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This is part 1 of 6-part series on body insecurity where I share my history with body insecurity , signs of body insecurity, effects and reasons of body insecurity and tips to get over it and also motivational quotes to inspire you to love your body

• Part 1 : 10 Warning Signs You Have Body Insecurity

• Part 2 : 10 Most Common Reasons of Body Insecurity

• Part 3 : 10 Dangerous Effects of Body Insecurity

• Part 4 : 10 Ways to Overcome Body Insecurity

• Part 5 : My history with body insecurity – how it all started and what it did to me and how I managed to get over it

• Part 6 : 50 Body Positivity Quotes To Inspire You To Love Your Body

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In this generation, body insecurity has become one of the most common problems people are having. Most people are facing it every day. Many are crying over it, regretting it and considering them as worthless only for the so called shame they used to feel about their body. It’s been a problem of people from all ages. Even many teenagers who used to be bullied in their school or in some primary places mostly suffer from extreme body insecurities and sometimes they don’t get enough support regarding this from anyone. As a result, some of them even think of committing suicide because of their immature mindset.

Even many adults suffering from body insecurity used to have a low self esteem that often affects different perspectives of their life including their career, personal life and relationship life. According to Mental Health Foundation, “Higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviors and eating disorders. Conversely, body satisfaction and appreciation has been linked to better overall wellbeing and fewer unhealthy dieting behaviors.”

So, it’s important to take  necessary steps before you become affected by it. However, many people used to take a lot of time to understand if they’re really suffering from it or not? If you’re one of those people who are confused about if they really have body insecurities or not, then the article is for you. In today’s article, you’re going to know about 10 of the most common signs of body insecurities.

So, if you’re interested, then continue reading to the end.

Warning Signs You Have Body Insecurity

1. You are being too obsessed over the mirror or just avoiding it

Have you ever felt the urge of watching mirror over and over again without any reason? Maybe it hasn’t been a while since you had checked your mirror for the last time and you’re still looking for a chance to rush to your mirror even if there isn’t any specific reason behind this. Many people who used to suffer from body insecurities spend their majority of time in front of the mirror looking at themselves and observing ever single part of their body though everything is literally the same.

The others  simply avoid looking at the mirror. The reason behind this is that mostly people suffering from it hate their look and body. So, they avoid mirror because they don’t want to see their reflection often. So if you’re having body image issues, you may also find yourself ignoring mirrors as much as possible or covering it with any normal stuff like black curtains. 

2. You’re obsessed with skin care

Having proper skin care is really essential. It helps you have a fresh skin. By shedding your skin sells throughout the day, it keeps your skin a lot glowing and also it helps make you look more younger. So, definitely there isn’t nothing wrong with having skin care. But, again being too much obsessed with something is never good.

You should always have a proper routine of when you would like to do that. However, you will find some people around you who take skin care every now and then. You may find themselves being too busy over taking facials, using different expensive skin care products even though they had a plenty of them. Being too obsessed over skin care can be also a sign that you’re suffering from Body dysmorphic disorder or BDD. According to  Johns Hopkins Medicine, “as a sign of BDD, you can become obsessed with any part of your body. The most common areas are your face, hair, skin, chest, and stomach.”

3. You compare yourself with other people

 Having comparison with others often may bring some good results. Having comparison with others will make you more self aware. It also helps us to get motivated and to set realistic goals sometimes. You will also get to appreciate what you have. Overall, this is literally not always wrong when you compare different perspectives of your life with others EXCEPT your body.

Comparing your appearance with others frequently can have a massive side-effect. According to Butterfly Organization, “Comparing ourselves to others is only natural, but making body comparisons can be a sure way to bust a positive body image. In fact, making appearance-based comparisons can strongly influence body dissatisfaction, particularly when comparing oneself to idealised body types and beauty standards.” So, if you ever find yourself comparing your appearance to others often maybe in real life or maybe in social media, then it’s a sign that you’re having body insecurity.

4. You cannot accept the truth

 Some of the biggest truths about the world of appearance are firstly the social media isn’t true. Those photos of people with perfect body that make you jealous and unwanted about yourself, are often edited for hours. One of the most common things people nowadays focus on is representing a perfect body shape in front of the world. So, every photo goes through the editing and filtering process despite only a few of them confessing it. Secondly, if you think that you have any dispute in your appearance or body, then this is not your fault because a lot is connected with genetics too. Another truth about the beauty standard is that every person is having their own perspective of beauty and there will always be some people who will be criticizing the way you look and you have nothing to do with this.

I know these truths might already sound a lot familiar to you and may feel like too easy to accept. However, for people with body insecurity, it’s a different situation. Though they know about this, they can hardly accept this by heart. So, if you ever find it difficult for you to accept any of these deep down truths, then that can be a sign that you have body image issues.

Also Read: 10 Harsh Truths To Accept To Become a Better Person

10 Harsh Truths To Accept To Become a Better Person [Part – 2]

5. You think that beauty is everything

Some people in the world think that beauty is everything.  As a result, they get so obsessed with this and most importantly they never feel satisfied with what they have. They always crave for more and more. They become harsh on others when they think that they’re not beautiful enough.

Whereas, some other people try to take the advantage of pretty privilege. They live with the wrong idea that they can achieve anything with their beauty. As a result they never focus on developing any other skills or opportunities and also often judge others because of their appearance.

People of these both categories suffer from body insecurity because maybe their situations are not the same, but they live with the same thought. So, if you ever find yourself in any of these situations, then there is no doubt that you’re suffering from body insecurity.

