It’s an image that speaks a thousand words – a thousand words that women normally speak only to themselves.
It seems too trite to say that how you see yourself is not necessarily how you actually look – or how others see you.
But it is a simple truth that so many women struggle with.
Read more:“When I feel like crap about my body, this is what I do to feel better.”
Graphic designer Myla Fay has drawn an image that honestly portrays the tumultuous relationship women have with their bodies.
It’s a perfect depiction of the roller-coaster we ride between feeling good and feeling utterly shit about our bodies.
It also tells us the truth: how we actually look has very little to do with the image that is in our minds.
It’s 100% relatable, and so utterly fucked up.
Myla told Jezebel about her tumultuous relationship her her body:
I’m embarrassed about all the time I’ve spent thinking about my weight. No one has ever told me I needed to lose any. Doctors mark my weight “average,” and aside from a few middle school incidents, friends, family, and strangers have been positive about my body. But I’m not always happy with my appearance. Although I strongly believe in accepting all bodies and am grateful to be healthy, I have spent much of my life wishing I were thinner.
Myla isn’t Robinson Crusoe on this.
You know the drill, one day you wake up feeling amazing. You mentally high-five yourself for looking good and perhaps momentarily you’re at peace with your body.
Then the next you look in the mirror only to see every wobble, every sign of cellulite on your wildly overweight form. You’re too hairy, too dark, too pale, too ugly, too fat, too thin…
One day you’re a 2 metre tall goddess. The next you’re a dumpy hobbit.
It’s all so exhausting.
So take a hard look at this image – and take a break in looking at your own.
You are an unreliable judge of your own appearance. And judging yourself makes no sense.
Take it from me and everyone who loves you: you look great. And if you remember that, you’ll feel great. And nothing looks better on you than that.
