As someone who has personally dealt with body positivity issues for many years, I felt this topic needs a spotlight especially in the IBD community. As more and more people are diagnosed with eating and mental disorders, we look to fashion, music, acting, and social media industries being flooded with unrealistic body images that have been airbrushed, photo shopped, and rearranged. These unrealistic images not only affect people who are young and maybe insecure, they affect anyone who has a disability or suffering from disease. So often we do not see ourselves represented, we try to conform to what has been. This is not only toxic to yourself and loved ones, it is a disservice to the body you have. Let’s look at why everybody is beautiful in this week’s blog post.
After being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2014, I was constantly comparing myself to people who were healthy. Why is my body not working right? Why do I have to live with this incurable disease? I didn’t know it at the time, but these were the wrong questions to ask. I was so busy comparing the outside appearance, and internal working structures, I forgot what things I had that were good or working well. By being consumed by what was wrong or different, I forgot how much my body was doing correctly.
Now, don’t think that I came to this realization overnight. This took many years of being angry about my IBD, before I came to appreciate all the things it has made me realize and be grateful for. It was also a huge personal growth opportunity for me as I had to come face to face with the realization that no amount of anger or hate could take away my disease. By shifting my focus to what I did have that worked well, I was able to tear down my mountain of anger and day by day replace it with gratitude.
I started small by naming five things a day that I was thankful for, body related of course, out loud to myself. Things like, ‘I’m grateful for a working heart to pump blood to my whole body.’ ‘I’m thankful I have working eyes so I can see the world around me.’ I know these sound simple, but repeating different things you are thankful for gives a sense of pride and ownership to the things you have that do work well. After doing this for several months, my anger towards my disease started to soften.
I encourage anyone reading this to try this technique, no matter what your situation. Are you in a wheelchair? Try being grateful for your arms that carry you where you need to go by spinning the wheels on your chair. Have you had an ostomy? Try being thankful for your heart, stomach, liver, or kidneys that work well. Do you have diabetes? Be thankful that with medical advances, it is becoming easier to manage. Point is, no matter the situation or how you feel about your body, you are special. You are worthy. You are beautiful. You are not broken just because you are different. Your body is working so hard, and doing such a good job to take care of you, even if you have an incurable disease or disability. Next time you feel anger bubbling up about your illness or disability, remember to take a breath, and start listing the things you are thankful for about your body. This will start changing your perspective, and I guarantee you’ll feel better about your situation. Keep persevering beautiful, we got this!
Note: * This is NOT an affiliate post. I do not receive anything for promoting or recommending things. *Â