Summer is coming and so are the body image issues and insecurities we all have when wearing our bikinis at the beach. Beach body anxiety is a thing, a huge thing.
You know that feeling, being eaten alive by feeling not good enough. The anxiety about getting up and walking to the water, omg everyone is going to be judging me and looking at my thighs. Am I too old to be wearing a bikini? Does my butt jiggle when I walk? I should have gone to the gym starting months ago. These are the kinds of thoughts running through my head instead of enjoying the beach and being present.
We are our worst critics. While we are absolutely consumed by these vicious thoughts of not being pretty enough or in good enough shape we forget that other people aren’t thinking about us like that. They don’t care.
Have you ever not liked someone because you thought their thighs were too fat? Didn’t think so. That’s one of my personal insecurities that I have thoughts about every single time I’m at the beach. But really, who else gives a shit about that besides me? Nobody.
I’ve never met a person alive who doesn’t have some kind of insecurity about the way they look and didn’t want to change something about themselves or at least didn’t constantly compare themselves to others.
Importantly, remember that no-one is focusing on your self perceived flaws like you are.
Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape. Unfortunately, only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by Americans in the media.
Palmer, Mario. “5 Facts About Body Image.” Amplify. Accessed February 24, 2014, http://amplifyyourvoice.org/u/marioapalmer/2013/05/21/byob-be-your-own-beautiful.
Hashtags on Insta
Counts of hashtags used on Instagram. In my opinion, it’s an interesting view of how superficial we have become. At the time of this post these are the hashtag numbers:
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Open in new tab How to Lose The Beach Body Anxiety
- Ditch any social media that makes you feel anything but awesome
- Find a bathing suit you really like (note: everyone looks like shit trying them on in stores under those fluorescent lights n’ whatnot.)
- Remind yourself over and over that you’re the only one focusing on your body
- Also that we aren’t all size 2 yoga masters or mannequins nor does anyone expect us to be. We are real and beautiful people.
- Get a tan: I personally feel better when I’m tanned
- Drink tons of water: You will look and feel much less bloated
- Be thankful for your body and what it does for you
- Again, ditch social media. Follow #effyourbeautystandards and other hashtags that promote confidence and positivity instead of the duck lipped wanna be models.
- Read this post https://shescranky.com/how-not-to-care-what-people-think/
- Practice focusing on your surroundings and learn to just be.
I hope that this can be a constant reminder to you for when you start to feel like shit about wearing a swimsuit and going to the beach. We all deserve to take the bullshit pressure off of ourselves to look a certain way! I can’t tell you how much it pisses me off that we’re made to feel less than perfect in today’s world.
Love yourself, you are totally worth it.
..embracing and owning your true self isn’t about becoming anything. It is about looking at yourself in the present moment and accepting all of your beauty and ugly awkwardness combined.
https://lonerwolf.com/how-to-be-your-true-self/
At least that’s what man after man after man in my DMs told me over and over and over again, hundreds of times: “Honestly the pressure applied to look good in a bathing suit typically spoils the fun because she ends up bummed about her image.” -Bridget Phetasy Mel Magazine