As we age, our bodies start to change and show signs of our aging. We take longer to heal, our muscle function weakens, and our blood flow starts to slow down. It’s common to feel like your body is showing its wear and tear from its years of experience.
Due to these changes, it’s common for women to experience body image issues as they approach 50. There a number of contributing factors to this.
Society’s Focus on Appearance
It’s painfully true that, as a society, we put a lot of stock in people’s appearances. Body image issues have become more and more common as technology and media advances.
Older women tend to feel ignored, forgotten, and unnoticed; it’s also common to feel as if they’re past their prime and being replaced by younger women. These feelings are often caused by insecurity in their body image.
Feelings of Insecurity
Many people deal with insecurity at some point in their lives. While men aren’t spared from feeling insecure, women have been found to have a greater dissatisfaction with their bodies on the whole than men.
As women age, they have to deal with their own personal insecurities coupled with the change in how society perceives them. This can result in depression, eating disorders, drastic appearance and behavioral changes, and increased anxiety, always running the risk of getting far worse.
What can you do about it?
It can be difficult to boost your confidence and self-image, but it’s certainly not impossible. Make a diligent effort to consciously think about your value and worth. Take stock of your appearance; note what you love about it and what you don’t.
Once you’ve done that, you can actively work to change your perception. For instance, if you find, say, your wrinkles unsightly, make it a point to consciously think of the wisdom you gained, and all your body has been through to get you to that point.
How you perceive yourself and your body are entirely within your control to change.
Changing Your Perception and Loving Your Body
Your body and your spirit are in this thing together, always have been and always will be until the day you die; you have to appreciate that body for all it does for you. Society’s obsession with appearance and age can make it hard to see the true beauty and awesome powers the human body possesses.
In order to overcome this, you have to make the conscious effort to perceive your body differently than society does. There is beauty in the inner workings of the body, in its ability to heal itself, in its sheer ability to make it through just one day of what we tend to put it through.
Appreciate your body for all it has done for you and all it has given you. Change your perception away from society’s obsession with a standard of beauty and love your body in all its natural beauty and power.
The Body Image Turning Point
Researchers have found that “women make a turning point in their lives, often around the age of 50, where they can — or maybe they have to — accept their bodies ‘decreasing departure from society’s defined ideal and learn to appreciate their body as it is.’”
As you overcome these issues, you’ll reach a turning point in your perception of yourself. It’s pretty common among women who are around the age of 50 to experience this turning point as they become more comfortable with themselves and their lives.
If you find yourself struggling with body images and in need of help, we encourage you to speak up about what you’re going through. Talk to someone you trust, find a counselor or therapist, and work through this. You don’t have to just deal with it; seek help.
