“Everybody is unique. Compare not yourself with anybody else lest you spoil
God’s curriculum.” -- Baal Shem Tov
Many people, when they think about body image, think about the way they actually look. But it really isn't at all about how you look. Body image is actually your subjective view, feelings and thoughts about the way you look. It's that mental picture you shape in your mind when you either look at yourself in the mirror or by noting the reactions you get from others, and is generally formed based on emotion and feelings, not facts. How you feel about every inch of your body, inside and out, plays a role in your body image.Who or what shaped your body image...... the people around you (family and friends) and your culture (neighborhood, church, school, social hangouts), all starting from when you were very young. Include in there the messages about body image from television, magazines, films, and other media and you could really conjure up subjective pictures about yourself that are not you at all. Look around — the bodies in the real world are much more diverse and unique, as they should be, than those we see in the media. And other things such as puberty, menopause, sickness, disabled and even stress can influence body image.
