Health at every size. Just think about that for a moment. What does that even mean?

Our society commonly worships the “thin ideal” for women or the “lean and muscular ideal” for men and we humans, then, internalize that thin is equivalent to healthy. As a result, 9 out of 10 of us will walk around with our own body dissatisfaction, obsessive thoughts about food and dieting, and feelings of guilt associated with eating too much and exercising too little. The most outrageous thing about this, is that those 9 people are of all heights, weights, and physical ability or disability. Thus, the idea of “healthy” appears to be something no one ever achieves, not even the thin and fit people!

For children and adults alike, a paradigm shift is in order.  Defining health from a holistic perspective of feelings of well-being in all aspects of life should be our focus and objective. Physical appearance should not be our indicator of health. Adopting the view that health is comprised of mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical well-being will be important for raising our children with the critical thinking skills and defenses necessary for overcoming the 5000 social media messages they receive daily about the thin ideal. We are all prone to internalizing those messages and we must build up our skill set to be able to question what we see.

Heath at every size is hard to wrap our minds around, especially in such a weight and appearance focused society. Next time you find yourself feeling guilty about nourishing your body, ask yourself, how you can work towards a more balanced perspective of health. Are you always thinking about food or feeling guilty about what you did or did not eat? Are you comparing yourself to others based on what they look like? The answer is most likely ‘yes’ since 90% of us do these things. The challenge is learning how to have body positive thoughts and feelings while also prioritizing true health in all areas, regardless of size!

Need help getting to this point? You can call Dr. Schwalen’s office today for a consultation to see if psychological services would be a good fit for you and your family. Call today at 469-294-9075.