In a society that reveres all things perfect and youthful it has become increasingly difficult to not let the ravages of RA coupled with simple aging negatively influence my body image.
There are those few occasions when I feel attractive. A new outfit that fits thanks to a few pounds lost or my husband or sons telling me I look especially nice. But sadly those times are not common for most of us with RA. I find myself shying away from form fitting clothes no matter if they would look good or not simply because I have more belly than ever before thanks to years of prednisone use and the fact I cannot do traditional core exercises and, of course, the aging body. All of these factor into my own assessment of body issues that I am facing.
Despite trying to do positive self talk around this issue it still remains a problem for me and I am not really confident anymore that I can work through it. I do know I will try and perhaps that is the first step.
Even if I can just LIKE my body that would be a start! I do have days when the simple appreciation of not being in a flare and being able to move with some degree of ease and comfort gives me a certain confidence that extends to how I feel I look. It is amazing how pain and lack of mobility can influence how you see yourself. Of course, coupled with the poor body image is the struggle to stay physically active and how that most certainly influences how we look and feel.
We need to change our mindset to reflect positive reasoning for working out not negative ones! This is easier said than done. But if we practice affirmations and positive self talk coupled with not allowing ourselves to be sucked into the body image garbage that surrounds us from all sides, we can develop a healthy and positive self image so that in time, when we look in that mirror we see a perfectly normal, healthy and yes, attractive person looking back at us!
