Body Image Lies - Have You Fallen for This One?
I think as females, most of us have struggled with body image lies, especially this one. Body Image Lie:If I can change something about my body, others will finally accept me and I will be able to accept myself.It is so easy to base our self worth on our looks and appearance because it is the first thing others see in us. Plus, there are mirrors (or windows) everywhere that constantly remind you of your appearance. As I started to work on this area in my life, I realized one day that I was addicted to mirrors....always checking my appearance to see if I looked okay. Some days I would feel good about what I saw and thought that my hair and/or outfit was cute. However, there were other days I couldn't wait to get home and hide. Ever feel this way? Note: One way to know whether or not you are also addicted to mirrors is to deliberately try to avoid them for a day or two. Like me, you may realize it's more of an obsession, or "addiction", than you realized.
What Would You Change About Your Body?What if you could change one thing about your body....what would you change?I know what my answer is without even needing thinking about it. I bet most of you already have your answer too. The thing I've struggled with the most regarding my body has been my acne and the scars it has left behind. In high school I had a perfect complexion. I even remember someone commenting that my skin looked like a china doll. Well, that soon ended when I entered college. I'm not sure exactly what caused it -- possibly the combination of bad eating habits and hormones. I thought it would just be a short phase and then be gone. But, here I am, now in my 30's and still struggling with breakouts of acne. UUUGGGGHHHH!! I've tried most everything from Mary Kay to ProActiv to Arbonne to supplements and vitamins to hormone creams, etc. Nothing has worked. Plus, I have the scars that the acne has left behind to look at everyday in the mirror. So, how did I cope? To compensate for the acne and try to cover it up, I began wearing a lot of makeup. One day I felt challenged by God to go out to eat with my husband, CJ, without wearing any makeup. I wasn't sure I understood correctly. Go without any makeup?? Surely not. So I asked God, "Are you sure you want me to do this?" You see, I was using makeup as a means of self-protection and to feel better about myself. So to go out without any makeup literally felt like I was leaving the house naked! How embarrassing and devastating! Well, anyway, I did end up obeying God that night and left without a trace of makeup. After a few minutes, I couldn't stand it any longer, so I asked my husband if he noticed anything different about my appearance. He looked at me and hesitantly said, "You're wearing a new headband?" I then asked him if he noticed anything about my makeup and he said "No, he didn't." How ironic. Here I felt "naked" and self conscious and he didn't even notice! What I've learned from that experiment is that other people don't notice my imperfections nearly as much as I do. I'm much harder on myself.
What is The Truth?
Body Image Truth:My value comes from God, my Creator, and not from my appearance and what others think of me.God is teaching me this truth that my value comes from Him and not my outward appearance. It is okay to desire beauty -- it's a God given desire -- but not to base my self esteem on it. Our Beauty Comes From GodI wanted to close with something a friend of mine, Annika Lampmann, wrote. My precious daughter,Your body is not an object. I made you fearfully and wonderfully.My works are marvelous and your soul can believe this.(Psalms 139:14) You are BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT, just as you are. All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.(Song of Solomon 4:7) Look at yourself through my eyes and be amazed. Your Dad, Your God, Your Creator.
“Father, show me my beauty. Show me what you see when you look at me and show me what you put inside my heart. I want to be rooted in your love and bloom like a beautiful rose. Fill me up with your spirit and with your thoughts. Let me see others and myself through your eyes, Jesus. Amen.”
You Really Are SpecialJohn Cooney, in one of his Grapevine newsletters, rewrote this many years ago (original author unknown):"YOU'RE REALLY SPECIAL! You really are! In all the world there's no one like you. Never has been. Never will be. No one has your eyes, your nose, your hair, your hands, your voice, your smile. You're special! No one anywhere has exactly your handwriting, exactly your finger-prints, exactly your tastes in food or music or TV. Since the beginning of time, there's been no one who laughs like you, no one who cries like you, no one who sees things just the way you do. You're special. Look, you're the only one on this planet who's got your set of abilities. Sure there'll always be someone who's better at some of the things you're good at—but no one in the entire universe has your unique combination of talents and skills, dreams and feelings. No one else through all eternity will ever look, talk, walk, think or do the way you do. You're special. You're rare. And like anything that's rare, you're valuable. That's why you don't need to copy your friends. You can accept—yeah, you can celebrate—your differences! You can risk being yourself. Hey, you're no ACCIDENT. God made you special for a very special purpose. He's got a job for you that no one else can do as well. Out of all the billions of applicants, only one is qualified. Only one has what it takes. That one is YOU...because you're special!" More Help for Teen Girls...Shelley has written a book specifically for teen girls...and this book could change your life or a teen girl you know...Find out more now! Bring Shelley to speak to your group, church or school! Shelley's openness and vulnerability as she shares her own story of hope and healing will inspire and encourage you. Get started now! How About You - What is One Thing You Want to Change About Your Body?
