The healing power of a selfie!
I am here to tell you that selfies are powerful! Why? Here's how they can play a positive role:
Self-Appreciation: Taking selfies will allow you to see yourself from different angles. This can help you as you work towards appreciating your body just as you are. You are unique with your features, and eye color, and hair texture, and freckles and all the little details that make you, YOU!
Empowerment: Society has such unrealistic beauty standards, and your selfies can put the power back into your hands! You get to choose how you want to be seen and look. This helps you as you take control of your image.
Self-Expression: Selfies are such an amazing platform for self-expression. You can use different poses, styles, use a filter, don’t use a filter, and you can express your personality. Your face and body are a canvas for art and self-representation.
Journey of Self-Discovery: Taking selfies over time can become a journey of self-discovery. You get to see and appreciate the changes in your body. As you do this you will learn to embrace growth, acceptance, and self-love throughout the different stages of your life.
Connection and Community: Sharing body-positive selfies on social media can create a supportive and empowering community. Other women may relate to the journey, share similar experiences, and offer encouragement and validation.
Normalizing Diversity: Your selfies show off diverse bodies and appearances. You add to society the normalizing of different body types and you’re challenging unrealistic beauty standards.
Personal Growth: Selfies are a way to set personal goals and celebrate your goals being reached in regards to your body image. This might involve documenting progress in your body acceptance.
For me, I found selfies to be healing. My ex-husband would tell me I was unattractive, and he would threaten to leave me if I didn’t lose weight. After we split up, I avoided photos for 3 years! When I started being confident in myself again, I was able to use selfies as part of my healing process. I was able to see that I was beautiful just as a was. I could be creative, show off my makeup, show off my bare skin, and show the world exactly who I was in the moment that I captured the selfie.
Disclaimer, I just want to say, it's important to note that while selfies can be super helpful, they should not be the only method for healing body image issues. If you or someone you know struggles with significant body image concerns or body dysmorphia, seeking support from a mental health professional, as this is crucial for addressing deeper emotional challenges. Selfies can be complementary with therapeutic approaches, but they should not replace them when more complex issues are involved.
