Center for Health & Counseling

Love Your Body

In February, our thoughts turn to relationships. However, we often ignore that our first and primary relationship is with ourselves.  This month presents a good opportunity to assess how you feel about yourself and your body.  Consider the activities in which you engage and the messages you give yourself.  Do they build you up or tear you down?

Studies show that a majority of women report being unsatisfied or even hating their body or part(s) of their body.  This is also increasingly true of men.  Loving our bodies can be difficult in our celebrity-focused, consumer-driven society (which capitalizes on people feeling negatively about themselves).  In attempts to manage negative self-image, we disconnect from our body. We berate the way we look, punish our body through extreme dieting, and ignore our body’s basic needs.  In essence, we disconnect ourselves from an essential part of human experience.

What would it be like to love your body?  Do not wait until something changes to appreciate your body; love it as it is for what it is now.  Begin caring for yourself as you would care for any other loved one in your life. Rather than constantly dwelling on what your body is not, focus on all the things your body provides you: the abilities you have, the sensations you feel, and the experiences your body provides. Challenge negative judgments by not holding yourself to unrealistic media images.  Reconnect with your body by nourishing it in word and deed.  Give yourself a compliment.  Treat yourself to a massage.  Lose yourself in movement. Loving your body is one major step in cultivating a healthy relationship with yourself.