8 WAYS TO COMBAT NEGATIVE BODY IMAGE THOUGHTS

I don’t know about you, but I’m not so excited about summer. Sure, the warm weather is nice, but that also means wearing clothes that show more skin and have less room to hide in.
I spoke about my summer body-image anxiety in my story the other day, and it became clear to me that I am not alone in this feeling.

So I sat down and started journaling obstacles that could possibly come up this summer that would bring my anxiety to the surface. Then I wrote some possible solutions.

Here are 8 ways I plan on combatting my summer body-image anxiety:
1. Spend less time looking in the mirror. When I look in the mirror for too long, I start body checking and talk myself out of feeling good. So, when I find an outfit I feel good in and like, I will walk away from my mirror.

2. Reduce my social media consumption. Seeing other people in bikinis only makes me feel 100x worse about myself. Comparison is so damaging, and you never know what that person might be going through.

3. Wear clothes that make me feel good. I am most confident when I like my outfit. I personally plan on getting dope oversized tees and wearing them as dresses, bc ffff shorts.

4. Create some kind of daily routine and structure. Having too much free time is when I usually start exploring my negative thoughts. Creating a schedule will help temporarily distract my mind.

5. Surround myself with people that I love and who make me feel good. While it’s good to get out of my comfort zone, I find security in being around people who I feel like I can be the most “me” around.

6. Counter my negative thoughts. Each time I notice and feel a negative thought creeping in, I will take control and replace it with a positive thought. This one is hard AF and takes time to achieve, but the more I practice it, the easier it becomes.

7. Move my body. Literally, any type of movement and exercise releases serotonin and endorphins for me, and I always feel better about myself.

8. Remember that I am my own biggest critic.
❣️reminder: society’s standards of beauty are unrealistic and ffff’d up