I need to preface the rest of the content with this disclaimer: some of this is heavy and deals with mental health, suicide, body image, and self-esteem. If any of this is triggering or is hard to handle, I don’t suggest reading. I think the message is important but not if it compromises your well-being and mental health.
“I AM UGLY ” “I hate my ____ “
Pointing out all the flaws, pinching pieces of skin, pulling at your hair, counting the blemishes on your face, touching every roll or wrinkle. When given the opportunity, we tear ourselves apart in the mirror, and some of us refuse to even look at the reflection. “If you wouldn’t say that to yourself when you were little, why would you say that to yourself now?” Why is it okay for us to compare ourselves to other people saying “I wish I had a body like hers,” but when people compare to us we turn it down or even feel flattered. Belittling other people is a big no, not good. Belittling yourself for motivation to do something better — also no, not okay. Comparing your past self to your present and looking toward the future can be healthy but should never be used to put yourself down.
This brings me to another point — it’s always easier to say something when you’re not staring at the soul you’re about to crush. We hide behind our screens thinking we can do or say whatever we want but forget to realize that the username we tag is a human being. Think about how many times you’ve typed something that you would have NEVER said in person, good or bad. Even writing this article, I’m a quiet person, and I probably wouldn’t even say any of this at all. That’s not true, but what we say online matters. It matters, but it shouldn’t. Strangers on social media dictate what we say, how we look, what we do, and what we think about ourselves and others. We need to stop letting other people who don’t know anything about us criticize us, and we need to stop being those people to others. And in both cases, it’s a lot easier said than done.
When you think “I can’t do this anymore,” remember how far you’ve come.
We’ve learned to measure our worth with the wrong scale. We put too much value on our weight or our grades, our likes and followers, our social or financial status, the list goes on and it’s all wrong.
In the end, it’s just a number on the scale, just a bad grade, a bad day, a bad year; remember, you’re going to be okay.