Society seems to be like one big competition, especially now that social media plays such a big part in our everyday lives. From a young age the media feeds children a story of what is acceptable and what is not.
As children, we get brainwashed into believing that to be “pretty” or “handsome”, to be “normal”, to be “socially accepted”, we have to be a certain size, look a certain way, wear certain colours dictated by our gender, follow certain fashion trends, listen to certain bands, follow certain YouTubers or Instagrammers, because if we don’t we are an outcast, we are different, or there is something wrong with us. This kind of behaviour is especially rife during the high school/secondary school years, which also coincides with most young people hitting puberty and already having to deal with raging hormones and their bodies changing. Teenagers can be very opinionated and rather nasty, especially if you aren’t part of their clique. That said, teasing and bullying can easily begin much earlier. Whilst I personally have no memories of any such behaviour during my time at first school, when it came to my last year of middle school (equivalent of Year 7), I actually had to move schools due to bullies making my life a misery. At that time, I would have been 11 years old. Sadly, the bullying continued at the new school anyway, but my point is, weight issues and body image are not just an issue that we as adults must face. The seeds are often sown much earlier in life. The conditioning we receive as a child, will shape the beliefs we have and stories we tell ourselves when we are adults. Not all those stories and beliefs are true and as adults, we really need to let them go. Were you bullied as a child because of the way you looked? Did the effects of that bullying follow you into adulthood? I would be really interested to hear your stories. Please feel free to share them if you feel comfortable doing so. Remember folks, this is a safe space. No judgement here. Only support.💜
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December 2020
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