Body Image: Take a second to think about this term, and the definition. Some believe it’s how your body looks in a picture or how people see your body. The official description from the National Eating Disorder Association is “how you see yourself when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind.” This image of YOUR body is a significant factor for someone. Body Image can empower a person or derail a person’s confidence. Many people have dealt with negative body image, and it negatively affects their mental health. Negative body image can cause depression, eating disorders like bulimia, anorexia, etc., and overall poor health. Negative body image can also lead a person to be less confident and not express themselves in many aspects, including fashion. Negative Body Image is a silent struggle that many people go thru because it is hard to admit you have this problem. Many are affected by this problem, including myself. I believe that me talking about my experience will help others.
I have always been a bigger person. That is just how my family genetics work. My family has broad shoulders, thick thighs, and bubble butts. That came in handy for sports like football and rugby, but I always found myself jealous of others. I was never jealous of how other people’s body was shaped because my body had advantages over others in what I liked. I was able to gain weight and strength faster than others, which helped in sports. The reason I was jealous of others because they could wear different fashion trends or find clothes easier than me. I have many stories where I would go into a store, look for clothes, and not find my size or it looked weird or not flattering on me. I have a hard time finding pants and shorts because maybe the waist fits but my thighs and butt didn’t. The same thing happened with dress shirts. My chest and arms would fit, but the neck or shoulders would be tighter or would not fit. This inability to find fashionable clothes caused me to be scared to shop and try new clothes for many years, especially in middle school and early high school. My confidence and mentality towards myself were not right and negative. I did not start feeling comfortable in my body. That changed when I went to college and decided to find help to change my style.
The biggest helper to build my positive image was looking at other guys that had similar problems to me with clothes. One of the guys I found on Youtube was Richie Le and his friend Johnny. Called Big Boy Johnny, he was built similar to me: not tall but wider/heavier hence his nickname Big Boy Johnny. Hearing him express his experiences and the same troubles I had, I connected to him and started looking at him for advice/inspiration. I realized the first of two steps to understand how to correct your body image. Assume you are not the only one who has this problem. Many people wish they were more muscular, leaner, etc. Many people struggle thru this for different reasons, and it is okay to ask for help. Talk to your family/friends or even professional for advice or to get it off your chest. Secondly, you can improve and adapt yourself to build up this body image. Specific ways to improve yourself can be to work out, eating healthier, or use words of affirmation to get you in the right mindset. Ways you can adapt is transitioning your style, looking for clothes/trends that enhance your positive features or tailor your clothes. These small things go away in helping you better. Reach out to your friends if you need a workout partner or motivation. My friends keep me motivated to continue this right body image with working out or even hype me up in a look.
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