{"id":4816,"date":"2024-01-20T22:52:53","date_gmt":"2024-01-20T20:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mytherapist.gr\/?p=4816"},"modified":"2024-01-20T23:03:27","modified_gmt":"2024-01-20T21:03:27","slug":"build-self-acceptance-your-relationship-with-your-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mytherapist.gr\/en\/mental-health-articles\/self-awareness-and-self-esteem\/build-self-acceptance-your-relationship-with-your-body\/","title":{"rendered":"How you feel about yourself determines your relationship with your body"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Living in a world where 91% of women are not satisfied with their bodies (Statistic Brain Research Institute), it shouldn\u2019t surprise us that there is a growing shift and focus toward positive body image and acceptance.<\/p>

How many times have you noticed women who are truly striking - yet have low self-confidence, speak negatively about their bodies, struggle to accept compliments, and feel that they are not, in the end, as impressive as we see them? Could you perhaps recognize yourself somewhere in that description? If yes, here are the things a personal growth coach would want you to know:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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A positive self-image starts from the inside, not the outside<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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No matter what you hear from the people around you, at the end of the day what matters is what you believe about yourself. If you\u2019re influenced by other people\u2019s comments (strangers, friends, or family), take a minute in front of the mirror, look at your body, and ask yourself:\n\u201cIf other people\u2019s opinions didn\u2019t matter at all and only my own did, what would it be?\u201d\nThat\u2019s where you need to start. From within.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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You only see what you choose to focus on<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Stay a little longer in front of the mirror and observe your reflection more carefully. What is the first thing you notice - your \u201cflaws\u201d or the features you embrace? When you look at how your hair sits, what do you do first: fix it because it\u2019s \u201cnot right,\u201d or think something positive? And what about the things you don\u2019t like, do you look at them, or do you avoid them and hide?<\/p>

Just like in life, when it comes to our self-image and body image, we tend to see what we focus on. If every morning we immediately move into harsh self-criticism about weight, hips, stretch marks, wrinkles, or skin that loosens over time, that\u2019s what we\u2019ll keep seeing for the rest of the day. The more something bothers us, the more we judge it - and the more negatively we judge it, the more we eventually want to stop looking at it so we don\u2019t feel the discomfort. So, the problem is that we don\u2019t concern about our entire personality but just for our bodies.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Accepting my body doesn\u2019t mean I like every part of it<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Accepting my body does not necessarily mean I like how I look. Accepting my body means I know my worth regardless of my appearance. It means that feeling better about myself has nothing to do with how I look, but with how I \u201cbuild\u201d my self-worth independently of my appearance. It means that even if I don\u2019t like my body, face, or hair, I still know my value and I know that I matter.<\/p>

When we accept ourselves and our bodies, even if we don\u2019t like what we see, it won\u2019t stop us from doing what we want in life. The way we impact the world at work, in our personal life, with our friends and family, does not depend on how we look, but on who we are.<\/p>

If I don\u2019t get to know and accept myself, I won\u2019t accept my body - and the less I accept, the more obstacles I will place in my path, sabotaging every attempt to feel happy and well.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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One of the first steps toward acceptance and positivity: gratitude<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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What if, every time you wake up, instead of looking at your legs and thinking \u201cthey\u2019re so fat,\u201d you think about how grateful you are that they carry you wherever your soul needs to go, allow you to run, and give you the joy of curling up next to your partner every night on the couch under your shared blanket?<\/p>

What if, every time you smile, instead of thinking \u201cmy teeth are ugly\u201d and feeling embarrassed, you think about how grateful you are that your smile makes your loved ones smile, helps a client feel comfortable, maybe helps you earn their trust, or simply gives you a pure feeling of satisfaction and joy, even if it lasts one minute?<\/p>

What if, for one day, instead of going through the usual mental list of everything we don\u2019t like about ourselves, we created a new list of what we feel grateful for, the day would unfold differently. Give it a try.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Be compassionate. First, toward yourself<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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How many times have we told ourselves: \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with you?\u201d, \u201cYou\u2019re ugly,\u201d or \u201cYou\u2019re fat\u201d? Could we speak that way to our sister, our mother, or a deeply loved friend? Probably not. So why do we do it to ourselves?<\/p>

By showing more empathy toward ourselves, with compassion and understanding, we learn to listen to ourselves better. Listening better brings us closer to us; we see ourselves more clear, we respect ourselves, and that\u2019s how we begin to recognize our worth. The same worth that gets undermined every time we tell ourselves \u201cyou\u2019re ugly\u201d, is the same worth we need in order to go after what we want. If you don\u2019t believe that you deserve it , because you\u2019re not attractive or because you\u2019re overweight, how will you ever get it?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Accepting my body doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019ll always feel good<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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The idea that accepting our body and ourselves will automatically eliminate negative emotions is a very common misconception. By diet and beauty culture domination on media and even from our own friends, is unrealistic to expect to remain emotionally unaffected.<\/p>

Accepting my body means accepting that some days I won\u2019t feel good about it and that\u2019s okay. The key on those days is to listen to myself, be compassionate, allow myself not to feel good, while also reminding myself of all the positive inner and outer strengths I have. The more I see and know them, the stronger I\u2019ll be on the \u201cbad days.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Self-acceptance is part of a process that never ends<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Accepting yourself and your body doesn\u2019t happen by reading one book, using a tool you found online, or reading an article that makes you think for a few minutes. Acceptance and a positive self-image are part of an ongoing process that lasts as long as we do and it needs constant practice. We grow, we change, and our body changes with us. At the same time, beauty culture and social stereotypes systematically bombard us and seep into every part of our lives to influence us. Staying steady in acceptance and self-worth is a highly demanding process - and it often requires the support of a professional.<\/p>

Imagine, then, what your life would be like\u2026<\/p>

  • If you weren\u2019t affected by what others think about your appearance<\/li>
  • If you felt okay with your reflection in the mirror<\/li>
  • If you felt okay with your body most of the time<\/li>
  • If you felt comfortable at the beach or with your partner<\/li>
  • If you knew you were a positive role model about self-image for your children<\/li><\/ul>
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    Or simply ask yourself\u2026What if the \u201cperfect\u201d body is the one I\u2019m living in today?<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>

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    By Mary Spathari, psychologist |\u00a006\/11\/2020<\/span><\/span><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Living in a world where so many women are dissatisfied with their bodies, it\u2019s no surprise that the focus has shifted toward acceptance.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":236822097,"featured_media":4817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[766568642,766568658,766568659,766568671],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arthra-psychologias","category-aftognosia-aftoektimisi","category-aftopepoithisi","category-diatrofi"],"acf":{"article-authored-by":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t