12 Tips To Accept Your Body And Overcome Complexes
On social networks we usually publish photos of ourselves and many times the interaction we have with others through these digital platforms makes us notice the supposed physical deficiencies that we have in relation to other people who, according to beauty standards, have the best face. , body or torso.
The media and the world of influencers and celebrities are responsible for selling us that desired image of “body perfection,” often generating complexes regarding our physical appearance. But there are always things we can do to counteract this psychological effect. Therefore, in this article You will find several tips to learn to accept your body as it is and manage your complexes.
It is necessary and fundamental to accept our body as it is, especially because it really there is no totally perfect body. It’s time to get that idea out of our heads.
Your body is unique and unrepeatable, it is original, and in theory only that condition is enough to be able to accept and love it as it is… But in practice that is not so simple. Therefore, below you will find several tips that you can apply to accept your body as it is.
1. Adopt healthier habits
QPut into practice the generation and maintenance of positive thoughts about yourself. Don’t just do it for a day or two, make it a habit. When you have established this pattern of behavior you will begin to feel good about yourself and you will enjoy and accept your body as it is. Likewise, completely stop that bad habit that you have of thinking negatively about yourself, downplay its total importance, face them, refute them and eliminate them.
2. Identify negative thoughts or comments about your body
When we make negative comments or have negative thoughts about our body, we hurt ourselves by damaging our own self-esteem. Respect and be kind to yourself.
Therefore, it is important that you begin to identify the amount of negative thoughts that you yourself have about your body. You can start by writing down on a sheet the comments you make and the frequency with which you make them. In this way you will begin to keep a record that you will use later to confront those thoughts in order to replace them with healthier ones.
3. Identify the time you dedicate to your negative thoughts
The negative thoughts you have about yourself are not going to help you improve your physical appearance, on the contrary, what they will do is generate discomfort in your mental health. After you have identified the negative thoughts on a sheet of paper, it is important that you begin to take into account the time you dedicate to these maladaptive thoughts. Reflect for at least a couple of days on how often you have these negative thoughts. Finally, ask yourself what benefit there is to the frequency with which you have these thoughts and whether it really helps you or hurts you.
4. Replace your negative thoughts
At first it is a little difficult to reduce and replace negative thoughts; However, its realization is important to be able to accept our body as it is. When you notice that you start to think negatively, Reduce the influence of that thought by focusing your attention on other experiences linked to the present moment and replace it with another positive thought about yourself. Be patient and take the appropriate time to carry out this activity. You can start by trying to have positive thoughts every day, remember them during your day and especially when negative thoughts appear.
5. Limit your media visibility
You can reduce the time you spend watching television shows, magazines, blogs, or movies that present unrealistic images of a perfect body. Consider that there are a large number of photos on social networks and magazines that are altered so that people look “perfect” or in accordance with the supposed standards of “sexuality and beauty.” It is important that you do not let yourself be influenced by the supposed beauty standards that exist today, as they really turn out to be very superficial and unrealistic. Instead, get in touch with other media that provide you a more realistic vision of what human beings are like in all their diversity.
6. Identify what you like about physical appearance
Maybe you like your hands, your hair, your eyes, your smile, your feet, your face, your legs… There must be many things that you really like about your appearance or your physical appearance, the main thing is to identify which ones they are. those aspects that you like about yourself. If you can’t identify any aspect of yourself that you like, Remember an experience in which an acquaintance, male or female friend highlighted your physical appearance. Don’t focus your attention on the aspects that you don’t like, focus only on the aspects that you like about yourself.
Now that you are more positive and kind about your physical appearance, it is very likely that you need the approval and acceptance of others. Nevertheless… Are they the ones who criticize you? Are they the ones who highlight your supposed physical defects? Do they say you are too skinny or too fat?
If so, it is important that you identify and use an approach to this situation where there are negative influences from you. Be assertive and tell them in a respectful and assertive way that the negative things they say about you affect you, hurt you or make you feel bad. It is important to note that perfection does not exist and that you are comfortable just the way you are and you don’t have to submit to those constant invitations to review your appearance.
8. Change that relationship you have with your mirror
If you are one of the people who uses a mirror regularly, you should establish a rule in which it is not valid to think negative aspects of yourself while you are in front of it. Instead, use it to identify the positive aspects you have. Say positive phrases about yourself when you are in front of a mirror; Maybe at first it will cost you a little, but little by little you will see how it will no longer cost you so much and you will begin to notice the changes and improvements it produces in you.
If you cannot establish the change mentioned above, perhaps it is best to avoid using the mirror for a while, this way your attention will be directed to other issues such as your professional development, rewarding activities and not so much on your appearance.
9. Post positive notes about your appearance in your mirror
Identify, write and paste phrases that highlight positive aspects of your physical appearance. If your room is your private space, be free to put notes where you can highlight these positive aspects of yourself. You can not only use it on your mirror but in the places where you are most likely to be, such as your desk, for example. You can use colors or images that you like to decorate your descriptions, you can use your creativity.
It is impossible for us all to have the same physical appearance. Many people, even those who are considered the most “pretty or pretty,” have physical defects that they try to hide from others. So why should you compare yourself to others if we are all unique, no one will ever be like you again. Instead, you may choose to compare yourself with how much you may have progressed over time and how beneficial it is that you have improved your appearance over the years.
11. Be clear that your appearance does not define your self-esteem
Take into consideration that our body image is only part of a healthy self-image. It is important that you accept your body as it is, but it is also important that you understand that your self-esteem is not defined by your physical appearance. Our personal qualities are also very important, many people do not really manage to give so much importance to the physical appearance, but they do give importance to the psychological qualities that people possess, such as their kindness, respect, trust, solidarity, etc.
12. Seek specialized professional help
If after putting into practice everything that has been mentioned above you cannot accept your body or your physical appearance as it is, look for a psychology professional trained to be able to provide you with specialized help so that you can face this difficulty quickly and effective. There are psychotherapist psychologists who provide cognitive-behavioral therapy which has demonstrated its level of effectiveness in the treatment of various problems or difficulties associated with self-esteem. Once you start the treatment you will see that in a short time you will begin to notice a gradual improvement.
