The Independent newspaper shared research saying, according to "fashion brand Snag, 34% of people say their body confidence has taken a hit during lockdown. This rises to 40% for under-25s. No7 (Boots own makeup brand) found that more than 55% of women believe their skin has aged by up to five years over the course of the pandemic."
Feeling like your body confidence has taken a hit during lockdown? You are not alone.
Something happened during lockdown when we were all tucked away safely in our homes—a silent destroyer of self-esteem. We slipped out of our exercise routines; self pampering decreased; self-neglect began to take hold. By lockdown three...the novelty of lockdown had worn away. We stopped bothering, gave ourselves a break and just stopped.
Many of us are now left with new versions of ourselves where our body confidence has taken a knock. Looking at ourselves in the mirror, we see parts of our bodies we hadn't noticed before. Wider waists than we would prefer, bigger boobs that won’t fit into that cute top, and we've developed some unhealthy habits that helped us get through the past 18 months.
The truth is our bodies are the way they are because they love us and have done whatever they needed to, for us. They helped us to ride the waves of lockdown and see us through. Now is a good time to review (our bodies). And, let’s not forget they served their purpose, and we appreciate our bodies for that.
3 Things You Can Do to Make Your Body Confidence Adjustment Easier:
#1 Take a moment and accept that it's going to take you a moment. Don't try and push yourself and speed your way to a result - Take Your Time.
#2 Take a minute to determine what you would hope for things to be if they were to change. Decide what that might look like for you. You must have a clear picture in your mind, so you - Know What You're Working Towards.
#3 take some action and take it fast. When you get your idea, or that gust of energy to do something...that is the time to grab that thought with both hands and run with it! So, think about what action you can take in the next 48 hours. - Just Do It! This will kick start the process, and you will be well on your way to slowly adjusting to your confident self.
Be Kind to Yourself
There is a lot of pressure to feel that we should be rushing back to our old selves, putting everything back, getting back to where we were. But remember, this will take time. We got here gradually, and it's kinder to walk, not run, to where we feel we want to be. Gracefully and gently. Will we be the same as we were before? Not necessarily. Will we, potentially be, a self-caring version of ourselves? I hope so. The question is, how do you want to be?
Socialising With Confidence
June 2021 is here and people anticipate the London lockdown completion. There is so much anticipation that it is the last lockdown. Now that we have been allowed to mingle more, it's become evident that we have to relearn how to socialise. As we navigate the new socialising rules, we find we’re out of practise when it comes to meeting up/hooking up/socialising. Do we hug or not, hug while masked up, do we not mask up? Do masks even matter?
According to some research, wearing masks does not make much difference in protecting people from the virus. Still, other research suggests it has helped to reduce the spread by 2%. When you consider what 2% of the population is, that's a hell of a lot of people.
Many of us have lost our confidence in being outside. Our comfort levels have changed. We have experienced the world in a very different way. A lot of mental adjustment has to take place.
Some of us are finding going back to business as usual quite uncomfortable.
If you are looking for more useful steps to rebuild your confidence, have a read of this helpful article: How to rebuild confidence post-lockdown at happiful.com.