Also, you can add in what ways the lie below has impacted your self esteem and your relationship with God or others. What Other Have Said...Click below to read other's comments and view their pictures Transformed by others' testimonials and your book <3 Hi, I would like to write a bit of my own struggles here but I also want to add how much your book and bible study book has also helped me. Thank you so ... Body Dysmosrphic Disorder I have been told that I have it, but I don't think it is a problem. I won't be happy till I look I feel I should. I had a chance to do it, but I listend ... MORE BEAUTIFUL I am good looking, but I am going to have some botox, nose job and liposuction. I want to be better looking than I am now. I workout eat right and use ... mixed life. I have people tell me i look pretty all of the time, but coming in to high school, a lot of people find imperfections about me, and its hard to listen ...
The two things i would love to change about my body;
1- My height (I am five feet two inches). I have always wished i were taller because then perhaps i could command more respect
Fears and Nightmares
I know this is going to sound totally and completely strange, but, I have a fear of something happening.
just not pretty
hi my name is diane. i have no qualities.
On the brink of collapsing
Usually I come onto this website to give people advice, but now, I'm the one needing it. What Do I Believe? I was built differently than other girls. I was always first, second tallest girl in my class. That was an upside. Downside, I think I'll still grow, but ... VALUED Sometimes I struggle with small things that I don't like about myself. But then I remember that physical beauty is not what's important in this life. It'... Pretty Even if you think you are not pretty, something like your nose or your smile has to be pretty. If you look close enough, you will find it. I Wanna Feel Beautiful 90% of the time, I don't like what's reflected in the mirror. I see chubby cheeks, a round face, bags, flat hair, practically nonexistent breasts (literally,... Becoming Me I had always struggled with my self-image. Girls at my school told me that when I hit the ground, the earth shook. I wasn't even close to fat. I had broad ... The Change I'm a 16 year old girl, and the last thing on my mind is the positives of my body. I was a chubby little kid, but i would always hit a growth spurt and ... Drowning much? when i was 8 i started dieting. by the time i was 10 i could name 2 things i liked about my body. when i was 13 i started cutting. i am now 16, i still ... What's wrong with me? For years, i struggled with self esteem issues.. I'm a 14 year old girl going to public school with acne and weight problems. I'm a natural swimmer and ... Beauty? Beauty is a word that i will never be able to use while describing myself. My life started out with Jesus being the main product in my life but as i have ... ummm...i have couple of things... I’m 19 years old now. I have been struggling with myself on and off. It comes and goes. I think it started since I was 12-13 years old. All my life I have ... 80 pounds strength I'm incredibly thin... 80 pounds....But I'm 22. I was always thin, and after I had my child I lost 30 pounds. I suffered terrible depression since, dealing ...
I do not have to be perfect
I like to change my perspective on how I see the world and than myself. i hated my look until now i hated how i look til now i felt like i am fat i don't have acne but i felt fat all the time when i have cake or ice cream or sugar i felt fat i felt ... Weight Issues Im in year 10 and at the moment i came across you site while researching body image issues for teens as an english research project. I have very low self ... way to fat?! one guy in my school always says that i have weight loss pills in my back pack... when i tell him I dont he says to get some them!!!! i fell into a depression ... When I start Ignoring Invites When I enter college. I gained 40 pounds and its just do . I suffer with an eating disorder. Binge eating disorder to b e specific. I think about ... jealous :( hi im alice and i am 12. pretty much the only time when i am happy is when i am with my friends. and even then i do not feel very happy. my best friends ... I would change a few things.. I am a sophomore in high school. And also apart of the cheer leading team. Sports is a priority at our school. And here comes the bad news...i have a major ... if i could just be thin i still feel pretty self conscious about the way my body looks. i never really liked my body. A lot of my friends are thin and they dont even work out....
