I’m sorry for the long post, but I need to get this out.

So I’ve ALWAYS been terribly self conscious. When I was growing up, I was always ridiculed by family members about my weight, style, personality, etc. when I was in grade school, I was told that I looked pregnant and needed to work out. Now that I look back, I wasn’t fat, they were just mean. I would take a crayon and stand sideways against the wall and draw my front outline so I could see how big my belly was. I would repeat this every few weeks or so to see progress. I weighed myself every single day of my life and felt like I had done something wrong every time I ate.

I was, I guess you’d say, one of those punk rock/Tom boy chicks... 🤷🏼‍♀️ Always wearing jeans and band tees. Never wore makeup. Only listened to rock music.. would skip school a lot, smoked.. blah blah blah. My family would take me to get my hair done, buy my makeup, buy me expensive purses. Told me I needed to tan because pale wasn’t pretty.

As you can assume, I’ve had quite a bit of body/self image issues. I’ve tried seeing a counselor, seeking acceptance from others.. nothing worked.

It has caused issues in my marriage. I have severe anxiety and depression. I fall into starving myself when I’m upset and it’s gotten pretty bad before.

BUT lately I have been doing yoga, working out daily, taking better care of myself, and I have been taking medication. I am starting to feel so much better about myself. I don’t feel like I need to wear makeup all the time. I feel like I’m allowed to eat and no one will judge me for it. My husband adores me and is always trying to make me feel sexy, beautiful, and comfortable in my own skin. It’s hard for me to accept his compliments if I don’t believe them about myself. I’m working on that.

I just wanted to make a post, because I feel pretty today. I feel pretty with my body, my hair, my face, just me. I don’t need someone to tell me I’m pretty to feel that way. I know there are a lot of women who struggle with the same issues, but there is a way through it. God bless. 💛

I tried to post a pic but it wouldn’t let me. Guess the post is too big. 🤷🏼‍♀️