Altering the Mind

It is never too late to start over, to reinvent yourself, to change your current situation.

Does insomnia have you in bed until noon? If so that is okay, wake up, grab some food and do something you love

Is your anxiety making you feel overwhelmed? It will get better. Do little things like cleaning your room, watching a show or yoga to help ease your mind.

Is your depression holding you back from participating in things you once loved? It will be alright, you are not alone. Put on some of your favourite music and write a list of things that make you happy.

You do not have to move at the same pace as everyone around you. Society has created this image of the perfect woman, the perfect relationship and the perfect life but these ideations are just social constructs. There is no single person, relationship or life the defines perfection, rather we have the ability to define what perfection means to us. The perfect person, in my opinion, may differ greatly to a person you describe as perfect. 

Societal ideations concerning “perfection” places excessive pressure on people, taxing their mind, body and spirit.

To be happy and successful does not mean you have to:

Begin your day at 8 AM

Date an individual who is tall, thin and muscular

Be in a relationship that lacks arguments 

Have millions of dollars, a mansion and a sports car

We can alter societal norms by exerting our power to decide that society does not dictate what comprises a life of perfection and happiness. We have to support each other and dismantle existing ideations that we have been taught are needed in order to be loved.

Society expects us to have your whole life figured out, but that’s an abundance of unnecessary pressure -- because life is always changing. There are so many different paths to one goal and just because you’ve deviated off of one does not mean you’ve failed. 

Any difference, no matter how small, is still a difference. Start with yourself. Getting out of bed is an accomplishment. Checking off one thing on your to-do list is an accomplishment. Being proud of yourself is an accomplishment. Loving yourself is one of the biggest accomplishments.

Body image and the development of body dissatisfaction has become a topic of significant importance over the years. 

Female sociocultural beauty ideals have been found to influence females into partaking in numerous health-threatening behaviours such as the consumption of laxatives, restrictive eating and numerous unnecessary cosmetic surgeries (which have an abundance of health risks).

Three common sources of pressure concerning the ideal body come from media, peer groups and family. 

Media: according to various studies continuous exposure to media content leads to the acceptance of what is being portrayed as reality.

The current ideal female body being portrayed by media is unrealistic depicting a thin female with large curves. 

Consistent images of one ideal female body types can lead to women accepting their portrayal as the new norm and means of being deemed attractive. This can enhance one’s dissatisfaction with their body consequently impacting them psychosocially.

Across various social media platforms, thinness is emphasized to result in rewards for women whether it be in a work or social setting.

Considering the large influence media plays on shaping the thoughts, feelings and actions of young adolescent women it is critical to reconstruct the ideal body image to be more inclusive without emphasis on one shape and size.

Peer groups and family:

Quality of family and friend relations is important as more conflictual and unsupportive environments are linked to restrictive dieting and body image concerns in young girls

Girls who were rated as heavier than others by their mothers had significantly higher BMI and lower body image than other girls who were rated as thinner or the same. 

This suggest that mothers exert direct pressure on their daughters’ body image and dieting habits.

However, girls who were perceived as lighter than others by their mothers had greater increases in dieting behaviours 1 year later than did other girls

Evidently, relationships with the media, friends and family are significant socio-cultural factors associated with body image and disordered eating. While there are many negative consequences that can stem from each relationship, they also provide ground for positive body image acceptance. 

Some recommendations and practices:

Filter what you see by using the block or mute button on social media, blocking out triggering words that may perpetuate negative feelings

Mothers or friends, filter your language and behaviour by not using derogatory, judgemental or triggering language to your daughters or friends’ weight and body size (eg. avoid speaking about your own weight and focus on other things such as eating to stay healthy)

In contrast, women exercising for external motives related to body appearance, such as weight loss or increased muscle tone, have been linked to symptoms of disordered eating, body dissatisfaction and internalization of unrealistic body ideals. With this in mind, women with low self-esteem have a greater disconnect between their internal and outward body orientation and more more likely to engage in exercise to change their appearance. 

