Body Image & Mental Health.

Body image and mental health are closely related. They are the two sides of the same coin, a coin called “us”. The way we think our body is and how we see it is different. This affects the way we talk to ourselves and how we relate to others. Most importantly it affects our mental health are closely related. They are the two sides of the same coin, a coin called “us”. The way we think our body is and how we see it is different. This affects the way we talk to ourselves and how we relate to others. Most importantly it affects our mental health.

Body image and mental health are so closely linked we should stop a moment and be honest with ourselves. In this article we will reflect on how we can strengthen our perception of how we look. So in doing that, we will be able to live a healthier life.

Body Image & Mental Health Is Nothing New

Romans used to say “Mens Sana in Corpore Sana” which means that a healthy mind lives in a healthy body. Today the complexity of our society pushed change in what the Romans used to say. Body and mind interact with each other. Not only a healthy mind can only flourish in a healthy body. A healthy body needs a healthy mind. Body image and mental health is a closed circle.

There is a strong relationship between body image and mental health. The relationship between the two has been underlined in a study which analysed people involved in cosmetic surgery. The results of the “before and after" are significant.

The Body Affects The Mind

A recently released study indicates that the number of teenagers who are resorting to diet to control their body shape is huge. We are talking of almost 50% of the young female population. Our perception of our body pushes us to change our habit. In extreme cases it also creates dangerous situations. Body dysmorphic disorder, the obsessive preoccupation of the flaws in our appearance, is in sharp rise.

We focus on details and we are bombarded by messages of perfection. Instagram and social media in general are one of the channels through which BDD can spread. We look around and see perfect lives and perfect bodies. They are in our magazines and social media timeline is full of them.

Getting To Terms With Who We Are

We want to be the best of ourselves at any time. Your ability to body shame yourself with the way you talk to yourself is cunning. We use the most terrible words in describing our own flaws. I wont ask you if you do it, yet I would admit I am doing it myself.

“What a fat shit!” I found myself murmuring to myself after having seen my reflection in the mirror. Wow, that’s harsh. I would have never used those words for anyone else in the world. So why am I body shamming myself? Because we don’t listen enough to the words we use in describing ourselves. We don’t believe that we are hurting us. And if our mind is hurt, the reaction is not “I am going to hit the gym” more likely it is going to be a chocolate biscuit. Ouch

A Man With A Belly

Body image and mental is not solely a woman’s problem. In the past two things have happened that gave a hit to my confidence. The first was a photo a friend took of me. It showed me that the belly I have is not what I think it should be. I looked at the photo and thought: enough! The second was meeting a guy exactly my age and comparing his body to mine, I admit that his body would have shamed the most of us, but I still compared myself, something I strongly preach against.

Both of them are completely my faults and I am working hard to get a solution. The truth is that before a ‘solution, I want to come to rems with myself. When I was in my twenties I was two stones lighter than today. I was very active and went to the gym. My “coming to terms” with myself starts from understanding that the Paul I am today is not the one I was yesterday. I have a more sedentary life, I have turned 50 and I am a bit lazier than I was before. If I want to find a guilty, I just have to look in the mirror. Yet coming to terms with who I am is the first step towards healing my body. Remember: “Mens Sana in Corpre Sano””!

What About Boudoir Photography?

As a boudoir photographer it is challenging to decide which photographs to publish. From one side there is the pressure of showcasing what the general public loves. From the other there is my stand on self-confidence, and in todays blog the body image and mental health link. The truth is that I photograph real women. They can be your neighbour, your childs teacher, or the girl across the road. They don’t have perfect bodies, they all have their hang ups, but they all have their boudoir photographs taken for one reason. The reason is that they want to see themselves from an eternal eye.

The body image and mental health link is so strong that seeing through goods photos is a huge boost to yourself. I do not change who my clients are, I do not show someone else’s body. What you see is you, just photographed in the right way. When the real you comes out, then that’s the photo we want to show you.

So….how are we doing? What if you could be in those photos and see yourself honestly, for the beautiful woman you are?