The inspiration behind this blog title actually came from an advert I recently saw on TV ... in the ad, a selection of women on the street were asked to name the part of their body they liked the most. Without exception, everyone of them really struggled to come up with something. Next they were asked to name a part of their friends body they liked the most and this time they were all instantly able to come up with something, ranging from eyes, skin, nose (and even bottom!).
I would now like you to ask yourself... could you name the part of your body you loved the most? If you were to ask a friend the same question, what would they say about you?
So what was this advert for? Well it was actually for Dove soap. For years, Dove have linked their products to increased self-esteem... no one is saying that soap is going to make you feel better about yourself but I think this particular advert raises an important question... why is most women find it so difficult to appreciate our own bodies and feel confident about what we have?
After some more research, I came across an article in the online advertising magazine "Adweek", which reported that Dove hired a criminal sketch artist to draw 2 sketches of a selection of women - the first sketch was based on the woman's description of herself and the second was based on a description provided by a stranger the woman has just met. As you can guess, the differences between the two images were vast! You can read the full article and watch a video of this by following this link: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/dove-hires-criminal-sketch-artist-draw-women-they-see-themselves-and-others-see-them-148613.
I found it extremely touching to see the women's reactions when they were presented with the two sketches of themselves and it was clear some of the women were truly shocked that a stranger could see so many positive and attractive features which they had totally ignored or even worse, turned into negative features.
It would seem that we are all able to appreciate positive parts of someone else, however we find it much harder to appreciate our own bodies. Is this just most women not wanting to appear overconfident? Or that is it somehow 'fashionable' to put yourself down? Perhaps these things might be true, however low self esteem about one's appearance can affect anyone and can sometimes lead to terrible consequences, including depression and eating disorders.
So can hypnotherapy help you realise that you are more beatiful than you think? The answer is 'yes' and in a number of ways. If weight is an issue, there is nothing wrong with having goals and hypnotherapy can help you strive towards becoming a better version of yourself. At the same time, hypnotherapy can help you to overcome any limiting beliefs about yourself so you can appreciate what you actually already have.
If you have any questions, please contact Christy today on christy@christyhypnotherapy.com.