Evidence shows that exercising for internal or functional motives allows women to fully enjoy exercise rather than punishing themselves for what they ate and being concerned about their appearance. Studies show that these women have an increased appreciation for their body, greater self-esteem and less of a disconnect between their internal and outward body orientation. As a result, they are more likely to eat healthily, knowing when, what and how much to eat in order to compensate for their exertion of exercise, rather than restrictive dieting for the purpose of weight control. 

Clearly, having internal motives for exercise is much more valuable and protects against risk of eating disorders and body dissatisfaction. Your motivation for exercise should not just be to change your body appearance but because you love and value your body. 

From a young age, girls are trained and taught to ‘self-objectify’ — or to view themselves as an object in order to perceive themselves the way others would. They are taught to be careful about how they represent themselves: ‘sit with your legs together’, ‘walk with hands by your side’, ‘don’t be too loud!’ 

This problem doesn’t seem to exist for boys. It’s easier for them to lose themselves in motion, which can easily be transcended to sport. Whereas boys are taught to be themselves, to use all their space, girls have always been taught the opposite. Limit the space you use. Be aware of how others see you. So wouldn’t this obviously be seen in sport as well? 

“We must have our attention directed upon our bodies to make sure they are doing what we wish them to do, rather than paying attention to what we want to do through our bodies.” 

It appears that the phrase “throwing like a girl” is not an anatomical feature built in the female body, but something that has been constructed and ingrained in women’s actions, creating these “feminine” habits from young and making it difficult to change. Are girls even given the same opportunities to change? 

Evidently, women’s lived experiences are different from men. However, this does not mean it should be accepted, as a society we have to continue to progress towards equalizing males and females. We must understand the history of women and the oppression they faced and continue to face in order to change existing constructs that limit women. 

 maybe you’re having a panic attack, maybe you’re dissociating or maybe you’re just stressing.

here is something i found really helps in those moments:

Move from the place you are in right now, take a step back and find a more comfortable position

be patient, and be mindful that it will not go away with the snap of a finger. this is a wave, and you have to ride it

close your eyes, focus first on your breath, and the beatings of your heart. count to 10 very slowly

now open your eyes, don’t let the fear stop you, take ten seconds to notice the world around you, name the first things that you see, or just try to memorize where it is and how it looks

now close your eyes again, Count to 10 and slowly breathe, let your thoughts flow and don’t cling on to them, they will still be on your mind, but they have to flow freely

open your eyes again, look at the same object that your saw before, notice it is still on the same place, nobody moved it, it is the same color.

notice more things around you, notice how everything is ok, and you are not going through an extreme situation,  count another slow 10 

Close your eyes again and keep repeating this, keep noticing and naming more things, notice the sounds, the smells and the textures around you. Ground yourself in the reality of the moment.

One proven method to help with exercise adherence is the well-researched methods of self-monitoring or motivational interviewing (MI). 

Motivational interviewing is a collaborative approach between the health professional and individual, in which the professional behaves as an equal to the patient who tries to understand their goals and help them achieve it. 

Self-monitoring can vary, but is an individual approach for those who prefer to be more independent. It requires the individual set up journal entries, starting with specific, realistic goals they hope to achieve, as well as how they will be measured and when they will be achieved. 

Both approaches require individuals to come up with exercise goals they feel confident about, as well as identify anything that would prevent them from reaching those goals. Since they have identified barriers ahead of time, they are also able to identify what to do should it arise, and thus it will be easier for them to overcome them. 

While these methods have been successful in the past, a gentle reminder that depression is often a cyclical disorder. Patients with an established exercise regimens can still be susceptible to future depressive episodes, which in turn can disrupt their exercise regimen. 

With mental illness comes a decreased quality of life and an increased risk of  developing chronic physical conditions such as heart disease. As one can negatively affect the other, mental health should be considered as important as physical health. 

For those with an existing mental illness, such as depression, are usually prescribed medications that help mitigate the symptoms. However, there is evidence for an alternative method to treatment aside from prescriptions, especially for those who are unable to access, or are exposed to negative side-effects of the medication. 

Exercise! 

One study explored the effects of exercise, antidepressants and a placebo pill on sedentary adults with major depressive disorder. After four months of treatment, it was found that patients who participated in exercise or took antidepressants had higher and similar rates of remission and reported greater satisfaction with life. Therefore, exercise can be generally comparable to antidepressants for patients with major depressive disorder.