This week is mental health awareness week and this years theme is body positivity. In the age of social media, we all seem to be more aware of how our bodies look. Comparison culture is rife and we can’t help but compare how our body fits in with the social norm.
Add to that having scars, stoma bags, tubes etc; things which are all VERY different
I’ve talked about body positivity a bit on the blog before but wanted to go more
Last year the Mental Health Foundation found that 30% of all adults have felt so stressed by body image and appearance that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.
Body positivity and IBD
Prior to being ill, I didn’t really have any body confidence worries.
I’ve always been skinny and I’ve never been worried about my body. Then I got ill and started losing weight which a lot of people commented on; again, I didn’t really get too self-conscious. I couldn’t see the changes people were on about and didn’t think too much about it.
It was only once I went on steroids I started to feel less body confident. My body stayed relatively skinny, due to not absorbing much from my food, but I had the generic steroid moon face which I was really self-conscious about. Basically, I had a huge head and a tiny body which made me feel like shit.
I had people tell me it wasn’t that bad or they didn’t see it but to me, that didn’t matter. I felt so self-conscious for the first time and it was HARD. Even though I can laugh at some of those pictures now, there is still part of me which remembers exactly how I felt and I still harbour some of those feelings.
Body positivity and stoma’s
Having a stoma has made me face body confidence and positivity in the face. I knew from the moment I was told I needed one I wouldn’t be ashamed of it. I decided at that point, I would make sure it didn’t stop me from doing anything.
However, it hasn’t been the easiest of rides. Even though I accepted my stoma from the moment it was there, I still had a struggle day to day.
When you can see just how different you are to your friends. When you have bag leaks and feel like shit or when your body just doesn’t want to work. It can be A LOT.
However, overall my stoma has made me more body confident and body positive. I am constantly in awe of how the body works. On those days where I just wish the bag wasn’t there, I remind myself I wouldn’t be here without it. It’s amazing how my body works and I am really proud of it.
Feeling body confident with arthritis
Now, this may seem a bit strange to some of you but living with arthritis, and how arthritis has affected my body, has started to affect how I feel about my body.
You can slightly see it in the photo posted with this blog post BUT one thing my arthritis has affected is my posture, how I stand and my neck. I find myself with rounded, hunched shoulder sometimes, a stooped back and I HATE how I look when I see photos of myself like that.
My mum knows this so whenever we’re taking photos, always tells me about my posture. The thing is, that’s something I can correct for a photo but I’m struggling with day to day as it hurts.
This is a new area of body confidence which I’m slowly working through. Just like with my stoma and IBD, I know I’ll get there. These things just take time.
Be Body Kind to yourself. You don’t have to look a certain way to fit in – BE YOU, BE KIND, and LOVE YOURSELF
How are you practicing being body kind to yourself?
If you’re struggling with your mental health, please contact a medical professional and look at charities such as the Mental Health Foundation, Mind and Samaritan’s
Ostomy posts are sponsored by SecuriCare & CliniMed
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