How Do You View Yourself?

Loyal and affectionate, but wary and cautious until I feel comfortable, even if I still feel vulnerable at times.

Both on Lit and IRL.
 
Public:
competent, engineer, leader, taker of passable photographs, thoughtful, decisive, clear, sometimes too terse, focused.
Private:
Husband, father, son, brother, maker of (sometimes serious) mistakes, learner of lessons, very introverted, socially shy and awkward, writer of really bad and occasionally risqué poetry,
Internal:
Passionate, creative, not worthy, an imposter, in need of redemption but coming to terms with who I am one day at a time.
 
I struggle with this like fuck. So, so, so bad. As I have aged, it's gotten worse. It waxes and wanes with my mental health. If I am feeling better about things, or not moody, I don't mind taking selfies and updating profile pictures, etc. If I am very depressed, I will sometimes even take down my Facebook picture because I don't want to see pictures of myself. I mostly avoid looking in mirrors.

As I've gotten older, my chin sags in a weird way. I think it has to do with losing a lot of weight pretty fast. There is an imperfection in one of my nipples. I don't even want to think about the rest. I find this flesh prison so revolting most days that the thought of anyone seeing it in a way other than online, and with some good angles, makes me want to puke. The body image issues also are one thing that keeps me from actively pursuing sexual intimacy with anyone. I do not want anyone to see me naked, and online, I don't want anyone to see me as more than a brain in a vat.

I had a foray of posting risque pictures here, and it helped a little, because I did get a lot of nice comments, some that were pervy, but I also liked some of the pervy too. It temporarily raised my self-esteem about my looks. I just can't. I just hate, hate, hate looking at myself most days.

So, with my last therapist, we talked through this a bit. She suggested that instead of aiming for body positivity--which is a philosophy I have for everyone else--I should aim for body neutrality. To just thank the body for what it is able to do, for the fact that it gets me places, that my hands can type words, write things, feed myself, etc. I am trying to reach that point. It is hard. Especially when your formative experiences weren't great. Being called a whale as a kid was not a great experience.

I have to believe that we can recover from this. For me, embracing my goth has helped. I've gotten so many compliments on my aesthetic and clothes. So being artful with the flesh prison can also help. I think when I resolve other issues, I'll be able to get back to a place of neutrality again. I hope you can too.
 
Such a thought provoking question. I'm gonna sum it up in two words wasted potential.
I think had I applied myself in all areas more then I would be different today.
 
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