TW: mental illness, self harm
I’ve struggled with negative body image for as long as I can remember. I started self harming at the age of six, and I’ve struggled with depression and mania since I was thirteen. This past year, my mental health and physical health took a nose dive. My depression and insomnia were at their all-time worst, and I was plagued by nearly constant hallucinations. I was cutting every day and drugging myself into oblivion. The week before finals, I was committed to a psychiatric hospital and eventually diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. While in the hospital, I began to understand just how unkind I’d been to my body. I was scabbed and scarred, underfed, and weak. For once I stopped obsessing over the size and shape of my body. I just wanted it to be healthy again. I made the choice to stop lashing out at my body and start having fun with it. This picture was taken on May 28th, three days after I was released from the hospital. It was the first time I’d ever had the confidence to wear a bikini in public. There are a million pictures of me from that day… messy hair, scars, and all. It was one of the best days of my life. I guess the point of all this is to enjoy your body. Even if you can’t honestly say that you love the way it looks, you always have the opportunity to make amazing memories in it. Love your body because it’s yours. Don’t waste your life chasing perfection. It doesn’t exist anyway ;P
BE BRAVE! JOIN THE BODY PEACE REVOLUTION!
