Self-image, a summer dilemma

While it is true that for most of us the opportunity to go to the beach and have our bodies more uncovered is assumed to be relaxing and synonymous with relaxation, it is also true that for many people this experience can prove to be absolutely uncomfortable and a true source of suffering.

Who has never woken up with that feeling that, once again, they failed because they had not achieved their dream or socially desirable body? We realized that summer can bring with it the idea that a perfect body, a “summer” body, is a necessary condition for living with peace of mind the period of the year that we are now going through.

The social constructs surrounding this topic are one of the factors responsible for causing many people to face feelings of anxiety, anguish, frustration, and shame in their relationship with their own body. And this is where, when we continuously immerse ourselves in these emotions, we compromise the quality of our mental health and well-being. It is also here that, as we know, a set of excuses begins and gives life to a set of excuses that serve to justify the refusal of one (two or three) invitations; which serve to avoid the proximity of a swimming pool; to base hours of reflection on the strategic choice of clothing... and a series of other occurrences. Warning signs.

Summer events, like any other at any time of the year, give meaning to life and should fit into our schedule with tranquility, peace, and the never expendable self-love.

It is important to share with you that most of the inhibiting forces that seem to exert control over some of us essentially represent psychological barriers. Barriers that are born, first of all, in our own person, in our own minds, in our own judgments. Thus, we quickly realized that improving the relationship with our body and the ability to accept ourselves is essential in order not to allow ourselves to be consumed and defeated by shame and all the other emotions that we have already listed, and we know, to weigh so much.

If we could choose a buzzword for this summer, we would propose freedom. And on that side, what word would you choose?

Learn more about the Hippocampus 'Feeling Pregnancy, Thinking about the Postpartum Group' multidisciplinary program hereto

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