Body Positivity Is Not Always Connected To Weight But Appearance: Expert

Numerous negative effects, such as low self-esteem, anxiety, despair, and eating disorders, are linked to having a bad body image.

In a fast-moving life like ours, where we usually don’t have a concrete schedule for our bodies and mind. Our overall appearance reflects our physical and mental state. Our body weight is more often looked upon as a health indicator on the basis of which people judge each other and themselves. This gradually makes the atmosphere around us toxic, which lowers the person’s sense of self-worth.

It needs to be shared more awareness that weight is the parameter to display one’s metabolic and physical fitness status and is not entirely all about health. In this article, Dr Rucha Shrikhande, Psychologist at Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune, shares insight on body positivity, body image issues, the challenges, and how to have a positive aspect towards life.

What Is Body Positivity?

Health is a whole of the mental, emotional, physiological, spiritual, and social perspectives of an individual. Individualistic differences like weight, size, colour and appearance are fundamentally societal and individualistic differences in perceptions. An individual’s perception of their body can greatly affect their mental health and overall well-being both in males and females. According to Dr Shrikhande, research on psychology has shown that body positivity is promoted as an alternative to appearance-based self-worth, which can be harmful to both a person’s mental and physical health.

How Does Body Image Affect You?

“The harmful effect could be to an extent to which one feels proud of their physical body or attributes is referred as self-esteem. It is known that people who fall under the umbrella of appearance self-worth criterion put great effort into their daily routine to look best so as to feel the best,” said Dr Shrikhande.

He further explained that there is a 2 ended opinions on the positive and negative effects of body positivity and appearance. Body positivity and appearance are also associated with anxiety and depression as one is always profound to look at its best.

What Is The Right Approach?

Sometimes due to the fast pacing lifestyle, it becomes difficult to maintain a schedule for one’s basic appearance while in a social set-up. There are many such movements like lookism, fact acceptance movement, sizeism, body image and many such which share contemporaries on and about body image and social acceptance. If an individual is giving a larger duration of time in the daily chores to appearances it is likely to affect on one’s productivity at work and personal space.

Notes From Doctor

“We see many such compulsive behaviour patterns in personality disorders like Borderline Personality Disorder and body dysmorphic disorder, with dysfunctions in patients with low self-esteem, self-image, self-acceptance and self-confidence. With the current advances in facial treatments, Botox and a vivid range of make-up products all over, makes people always put extra effort into the best appearance. As said many times, anything which is eccentric or polar apart can cause issues, hence finding a mid-way or keeping a balance of it is what makes it better. While we get in social and corporate places, having basic hygiene and appearance is all that is needed, but if you think that your 1/4th of the daytime is in all how you look and your appearance then it is alarming and you need to get it modified.”

What To Remember?

Understanding body positivity as a complicated, all-encompassing idea that transcends matters of size and weight is important. It entails acknowledging the variety of human body types as well as the intricate social, cultural, and psychological aspects that influence body image problems. We can contribute to the development of a more welcoming and inclusive society where all bodies are valued equally by promoting body positivity in all of its manifestations.