TikTok can be a very toxic community, trends like heroin chic are taking over the platform and encouraging young women to change their body in an unhealthy way. I personally can’t stand that type of trends. It only spreads unhealthy habits and toxic behaviours on girls who take it all seriously. But that for another entry.
Emma Thompson
In this entry, I want to focus on another trend that has passed me on the app. The trend is based around an interview with Emma Thompson, where she talks about a recently released film. Before I get into the topic, I want to share her quote with you:
“Don’t spend your life’s purpose worrying about your body. It’s a vessel, it’s your house, it’s where you live! There is no point in judging it.”
My mindset and how I lost it...
My body image has been an issue for over a couple of years now. When I first came across this sentence, the whole thought process I had, shifted. I have always believed that people are souls living a human experience. And for that matter, bodies are a temporary home.
I think I lost that perception of my physical being when I got deep into my eating disorder. My appearance was the only thing about myself I could control. It was the only thing that people could judge me on, when they would look at me.
Trends going around on social media didn’t help either. The current standard for girls is SO unhealthy. Models are almost skin and bones, but in the meantime they’re worshipped by great companies and fashion brands. I started to look at my body as a project. A project to be as skinny as the models I saw on the internet. It felt good to see the number drop, although my mental health was the absolute worst.
Accepting change
Although this journey will be a bumpy road, full of rocks and barriers, I’m not quitting. My body image shifts from day to day and I’m not always positive (or even neutral) about how my body’s changing. Change is hard. Change is not something people are used to. But there’s only one way to heal: THROUGH CHANGE. To sit through the uncomfortable feelings and thoughts about my body and food intake. To wear comfy clothing until I feel somewhat okay in my vessel. Until I can accept the way my healthy body looks like. (I’m not in that position yet, because I’m still working on getting to my healthy body, but it can’t do any harm to learn to accept the way I’m changing into the person I am meant to be).
I am working towards healing, I am working towards health, I am working towards womanhood. I’m not sure how this change will look like or how long it is going to take me to accept the way I look. But I AM sure that I’ll never stop trying to accept my body until I TRULY do.
Emma Thompson saved me in my outlook on my physical appearance. It does not matter how I look like (especially not to the surroundings). It matters that I have a body I can FULLY LIVE in. A body that allows me to do the things I love.
Your body is your home. Nourish it, move it, love it, give it rest. You’ll have to live with it for the rest of your life. There’s NO point in judging this wonderful vessel.