This is more a plea than a post.
I’m seeing so many posts on social media about how much weight we’re all going to gain during this time of reduced activity and enforced time spent closer to the fridge; so many supposedly comic 'before and after' pictures of people or animals. It makes me sad and worried for those who are really suffering right now with disordered eating and a negative body image.
I know that the intention is to make us laugh and relieve some of the anxiety or boredom and many of those who post will honestly say that they couldn’t care less if they gain weight, it’s just a joke. And maybe that’s true for them or maybe it’s their way of coping with the fear of gaining weight themselves.
But, there are millions of people who were already struggling with their body image and their relationship with food before this confinement. They may already find themselves checking their bodies in the mirror more often and fighting the urge to comfort eat or binge but are unable to distance themselves from food or from those people whose comments tend to be the greatest reinforcers of their negative self-talk.
So, please can I ask you to think before you post what seems to you to be a harmless bit of fun? It might be triggering harmful behaviours and thoughts in others and, if you’re honest with yourself, it’s probably not making you feel any better either.
This is a time to look after ourselves and others. Our bodies need kindness and care both physically and mentally. We’re all likely to change shape during these weeks or months of quarantine. Some of us will lose muscle mass whilst others might build up muscles they never knew they had due to suddenly starting a daily exercise routine. Some of us will gain some fat and some of us might lose our appetite and lose fat stores. None of us will ever be entirely the same again when we come out the other side.
If we’re lucky we’ll avoid the virus and emerge physically healthy regardless of our shape or weight. But it would make me so happy if the social media environment evolved into a safer place for our mental health, where we feel supported rather than judged and where we celebrate the strength of every human body which has made it through.
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