Name:
Angela Slater
Age:
43
Location:
Durham
Why
did you agree to take part in this Q&A?
I
like to support efforts to raise awareness on mental health and different parts
of life that can impact on mental wellbeing. Body image is something that has a
wide ranging impact in modern society and on people’s mental health so it is an
important topic to discuss.
At
what age do you think you first began to take notice of your body image?
I
think I was quite young (maybe 7 or 8) but I don’t think I was excessively
bothered with this until about 12 or 13 years old.
What
made you take notice?
I
think it was a combination of my age, body changes, social pressure, and
wanting to ‘fit in’ that made me take notice.
Would
you say that your thoughts on your body image began as positive or negative?
From
the ages of about 11 or 12 it was probably negative and I continually wanted to
change different things about my appearance.
Why
do you think that was?
This
was mainly due to the fact that it seemed to me at that time that the slimmest
and prettiest girls seemed to be the most popular and get the most
opportunities.
How
have your thoughts on your body image changed over time?
My
thoughts have changed massively over the years. I now see that body image has
very little to do with what you actually look like and all about how you perceive
yourself. There are super models who have low or poor body image and people who
have physical differences can have excellent body image. I now know ‘beauty’ is
not something that is objective and fixed but something that changes over time
and cultures and is very subjective. As a result my body image is much more positive.
In
what way do you think your thoughts on your body image impact your mental
health?
This
is an interesting question as we had an event this week in my workplace for
staff called ‘This Is Me’ and one person talked about how body image impacts a
range of conditions and not just the more obvious ones such as eating disorders.
It can impact general wellbeing but it can also impact on those living with a
range of mental health problems including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder,
BPD etc. For me, when I had very poor body image it made me feel low, stressed
out and obsessed with changing my appearance and it became a significant
problem for my mental health.
What
do you think about the media’s portrayal of body image?
I
am hugely saddened by the media’s portrayal around body image and the damage
that this creates in society as well as to individuals. The constant commentary
particularly of women’s bodies in the media is hugely disempowering and
unnecessary. The media focus on what women look like rather than what women do
and contributes to create a climate where women learn to value what they look
like rather than who they are and what they achieve. I can also see this
starting to happen to men in the media is negative and for people reading what
the media write and the images they use, particularly young people, they learn
to criticize themselves in the same way.
If
you could say one thing (about body image) to people, what would it be?
We
need to celebrate who we are and what we look like regardless of current
societal ideal and remember to value your body for what it does for you and not
just for what it looks like.