6. You don’t want your body

 People who suffer from body insecurities blame themselves because of the shape of their body. They think that they’re ugly because of their own fault. They used to have a low self esteem and often they harm themselves as a consequence. According to Cambridge Org, “there is a significant relationship between body image and self-esteem of the adolescents, and that body image and self-esteem were the significant regressors of self-harm behavior.”

Even some teenagers and young adults who are the biggest sufferer of it often used to have suicidal thoughts. Some also use knives and other different harmful products on their body just to get a perfect appearance even without knowing about the side-effects. Besides, plastic surgery is not a new term to us. According to Forbes, “In 2019, the most recent year for which data is available, some 11.36 million plastic surgery procedures were carried out around the world along with another 13.6 million nonsurgical procedures” Even again 92% of those people who take this are women. Most of the people went through this most possibly could never accept the way they looked.

So, if you ever had any blaming on yourself because of your body or if you ever had any things like suicidal or self harming thoughts in your mind, then it’s a warning sign that you’re suffering from body insecurity.

7.You follow the eating rituals excessively

Having a specific eating routine is really necessary for a good health. According to UCSD Chear, “In general, scheduling what and when you eat will help you maintain a balanced diet and create a more stable energy source, as your metabolism will be engaged at optimal levels all day long. The goal is to eat every 3 to 4 hours in order to keep your blood sugar consistent and for your stomach to optimally digest.”

Almost every of us used to have a simple and normal eating ritual that we follow almost in every of our meals. But, have you ever found yourself bringing extreme changes in your eating rituals? To explain, maybe you have started overeating because you think that you’re too skinny or maybe you have just stopped eating at all because you assume that you’re over weighting. If you’re having all these unnecessary thoughts in your mind most of the time, then chances are that you’re suffering from body insecurities. 

8. You’re avoiding social situations

 Some of the most common social situations we used to have usually are a party or a family get-together or simply any official parties. Mostly we attend them happily and enjoy it with our loved ones. But, this is not the same for those who have body image issues.

Those who think that they’re ugly try to hide themselves from others. They always think that there is something wrong with them . So people will laugh at them if they will see them even though it’s the completely false most of the time. Even when they attend any parties, they’re most likely to just sit at a corner and observe the whole thing and even mostly they never engage in any conversation with others. All because of the insecurities they have. So, if you ever find yourself avoiding social situation for any of these thoughts you have, then chances are that you’re suffering from body insecurity.

9. You judge other people based on their appearance

People mostly judge others from their own experience and from their own imagination or understanding of something. Every person used to hold a different opinion or idea about everything that is not necessarily going to be the same for everyone.  Talking about appearance, it’s also a part of this.

We all know about the nasty racist people out there. We know how harshly and cruelly they judge others based on their appearance. Those people are undoubtedly very narrow minded . They do this because they assume that appearance is a power and those who don’t have this, don’t deserve to stay well. These kind of thoughts are also a part of body insecurity. Since, you can also expect them to have perfectionist tendencies in their personal life about their body so that they could be proud. So, if you ever find yourself bullying someone for their appearance or holding any feelings like this, then it’s a red flag that you have body insecurity.

 10. You’re over exercising

Exercising in a regular basis is crucial to have a good health. It helps you to control your weights, improves your mood and overall keeps you fit and healthy. Studies show that on Short-Workout Days, people usually workout for 20-30 minutes. On Easier Recovery Days a person usually exercises for 30-45 minutes. Whereas on long –moderate days, this time used to be around 45-90 minutes

However, have you ever found yourself overexercising or exercising for more time than you usually would do?  Many people do over exercise, because they used to be too impatient to get a perfect body. If you are exercising every day consistently, even then it’s going to take 7-8 weeks to notice any change. And around 3-6 months to get the  shape you want to have. But, some people try to achieve it within couple of weeks or a month. Consequently, they do overexercising which leads to several health problems like lack of energy, heart problems and sleeplessness etc. Those people who do this are obviously insecure about their body since they used to be so impatient about it.

My final thoughts:  I hope these signs will help you to understand if you have body insecurities or not and will emit most of your confusions. It’s noteworthy that there are tons of other signs are being like this. Even some people also might experience some unusual signs time to time that others don't experience often. It varies from people to people. 

So, whenever you feel any of these signs, then don’t avoid it. Start working before this from day one. Do meditate, talk with inspiring people around you and try other simple tips to get cured. If you think it’s getting worse, then don’t wait and rush to an expert or to a specialist who can help you with this. Remember, body insecurity is really life ruining. It may seem like a simple problem, but if you won’t care about it then you will never know how it will destroy your mental health and your confidence and other perspectives of your life by time. So, always be careful about this.

That’s all for today’s article. Don’t forget to leave a comment about your thoughts regarding this post.

Question for you: Is there any other signs are being that have helped you to understand that you’ve body insecurity previously but we’ve forgotten to list them here? If yes, then what are they?

Let me know the answer in the comment below!

Finally, if you liked this article, then don’t forget to share it with others who can find it useful or interesting too. Your one share will make my day!

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Continue on to Part 2 : 10 Most Common Reasons of Body Insecurity where I shared some of the most common reasons people suffer from body insecurity.

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This is part 1 of 6-part series on body insecurity where I share my history with body insecurity , signs of body insecurity, effects and reasons of body insecurity and tips to get over it and also motivational quotes to inspire you to love your body

• Part 1 : 10 Warning Signs You Have Body Insecurity

• Part 2 : 10 Most Common Reasons of Body Insecurity

• Part 3 : 10 Dangerous Effects of Body Insecurity

• Part 4 : 10 Ways to Overcome Body Insecurity

• Part 5 : My history with body insecurity – how it all started and what it did to me and how I managed to get over it

Part 6 : 50 Body Positivity Quotes To Inspire You To Love Your Body

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