The Nurturing Well by: Jill Starbuck
In one of my college courses, the professor asked the students to write down three things that they liked about themselves. The entire class wrote about nonphysical aspects. As such, characteristics of the students were caring, reliable, lovable, trustworthy, humble, hardworking, etc. You get the idea. None of us commented on physical aspects. For instance, nobody mentioned that they had beautiful eyes, luscious legs, flawless skin, washboard stomachs, or bountiful hair. Apparently, most of us do not like to talk about these things because we don’t want to appear vain, but mainly because we are dissatisfied with our appearance and body image.
According to Dr. Carolyn Coker Ross, a physician and author of The Joy of Eating Well, 80% of women are dissatisfied with their appearance and more than 10 million suffer from an eating disorder. While women are notorious for worrying about their appearance, men do too. According to a survey conducted by TODAY and AOL, 56% of men regularly worry about their appearance and upwards of 1 million men suffer from an eating disorder. Depending on the source, these percentages may be higher or lower, but the overall problem is that a significant amount of people are unhappy with their appearance.
Based on the Today/AOL survey, a host of concerns torment men and women. For women, top concerns include stomach, skin, butt, cellulite, thighs, natural hair, and gray hair. For men, top concerns include stomach, skin, thinning hair, gray hair, and facial hair. As a nation, we spend tremendous amounts of time and money trying to fix our physical imperfections. And if we aren’t trying to fix them, we are stressing over them. While it’s natural to be concerned about your appearance, it becomes a problem when it becomes an obsession. Obsessing over our appearance leads to a host of ailments such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety, and others. Furthermore, it is just exhausting.
As you can see, the majority of us are in the same predicament. To put things in perspective, we generally do not see the flaws in other people for which they spend considerable time obsessing over. Most of us don’t really care about the physical imperfections another person frets over. We typically enjoy spending time with people because of their characteristics. Sure, many of us would love to look like fitness junkies or models, but sometimes those people pay a big price to obtain those appearances. If that is your goal, then it is likely doable with the right amount of dedication and sacrifice. However, in the meantime, practice self-acceptance. Focus on what your body can do, rather than what it looks like. Be kind to your body and work hard to keep it healthy.
Jill Starbuck has 20 years of experience as a business writer, editor, and market research analyst. She is a certified health coach through the Integrative Institute of Nutrition and a certified running coach through the Road Runners Club of America. She is also the co-owner of a running business. She can be reached at jillstarbuck@hotmail.com.
