Like most people, I felt insecure about my body during my teenage years. Looking back, there was nothing wrong with how I looked. Yet, I still thought I looked ugly. I held a very narrow-minded view of myself, but that’s a teenager for you. To hide my body, I would walk with a hunch and refuse to wear anything tight. I refused to look at myself in mirrors because a tidal wave of hatred and sadness washed over me every time I did.
One day, I discovered an article on the internet that talked about how to feel more confident in your body. The advice was so simple, I dismissed it. Eventually I gave in and actually tried it, and it really helped.
What was the advice? Walk around naked in your room.
That’s literally it. So simple, yet so complicated. When I first read it, I thought to myself, “I can’t do that! What if I see my body?”
But that was the entire point. If you confidently walk around your room naked, you eventually accept how you look naked. If this feels too difficult, try picking out things you like about yourself (like your hair color) helps you to see the positives in yourself. Personally, this really helped me feel better about my body.,
If you don’t want to dive in head first, start slowly. I started by taking a shower. Once I got out I would cover my waist in a towel so I was just topless. I would take a couple extra minutes to look in a mirror and tell myself things I liked.
At first the comments were mostly about how I liked my eye color. Over time, I increased the time topless alone in my room. Eventually I moved to being completely naked. And while it didn’t cure my self-hatred or all my body insecurities, I started to experience some days where I didn’t hate my body quite as much.
Nowadays, I generally really do like my body and looks. I feel very comfortable in my nakedness. This isn’t a cure-all by any means. I got to a place of loving myself through a lot of years of hard work, therapy, life experience and healing. But this little practice was part of it. It may not be for everyone, but what’s the harm in giving it a shot?
Feature Image by Rodolfo Sanches Carvalho on Unsplash
