Us girls, or at least, a lot of us girls, have a tendency to focus on the negatives a lot more than we focus on the positives. For some reason, we pick up on the slightest slur and remember it forever. While compliments seem to evaporate instantly, forgotten within seconds. Someone mentioning our weight in a negative way can stay with us for life. Whereas, a friend saying how good we look can be forgotten almost instantly.
Why is it that some people believe only good things about themselves, while others of us only see the bad? It’s a funny old world – we all think and see things in such different ways.
Research has shown that almost all women have one body hangup that knocks their confidence. Whether it’s their dress size or skin tone, almost all of us girls have at least one thing that we dislike about ourselves. Whereas, very few men suffer from these types of hangups. Why do us girls suffer from self-esteem issues when men rarely do? And how can we boost our body confidence and become happier with who we are?
I don’t have all the answers, but I do have some tips and advice below that should help. Have a read, implement these pieces of advice, and wait for your self-esteem to soar.
Why are women prone to self-esteem issues?
Let’s start with why women are so prone to self-esteem issues. Is it a gender thing or is the cause linked to something else?
Research has shown that there’s an area of our brains that is linked to negative thoughts. This part of our mind is judgemental; it’s the part that thinks “I’m fat” or “I’m not pretty enough”. It’s the part of your mind that begins to cause you stress when you feel judged by others or receive a comment that’s not positive. The funny thing about this part of the brain is that in women, it’s larger, which could be why us girls are twice as likely to lack body confidence as men.
Then there’s the fact that the hormonal surges in the female brain are more intense than the ones that men get. Making us more sensitive to disapproval or rejection. Who knew that body confidence was a gender issue?
Another study has shown that around 77 percent of women are influenced when it comes to body confidence by their friends’ body hangups. Say, for instance; two women are talking, and one says that she feels fat. The other, to show her support, will tell her friend that she isn’t fat and that she’d love to have her figure. This boosts the first woman’s mood but leaves the second woman dwelling on whether her body is good enough. This is something that doesn’t tend to happen in male friendships. As men are less likely to share how they’re feeling about themselves with their friends. Another reason why us girls are more prone to lacking self-esteem.
Obviously, the cause of a lack of self-esteem isn’t purely psychological. Low body confidence can also be linked to environmental factors, for instance. Say, for example; you grow up in a home where you’re constantly told that you’re not as pretty as your sister or are constantly compared. Over time, hearing that you’re not as pretty will have a big impact on how you feel about yourself. A lot of the time, problems with self-esteem are caused by environmental factors. It’s amazing the power of words, isn’t it, and the impact that they can have on how we feel about ourselves?
So, that explains why so many of us lack body confidence, now the question is, what can we do about it? Is there things that we can do to learn to love ourselves for who we are?
What are the best methods of boosting self-esteem?
Now that we’ve discussed the causes of low self-esteem, or some of the most common ones anyway, it’s time to focus on ways to boost body confidence.. The good news is that there are plenty of them.
We all feel self-conscious at times
When it comes to boosting body confidence, it’s important to realize that you’re not alone. At one point or another, most of us will have a body hang up or worry. Even the women you see on the catwalks have body hang ups. Despite what you might think, their bodies aren’t perfect. The difference between them and you, is that they’ve learned to love their bodies and accept themselves for how they look. They scream confidence because they’ve accepted their bodies, flaws and all.
Stop body shaming yourself
The first step towards learning to be proud of your appearance is stopping body shaming. I’m not talking about body shaming from others, although that can have a serious effect on body confidence. I’m talking about body shaming yourself. Most of the time, it’s us putting down ourselves. We look in the mirror after getting dressed and think about all the ways that our bodies could be more perfect. This type of behavior knocks our confidence and makes us even more self-conscious about how we look. If you’re ever going to be happy with your body, you need to stop thinking negative thoughts about yourself.
Identify the part of your body that you love
Instead of focusing on the negative things about yourself, aim to be more positive. A great way to do this is by identifying the things about yourself that you love. This is a great way to give your self-esteem a boost, and something that’s well worth a try. Instead of standing in front of the mirror saying how you dislike your hips, say how much you love your legs or how good your breasts look. If you’re going to learn to love yourself, you need to reinforce the fact that you’re beautiful. You might feel silly at first, but if you want to improve your self-confidence, it’s something that you need to commit to. How about writing down all the good things about your body on post-it notes and sticking them on your mirror? That way, whenever you look in the mirror, you’ll see positive things about yourself.
Don’t live with something you hate
Far too many of us live with a feature that we hate. The truth is, if there’s something about yourself that every time you see, gets you down, it’s going to have a big impact on your body confidence. A lot of people are anti-cosmetic surgery. But if you’ve got a feature, such as your nose, that you can’t get past, there’s nothing wrong with going under the knife. Of course, before doing so, it’s important to read up online at about the ins and outs of it. For this, you can read up online at RoxyPlasticSurgery.com/services/rhinoplasty.
Whether it’s your breast size that’s getting you down or the fact that your lips are too thin, don’t be afraid to consider cosmetic surgery. Because if you know that you’ll never be happy with a certain feature or part of your appearance, it’s important to change it. Admittedly, some changes surgery isn’t needed for, such as weight loss. However, in some instances, it can be helpful. If the main cause of your low-self esteem is something that you know you’ll never get past, don’t be afraid to change it.
Change how you talk about yourself
Don’t be that girl who’s always putting herself down. Be the woman who’s happy and confident with herself. When you’re out shopping with the girls, don’t say negative things about yourself when trying clothes on. Instead, focus on the positives of each outfit. Changing how you talk about yourself might not seem significant but, believe it or not, it can be. Words can make a lasting impact on how you feel about yourself, so it’s important to change how you talk about yourself. As we tend to be influenced by how our friends talk about their bodies, it’s also a good idea to encourage them to change how they talk about themselves.To get some ideas for being more positive, visit sites like https://www.bustle.com/articles/.
Hold yourself accountable
If a negative thought crosses your mind, don’t give into it. Instead, hold yourself accountable and ask if it’s a fair thing to think. Before judging yourself, consider whether you’d say what you’re thinking about anyone else. Take your mother, sister, or best friend as an example – would you judge them in the same way that you’re judging yourself? The chances are you wouldn’t, so you shouldn’t be judging yourself, should you?
Body confidence is something that a lot of women and girls lack. It’s something that, believe it or not, can impact many parts of our lives. From our career success to our relationships, a lack of body confidence can impact our lives in unimaginable ways. So, it’s important to address the problem that’s causing you to lack confidence, and find a way to get past it and be happy with who you are and how you look.