“Don’t let your mind bully your body.” – June Tomaso Wood
Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental health disorder in which you can’t stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in your appearance, and it is highly prevalent in adolescent and young adults in India and across the globe. It is estimated that close to 0.7% to 2.4% people of the population suffer from body dysmorphia or other body image issues. Such insecurities can birth many complications in the human mind such as anxiety, anorexia, or onset or Schizophrenia and other disorders.
Trisha, a 23 year old design student also suffered from body image issues and it led her to be a misfit in social settings. From a tender age, Trisha was a victim of body shaming and it made her feel conscious and anxious all the time. The intensity of Trisha’s body image issue started rising after she started living alone. She was afraid of being judged and hence refrained herself from talking to other people. Along with constantly feeling guilt and shame, Trisha’s work life also started getting affected and so she decided to reach out to YourDOST counsellor, Divya.
“I never thought I would open up. But after a few sessions I felt really comfortable with Divya.”
Trisha always used to restrain herself from initiating a conversation and opening up, but with Divya, she found her solace and began her journey to rediscover herself and feel more confident in her skin. As her counselling began, Trisha expressed many emotions and Divya helped her understand the root cause of her insecurities and how she can tackle her potential triggers. Divya suggested to Trisha to take a personality test in order to understand herself better.
Simultaneously, Divya asked Trisha to write down instances of body shame or other incidents where she faced buying or shame, to understand and analyse a pattern. After the session, Divya examined the issues and asked Trisha to not bottle up her emotions anymore. Trisha had not spoken to anyone about this prior to counselling sessions, so she felt relief after opening up to Divya.
“If I am confident today it is because of the counselling sessions I had with Divya.”
As the counselling sessions went on, Trisha was advised to practise meditation as well. One of the best experiences Trisha had while counselling was to wear a dress she did not feel comfortable wearing before and embrace it now. She felt extremely comfortable and confident after this. The sessions and sheer determination of Divya had finally paid off well.
Today, Divya is comfortable talking to any new person and she re-established her relationship with her classmates. Trisha looks forward to more sessions with Divya, as Divya was one of the first few people she trusted and opened up to about her insecurities. Divya was always unbiased and acted as a true friend and a motivator to Trisha, and so Trisha feels forever grateful to having sessions with Divya.
“Taking the first step can be scary. But once you start telling your story you will start feeling good.”
Trisha is a confident lady today, who is not only comfortable in her own skin but also wants to encourage other people to be the best version of themselves by not wasting energy on “what will people say?”. Trisha wants all the young kids and young-adults to not fall in the trap of societal beauty standards but to be fit and healthy, physically and mentally.
Trisha’s Warrior Tips:
1. Your body is your temple, one should learn how to embrace it.
2. Reaching out is always the best option than to suffer in silence.
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