Pagans and Self-Image (Read First Post)

[Winter Black]

We have made a thread for advice and moral support for those of us who wish to lose weight, eat healthy, and exercise. You can find it here.

I was wondering what other pagan's feel about the way they look.
I know I'm not satisfied with my outer image, but its more on a health issue basis. I'm overweight in the fact of I have a huge gut, and I'm out of shape. But I'm trying to exercise and get back in shape, and its working, kind of.

But a lot of people hate the way they look, for superficial reasons, because pop culture tells them to, because someone keeps putting them down, and so on... And its really sad, because thats not why I don't like my current outer image as much as I should. I'm just overweight and out of shape, and want to fix it. Some of the people I see are almost perfect, but they hate the way they look. I think they look great, but they don't, and its sad.

Are there any issues, health or otherwise, that are affecting your outer image? How are you dealing with them? Do others think its a problem as well?

Also, for those seeking magical help in feeling better about themselves, come see me in the Anamolous Phenomenon Assistance Services Thread in the Owl's Roost. I can help out.

I guess that's all I really wanted to know.  

[Trollhammarentime]

Me? I'm perfectly happy with the way I look.

One thing that keeps me going is that the gods don't look favorably upon lazy people. This motivated me to get up every morning at 6:30, school day or not, eat a light breakfast, stretch, go for a three-quater hour job, do 50 situps and 50 pushups, have a shower and go about the rest of my day.

I try to be constructive with everything I do. If I don't have anything to do and want to relax, I put on some music, and if I have the chance, I'll do a bit of rune meditation. Asatru really drives me to do things and not be lazy, I strive to be worth my the aid I recieve in my daily life and so far, I think i'm doing a pretty damn good job.  

[The Bookwyrm]

I am definately not at all happy with my body, not simply my image. Despite the fact that I'm over weight, six days out of seven I can look at myself in the mirror and say that I'm pretty, extra pounds or not. But the weight is causing health problems for me, mainly joint pain that's getting worse and unfortunately, regardless of what I've tried in the past, I cannot take off or keep off the weight. Maybe I'm not trying the right combination of things, but eating well get's pretty hard when you're on a student's budget and your wages from work don't even cover your rent.

I'm also pretty scared on my chest, shoulders, arms and back from a persistant acne problem, the root of which I've recently discovered was the moisturizer based soap my mother had always kept in the house. Many of the scars, once they've healed, look like freckles, but it's until they heal, and the dry, itching skin on my arms that serve as an embarassment. I'm doing all that I can for that, as well: Showering twice a day when I get the chance with a soap that isn't so oily, and using other treatments to keep it under contorl. It's not a perfect science, but I can control the worst of it.

The one thing I don't like about my image and would change in a second if I had the chance is the size of my bust. My boobs are *huge* and after living with large breasts for so many years, I've gotten very tired of men talking to me chest, of people staring, or of being treated like my intellectual capacity is adversely affect by my cup size. They run in the family, so there's not a lot I can do besides try to lose weight, and possibly look into having them reduced through surgery. It would be so nice to fit into a cute shirt without stretching it all to blazes after the first couple of wears, or to walk or run without discomfort of feeling insecure. I may joke about them, but I think they're the one thing I hate most about my body  

[Jameta]

I wish I had a better facial complexion(sp?) and that I was in better, overall health. I have trouble remembering to take my vitamins, and simply do not eat a lot.

I have more trouble with procrastination and being motivated to do things. I've been praying more about it, but something keeps me from being totally focused on this. confused When I try asking for help, my mind seems very scattered.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

I'm in fairly good health, and I've had enough people hitting onme that I'd have to be pretty stupid to think that I look ugly. I don't really like my nose, but that's something that comes and goes.

I think that you should only dislike something about yourself, when it's something that should be changed. Something that causes health problems (I hate the fact that I have asthma) or the like, something that really doesn't work well for health. Otherwise, you should appreciate your body. You can consider yourself ugly, but I've found that when a person is nice and agreeable, it shines through and makes them more attractice, regardless of whether they conform to societal norms or not.  

[phantomkitsune]

I dislike all the scars I have. A particularly irritating one stretches from my eyebrow to my hairline, and I'm always selfconcious about it. I also have stretch marks on my shoulders from growing quickly, and they make me really self-concious about wearing tank tops.

Other than that, I'm fairly happy about the way I look. I'm getting fit this summer, too, and that makes me even more happy.  

[Eric Wolfborn]

phantomkitsune

I dislike all the scars I have. A particularly irritating one stretches from my eyebrow to my hairline, and I'm always selfconcious about it. I also have stretch marks on my shoulders from growing quickly, and they make me really self-concious about wearing tank tops.

Other than that, I'm fairly happy about the way I look. I'm getting fit this summer, too, and that makes me even more happy.

