Body Positivity: Health at Every Size

Body positivity (BP) is a social movement that encourages people to have an attitude of acceptance for their bodies, no matter their shape, size, or the way they look in clothes.  The goal of this movement is to encourage self-acceptance and the belief that we all deserve respect.  It also challenges society’s beauty standards and attempts to combat body shaming and low self-esteem due to body image issues. The Body Positivity movement is also especially important for those who are overweight … [Read more...]

The Tyranny of Body Image

A friend told me recently about a horrible experience she had with a doctor.  She was sick, went to an urgent care, and before she could finish reciting her symptoms to the doctor, he told her she needed to lose weight.  She left there feeling like all he saw was the way her body looked – not that she was truly sick, not that she was smart and organized, not that she was successful – and his reaction fed right into her own struggles:  She had trouble giving herself credit for any of her … [Read more...]

Are You a Perfectionist?

To be perfectionistic means to have very high standards and expectations.  Is that bad, you ask?  Not necessarily.  Although perfectionism can be adaptive when it leads to high productivity and life satisfaction, it can be maladaptive when it leads to being self-critical, angry, or not having a life balance between work and recreation. Joan is an example of someone who does not recognize that she is a perfectionist.  Her children’s clothes must always be ironed and she must look perfect in … [Read more...]

BODY IMAGE: Are We STILL Worrying About That?

As someone who has always struggled with her weight, I have, in recent years, focused on eating healthier, doing more walking, and cherishing the extra energy that gives me. What I have not been doing is focusing solely on what the scale says. I was very pleased to see an autobiography from TV star, Valerie Bertinelli, called “Enough Already” about how the actress and food show host is essentially delivering the same message. The nice thing about famous people writing books about popular topics … [Read more...]

Conquering Procrastination in 2017

Want to change one thing in the New Year? For many of us, the most valuable would be to stop procrastinating.  Whether you are a student struggling with the conflict between school work and video gaming, a mom who has a list that never ends, a woman who still has not put her winter clothes in the closet, or a manager who cannot seem to complete those deliverables until the last minute, conquering procrastination can help all of us in many areas of life. People procrastinate for a lot of … [Read more...]