If you’ve ever struggled with the way you look, then you’ll know how tricky it can be to be body positive. Today, we’re surrounded by picture-perfect men and women who seem to be everywhere we look from Instagram to Love Island and adverts on the bus, we just can’t escape everyone else’s idea of perfect.
Even though we all know these models are far from realistic and have more than likely been edited, it can be hard to be body positive about yourself when faced with such unrealistic ideals.
If you’re struggling with being body positive, then take a look at our 7 powerful tips below that are sure to help boost your self-confidence and help you to have a better relationship with yourself.
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Stop Putting Yourself Down
We are our biggest critics and often hate things about ourselves that others don’t notice or even care about. Constantly putting yourself down can have a hugely negative effect on your confidence, self-esteem and mental health, so stop it now.
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& Other People
As much we hate being put down, we are often the ones on the giving end of such criticism, especially when it comes to people we don’t know. This detachment from strangers either online, in the street or on TV can make it seem ok to critique, but it’s not.
To address this and become more body positive, we need to be more body positive towards other people, friends, family and strangers. Instead of critiquing someone’s looks, think about how you would feel if someone made the same comments directed at you and instead think about what you do like about them.
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Readdress Your ‘Flaws’
As women, our bodies are incredible and they should be celebrated however more often than not, we’re critical of our ‘flaws’.
Flaws such as stretch marks, saggy breasts or scars are signs of experiences, childbirth and life so they should be celebrated and not something to be ashamed of.
Readdressing and redefining these flaws will help you to love your body and all it has gone through.
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Look at Yourself in the Mirror
Insecurities are often built up and exaggerated in our minds and looking at yourself in the mirror will help you to break down what you see and take away the exaggerated image you’ve dreamt up.
If you’re feeling extra daring, compliment yourself out loud, this is an especially good ritual first thing in the morning or last thing at night as it really sets you up for the day ahead or gives you a blanket of self-love before bed.
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List What You Love About Yourself
An important aspect of being body positive is to actually recognise what you love about yourself and a great way to do this is to list the features you love.
When you start to list these loves, you’ll be surprised at how long the list becomes and you’ll feel a new sense of body positivity towards yourself.
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Take a Break from Social Media
Social media can have a huge effect on body positivity, mostly because we see perfect men & women all over our news feed and it can generally get us a bit down.
Taking a break from social media is a good way to give yourself a break from such unrealistic images and live in the present, spending more time with friends and making memories.
If you’re receiving negative comments from strangers online, make your profile private, turn off comments and don’t allow that kind of negativity in.
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Surround Yourself with Positive People
People who love and accept you are the only people you should have around.
This kind of positivity will help you to become more confident and self-believing which will have a positive effect on the way you feel about yourself.
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Treat Yourself
We all have moments when we don’t feel great about ourselves so in those moments, treat yourself.
It may be indulging in a facial and enjoying a spa day or buying yourself a fancy bath bomb, lighting the candles and having a hot bath. We all need to take the time to look after ourselves and remember how incredible we are.
Whether today is your first day of becoming body positive or it’s something you’ve been working on for a while, being body positive is so important to building a better relationship with yourself which is something we here at Boobuddy encourage all women to do.