beautiful scars
i know i am so beautiful. i love my face, my features..i love them so much. but i cannot accept the scars that acne left on my face. I'm 14 and I want to be fatter I saw this site and it kind of reassured me about my body image. I'm a pretty teen, quite clever but I'm very skinny even though I eat alot more than my ... Acne is horrible well just like you i do now actually struggle with acne (it sucks really bad).I started to have acne when i was in the sixth grade. i was always shy to ... Ever since the start of High School.. I fell into this depression of self-hate. I hated the way i looked, walked, talked, acted; everything. I fell into the dark stages of my life. I switched ... My Body, My Face I hate my body. Even my mom said that I should lose weight. I'm not obese, but I have a little too much stomach fat. I feel like kids my own age are uncomfortable ... Go Figure I have an "hourglass" figure and have had it since I was about ten years old. I have friends and a sister who are always saying they admire my curves but ... My body - being bow legged Well if I could change one thing about my body I would change the fact that I'm bow legged. I would change this because I'm really skinny and my legs look ... My body and getting thin enough Hey. Ok. I'm 13. I always thought I was too fat to be loved by anyone. I used to eat when I was upset. It was a cycle. Eat...go to school...eat...come ... Thunder Thighs I'm 16 years-old. 5'2" and 124 lbs. I guess you can say that's average. I'm very active in sports. I love to run and to do gymnastics; I used to cheer.... My height- my voice-my face im so short and i hear my voice and its really low and people dont say anything about it but it bothers me so much to hear such a low voice coming from ... Exercise More If I exercise more I would feel better about myself and not care what others think. What I Thought Was Wrong With Me I always thought I was overweight. I had a reasoning for it, too. My thighs are kinda big, I thought because every time I sat down, they looked as if they ... What I would change about my body? One thing I would change about my body is the size of my blue jeans...instead of a size 14 in juniors maybe like a size 7 or 8
Thought I was too fat to be loved....
I'm not sure where to start... if-you-could-snap-your-body-perfect If I could do that I would love my life because I really want to lose more weight but my friends and my family tell me no cause I am perfect the way I ... God does not want me to cry.... My name is Natalie and I am twenty two years old. As I started to write this, I began to cry! I've typed only a few words and I am already in tears. I ... If I can change something about my body... I would think I would want to change my hair. I have a weird hair color.
Luann 101 my body image story
I can definitely relate to Shelley if ever she's the one who has a story about acne and stuff. I'm suffering from acne and acne scars too... wow am i fat or what! I have not always thought I was fat. My addiction with my size did not start until my freshman year in high school. It seems as though once I started verbally ...
Nappy Hair - My Body Image Story
I am not quite a teenager anymore, but I wanted to share my story... My Nose.... I always have had a problem with my nose as it's too big. Whenever I make new friends, I always get a feeling that they don't like talking to me much ... Thanks alot I really appericate your lesson they are very inspirational and true . It's always easier to look at your faults then your actuall beauty. I feel like ... Face!!!! I have trouble with bags under my eyes...I was born with them they always always make me look tired and i dont like the way they look. Honker All my life I've had a really wide, almost flat nose. Not trying to sound conceited, but I'm not ugly at all, I've always been pretty attractive. Well ... My weight ok you know weight is hard on us girls. i would change my weight if i could. i have tried to work it off but it won't work so i quit trying!
I thought If I could lose weight I would have the perfect body
My name is Barbie, How I've changed Im Hayley and im 13 years old, since ive started high school ive started to see my self in a different way then what i used to, I think this is many because ... We are all special and unique that's wonderful reading I've just done. i have to agree in that we are all special and unique in our own ways. it's just that people refuse to open there ... Bad teeth! when my mother tried to wean me off the bottle, i was around 2. sad to say, i was a very stubborn child. everytime my mother tried to give me a cup instead ...
I am a greasy little(not that little) monkey, and I don't care anymore!
When I wake up in the morning I have a greasy, gross feeling face, and greasy hair. I absolutely HAVE to take a shower, or I feel like a dork.
be virtuous
i just want to say you have to read prov. 31:30.... My everything i always had something that i would want to change about myself starting from the way i walk because one leg is shorter than the other and because of my ... Struggled with body image for years... I'm 22 years old and in college. During my middle and high school years, I used to think that something was physically wrong with me. It's the fact that ... Too true, being content with the way God made me I can identify with a lot of what you've said. I'm a teenage girl and I don't wear makeup. That's mostly because I don't know the first thing about it ... My Body Image Lie - Being "Jelly" ..ahhmm..well probably you're very right about "The Lie: "If I can change something about my body, others will finally accept me and I will be able to ... My body image lie - my acne I had acne problems because I wear framed glasses and the dirt collects on the frame and causes me acne. I've used a lot of products and they don't work.... See video with some eye opening body image statistics here.Return from Body Image Lies to Teen Beauty Tips Homepage
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