Leading up to Mental Health Awareness Week, we asked students to note on a paper person what they liked about themselves. The week's theme was body image but we had a range of responses and of course body image isn't everything! Here are some of the responses. Do any of them resonate with you?
My ability to speak in different languages.
I'm caring
My body has carried 5 amazing children
I like that I am thoughtful as I always put a lot of though in my presents I give people.
I like that I am weird and make people feel comfortable.
Resilience - proud to be me.
My loyalty to friends
That I always try my best and aim to make myself happy and others.
I am passionate and committed to my learning/
I like having glasses.
I like being a small human
My ability to make people smile.
I have nice eyes.
I'm tall which is OK I guess.
Caring less about my appearance the older I get!
I feel that I'm full of surprises, people never know what to expect.
Every year for Mental Health Awareness Week the Mental
Health Foundation reflect on aspects of, or what can contribute to mental
health. This year that aspect is Body Image- how we feel and think about
ourselves.With the rise of social media
we are bombarded daily with pictures of the “ideal body” and for those of us
who don’t fit in to that body type, how we feel about ourselves can become
problematic. The MHF are using Mental Health Awareness Week to remember that we
should all #bebodykind to ourselves and to those around us. Remember, we only
have one body and it is amazing.
Don’t always trust
what you see!
Whilst it’s easy to be swept away by the “ideal body” image
that is ever present in the media and in social media channels such as
Instagram, it is important to remember that you shouldn’t always trust what you
see. Magazine covers are edited. Social media posts such as Instagram are
edited. Photo filters are everywhere. When scrolling through feeds it can be
easy to forget that photos have been filtered, bodies altered, hair
Furthermore, celebrities are becoming ever more aware of how
they are creating unrealistic role models and whilst we may focus on women when
thinking of body image problems- it is also effecting men on a growing scale.
Actor Richard Madden recently commented how his portrayal in The Bodyguard projects “a very
unrealistic body image” https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bodyguard-richard-madden-male-body-image_uk_5cada9a5e4b01bf96007c785
So next time you’re comparing
yourself to people on TV or on social media- remember it’s not always real.
This programme, available on Box of Broadcasts and YouTube, shows exactly how easy it is to edit photos and explains how we see over 700
digitally edited photos each day.
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Body Positivity
Challenging the issue of the “ideal body” is body
positivity- a movement that challenges society’s expectations and promotes the
acceptance of all bodies, in all their various forms. There are plenty of body
positive accounts you can follow on Instagram.
To find out more about body positivity, read this article-
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What we’ll be up to
This week we will have a display in the LRC about what
people like about their bodies- these have been filled out by students in the
last few weeks. Furthermore, we will have a chill out colouring area if you
need somewhere to take a break and don’t forget our Mental Health leaflet that
can signpost you to services inside and out of college.
Always remember, if you need help, you can ask for it.
The Mental Health
Foundation will be releasing stats and reports on how we can look after
ourselves throughout Mental Health Awareness Week so make sure to check them
out- https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
