Shaming Body Treatment Tips

Body shaming is the behavior of vilifying the appearance of others, or comparing one's physical condition with others. Not only from other people, treating body shaming can also be obtained from ourselves, that is when we give negative marks or comments to our physical appearance.

Impact of Body Shaming

Body shaming will certainly cause unpleasant feelings to the victim. When receiving body shaming treatment, the victim will feel ashamed of his body condition and feel that his body shape is ugly so it needs to be repaired.

For example, if the victim feels fat, he will do various ways to lose weight, from holding back food, spewing food that has been eaten, or using laxatives. This condition includes mental disorders that require further treatment of a psychologist or psychiatrist.

Not only has an impact on victims, body shaming actions can also have an impact on the perpetrators. When criticizing the appearance of others, the offender feels better than the victim and this can backfire for him.

When someone judges the body of another person fat, he will feel himself slim and do not need to maintain weight, so that he unconsciously becomes more susceptible to weight gain. Or vice versa, very worried he would get fat and turn around in the eyes of people, so that an excessive diet is unhealthy.

Tips for Facing Body Shaming Treatment

For some people, commenting on the appearance of colleagues or other people is a natural thing, without any intention. However, being targeted by the comments was indeed unpleasant. Here are some ways to reduce feelings of shame, after receiving body shaming treatment:

1. Practice to be grateful for yourself

There is always something about us that we should be grateful for, such as high thinking and creativity, pleasant dispositions, talents in certain fields, or health that enable us to live productively.

By focusing on positive things in us, gratitude will grow, so that we can accept and love ourselves.

2. Be aware of and accept deficiencies in yourself

Thin body, dark skin, or curly hair is not something negative. So stop making these things create a negative inner self, because it will make you feel insecure about something that isn't really important.

If indeed these things can be corrected, then do something to fix them. Make these negative feelings trigger motivation. But if it can't be repaired, learn to accept it as part of yourself. Develop other potential that can cover your shortcomings.

3. Create inner supporters to fight the inner bully

Embed words that are self-reinforcing, for example 'I'm beautiful' or 'I'm sexy'. The more often these words are repeated, the more you will believe them. That way, you will not care about the body shaming treatment you receive from other people about your physical condition.

Remember, what you think about yourself is more important than what other people think of you. Don't let the opinions of others about one small thing in your body stifle the great potential within you.

4. Change the mindset of yourself

If someone believes in their body shape or their physical condition is bad, then information that says otherwise will not be processed by the brain. Therefore, change your mindset and opinion about yourself first.

The more you believe yourself to be bad, the easier the body shaming action will have a negative impact on you, and the more difficult it is for you to receive praise or positive words from others.

5. Be selective about messages on social media

The use of social media also influences a person's perception of body shaming. Therefore, choose positive messages on social media, follow an account that popularizes the invitation to accept, appreciate, and love yourself.

Avoid accounts that highlight the importance of physical appearance compared to other qualities of self. Moreover, that does contain ridicule or jokes about a person's physical condition.

People who feel embarrassed about their body tend to hide and avoid appearing in public or interacting with people. This will certainly disrupt social life, even work productivity and achievement in school.

If you become a victim of body shaming, hold yourself up with confidence and pride in yourself. That way, ridicule from others will not hurt and make you become inferior. But if you can't handle it yourself, try to consult a psychologist.

Conversely, if you often do body shaming actions, even if you don't realize it, stop this habit, because the negative impact is not only on other people, but also on yourself.

Written by:
Sandra Handayani Sutanto, M.Psi., Psi.
(Psychologist)

Share this post

Berlangganan update artikel terbaru via email: