselves. According to statistics, “Current studies indicate that only one in five women are satisfied with their body and that 47% of 5th-12th grade girls reported wanting to lose weight after looking through magazines,” written in eatingdisorderhope.com.
When it comes to revealing clothing like bathing suits, the ever-changing ways that body standards, force people (mostly women) to feel inclined to look the part. While society and certain companies might portray themselves to be more “inclusive” the general consensus from the general public and the average swimwear model do not look like the consumer.
Personally for me, as I’m looking at the new trends in fashion and in swimwear, cheeks are out and low-rise and high-rise v-lines are IN. With my body shape changing in college since I don’t completely dance anymore and work out the same way … looking at myself in these clothes has felt difficult and the pressure to look how you once did is daunting.
But what are some ways that we can block out the noise and make sure that even in our hard times and struggling with the way we might look and feel is change to a different mindset? Here are some tips I have tried to use as I’m planning to shop for my Turkey Day vacation on the new me.
BE BOLD
While mental health might be a bitch, coming out of your way in small intimate ways may just be what you need. Whether it be trying on a different style of bikini or coverup, wearing a different style may be a hard task but sometimes overcoming a small step for yourself is different than taking the full plunge of going out straight up in your birthday suit.
Talk to Someone
Friends and family in these times of struggle are some of the best people to go to when you’re feeling down about yourself. While therapy should always be in the mix, talking to people about what might complement your look or what styles to try could be a great opportunity to build you up instead of tearing yourself down.
Self-affirmations
POUR. INTO. YOURSELF. No one in this world is going to support you more than yourself. Mental health and how you view yourself stems beyond this step of self-affirmation and does require real work and help, however, this tool of speaking to yourself daily is important. There is power in the words that you speak upon yourself and this small trick might help. Write sticky notes around areas where you’re inconsistent. Doing this and saying these words out loud once a day will start to slowly remove negative vocabulary pertaining to you as an individual.
Are you going to vacation this year with a different mindset on clothes? Let us know at @VALLEYmag.
