Hi Stace,

Firstly, you are setting yourself up to fail if you compare yourself to people in films and magazines. These artists have been airbrushed and photo-shopped so they are the most perfect (often distorted) version of themselves. What you don’t see is the spots on their face, the cellulite on their legs, the bags under their eyes, the wobbly bits around their tummy. I could go on but these are some of the things that are altered to make you believe that you can look like the people in the pictures and on screen.

These people are actually just like you and me, but have expensive personal trainers and diets to keep them on track. They still, however have imperfections- everyone does- no matter how much money you throw into the mix. The reality is that you will never be able to achieve that kind of perfection because it doesn’t exist.

Perhaps go and see your doctor who might be able to refer you for some counselling, or other treatment, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to try and help you gradually change your perception of yourself to one that is positive.  This might help you to realise that the way you look is only a part of you and not the be all and end all.

It is not trivial, as it is a focus and an issue in your life right now that is probably worth being addressed so it becomes less prominent in your mind. You could put practical things in place to change the way you look, but it all starts with accepting what you have and making the most of it. What we feel about ourselves inside is radiated outwardly, so to move on it all begins there.