Vitamin E ointment gets rid of stretch marks. 3nodding  

[Feryal Riska]

The only thing I don't really like about myself is that I am very out of shape. My mom broke her hip, and she was my gym partner, so I stopped going while she healed. After I move to Italy, that'll be fixed. I mean, I have to pass the summer somehow...
Well, I lied... I don't like my eyebrows either, and the only way to really keep them tame is to wax them, unless I pluck every. single. day. And I just don't have the time for that. They're also very, very dark and I don't want to risk lightening them and getting something in my eye. *shrugs*
Other than those things, I'm relatively happy with my appearance. I've got a pretty high self-esteem, and I get complements regularly, which helps. biggrin  

[Winter Black]

I didn't expect so many replies right off the bat. Wow.

Nihl is right, though, I agree that you should generally appreciate yourself, regardless of how you think you look.
I'm trying so hard to change my weight, but its hard for me to get it off in the first place. Keeping weight off is no problem. I lost ten pounds, and it hasn't come back, but I can't seem to lose more than that. I'm still overweight, and its still effecting my health. And a lot of it won't go away.
But I think thats a lot due to my eating habits.
I tend to do two things:
Eat a lot, and not eat for long periods of time.
Speaking of which, I should eat something for breakfast... And stop staying up all night. [laughs]

To PhantomKitsune and GypsyBlue, scars can be beautiful, too, or they can be masked. I have scars, but they don't bother me. I actually like them.
Kitsune, stretchmarks can be diminished (not really gotten rid of, but diminished) by Vit. E ointments, and probably working out and toning the muscles until the skin a little...
Gypsy, I know about sensitive skin, I have terrible eczema. I can't use moisturizers at all. Period. And most scented soaps. (I can use naturally scented soaps, but not perfumed soaps.)
And I understand about having a large chest. (I think the ten pounds I did lose was from my chest...) I have Dcups, but one is stlightly larger than the other... [blinks] And I get stared at a lot. Not hit on, but stared at.

Jameta, not eating a lot is fine, if you have the right things when you do eat. Its as simple as having something a little more filling than you normally would.
Your complexion can probably be taken care of with the right soaps and (most probably) the right foods. If not, it'll most likely clear up on its own.
As for procrastinating, I do that too, all the time. But see... To stop procrastinating, you have to make a concious effort to stop... And most procrastinators put that off... So its really hard to come out of that. That could be why your mind is scattered when you try to ask for help.  

[Starlock]

I honestly don't give much thought to my physical self on a day-to-day basis. When I do, though, like everything else in life, there's likes and dislikes. Mostly, though, I don't think about it. I'm much more critical of actions and mentality rather than physique, which is only marginally controllable. I don't think the fact that I'm Neopagan really influences at all myself-image with regards to physical body. In theory, a Neopagan should embrace the natural beauty they were dealt in life and not be overly self-critical. This idea was instilled in me from other sources, though, so religion isn't really an influence.  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

Jameta

I wish I had a better facial complexion(sp?) and that I was in better, overall health. I have trouble remembering to take my vitamins, and simply do not eat a lot.

I have more trouble with procrastination and being motivated to do things. I've been praying more about it, but something keeps me from being totally focused on this. confused When I try asking for help, my mind seems very scattered.

I heard this one trick that any time you urinate, right away replace the water you lost in your body. You'll start to urinate more, but you'll come to a balance, and it's suposed to clear your complexion right up. I tried a while back, but couldn't get into the rhythm and gave up, but my face did clear up a bit in the duration.

Dove soap also helps.  

[The Bookwyrm]

Jameta

I wish I had a better facial complexion(sp?) and that I was in better, overall health.

Crazy as it sounds, milk does wonders for the complexion. Cleopatra had the right of it when she used to bathe in it, so maybe try using a soap or body wash? Goats milk soaps are wonderful, and I'm using a gorgeous milk and honey body wash; if it wasn't for the moisturisors in the soap. I'd use it every day.

But you don't have to bathe in it to get the benefit. If you're not lactose intolerant, drink it. Ever since I was very young, I've drank a lot of milk (prolly too much, but that's another story). A freind's mother once commented on my complexion, then drew the connection to the milk I was drinking and politely suggested her daughter start drinking more milk and less pop.  

[Winter Black]

Mm, yeah! Milk really helps the complexion a lot! I almost forgot about that! I drink milk a lot, too.

Starlock's got the right idea, I must say. Aside from being overweight, I love everything about me. If I were in better shape, I'd have nothing to complain about.
Its not so much my image I'm unhappy with, as my health.
But Jameta is beautiful, Gypsy is beautiful, Kistune is beautiful... We're all beautiful, no matter what anyone tells us!  

[Nihilistic Seraph]

We're the beautiful people, the beautiful people...  

[Winter Black]

Couldn't resist, could you? [laughs] But its true.