Summer is underway, and the pressure from the annual ‘Getting Your Body Ready for the Beach’ marketing campaign is intense. Constant reminders abound to look a certain way, or feel badly about ourselves for not matching an often unrealistic idealized physique. Being healthy is far more important than conforming to a definition of an ideal body. Good mental health includes body positivity acceptance.

Consider this question: What is an ideal beach body anyways?

It is nothing more than a narrow ideal established by the diet and fashion industries to capitalize on their target customer’s self-esteem issues. Diet and fashion marketing capitalizes on this without concern for individual differences. The media objectification of the human body, and ad campaigns, has long been used to pump up businesses. Many offer to help your body become ‘beach ready’ for mere thousands of dollars worth of surgeries. Focusing on the healthy ideal is better for your mental health than obsessing over the thin ideal.

Need a better alternative? Show some love to yourself by gaining confidence in your own skin. Here are three tips to start you on your journey to loving your body this summer:

Smile in the Mirror To Increase Your Body Positivity Acceptance

This is easier said than done. However, it is a simple and powerful technique to create a positive perception of the body and person you see reflected. Self deprecating, negative, or self defeating thoughts and feelings are ideal to bring up in a body positivity acceptance group. There, others will empathize and offer support.

Stop Comparing Yourself And Reinforce Body Positivity Acceptance

This is your body. It’s the only body you’ll have. The majority of history includes positive images of full figured women. The later 1960’s has portrayed the ideal of very skinny models in fashion and advertising. It’s a very crafty maneuver on the part of the marketers, because it’s caused women to attempt to achieve this unrealistic body. This keeps people in an endless cycle of fad dieting and ingesting questionable supplements. These rarely have long term success, may actually hurt your health, and adds lots of black ink to these businesses balance sheets. Diet plans and products that promise super fast results are unrealistic, and sometimes dangerous.

Consider Therapy

We need the support of others. We need to talk. Let it all out without the fear of being judged. Being in therapy gives you the opportunity to discuss your challenges, get access to all the resources you need to embrace your body, and become confident in being yourself. Body image starts on the inside well before manifesting on the outside. By refusing to buy into so-called beauty standards, and understanding that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you can become the best version of yourself.

If you would like more information about our programs, or need help:

Jennifer L. Zauner, LCSWR
Clinical Director

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