Dealing With Stretch Marks As An Insecurity
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When you’re 12 and dealing with something as new and permanent as stretch marks, life can be challenging. Growing up, I never paid much mind to having smooth skin. It was only when I started developing stretch marks myself that everything changed. Suddenly, as a prepubescent child, I began obsessing over how unfair life was to me. At that moment, I did not realize that I was conditioned into believing that these skin alterations make you ‘ugly’, ‘abnormal’ and ‘weird’. Stretch marks became my one singular insecurity and it has stayed with me since. Image 1 Credit: Author’s Own How I got them and why it bothered meLooking back, I am confident that if I had developed the same stretch marks today, at the age of 27, I would handle it better. However, as a kid, it is quite hard to differentiate between false advertising and real beauty. Since these stretch marks were a side effect of the steroids that I was having for a kidney ailment, it only made things worse. Not only was I dealing with a changing body type, but I was also constantly irritable, ravenously hungry and perpetually sick.Add to that the toxic representations of women across all platforms—movies, television, advertisements, you name it. ‘Perfect’ women with flawless skin, gorgeous hair and 26-inch waistlines dominated all formats and, as a kid, it was hard to stay away from the overt messaging. No wonder I grew to be more and more reserved—I genuinely believed I was ugly.Credit: Giphy/Danielle BrooksHow I changed my perceptionWhen I was 19-20 years old, after a long fight with this insecurity and swearing off crop tops, there came a point when I realised, “Enough is enough!” That was the point when I decided that I had to channel my self-hatred into something positive. Here’s how I transformed my own thought process.a) AwarenessA lot of the time, we feel like we’re the only ones dealing with an insecurity. However, a quick online search can make you feel more assured than you’d anticipated. Social media really helped in this process. Not only were women starting to be more free on their feeds but were also normalising alternate beauty standards like stretch marks, pigmentation etc. It really helped me realise that everyone deals with some form of body dysmorphia and it’s all right to feel that way. Credit: Giphy/Kim’s Convenience b) Positive reinforcementSince I needed an active manager for my thoughts, I decided to implement a positive reinforcement strategy. Every time I caught myself thinking about my imperfections, I categorically told myself that I am still beautiful. It took a while to actually start believing it but this affirmation really worked. Credit: Giphy/Red Table Talk c) Acceptance When I was 12-13 years old, I was under the naive impression that boys hate stretch marks. However, I realised much later that the kind of acceptance I was looking for actually existed. Over time, I found that most people don’t really care about stretch marks, glasses, pigmentation etc. The acceptance from people around me helped me accept my own flaws. Credit: Giphy/American Gods Lead image credit: Author’s Own
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Men Are Super Self-Conscious About Their Stretch Marks, Too
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Dealing With Stretch Marks As An Insecurity
Men Are Super Self-Conscious About Their Stretch Marks, Too
![](https://im.idiva.com/content/2020/May/My-Parents-Were-Intentionally-Disrespectful-Towards-Partner--Heres-How-I-Dealt-With-It_vertical_5eb16ca91aece.jpg?w=110&h=146&cc=1)
Dealing With Stretch Marks As An Insecurity
![](https://im.idiva.com/content/2021/Sep/Dealing-With-My-Stretch-Marks-_AMP_61320a6039e57.jpg)
Dealing With Stretch Marks As An Insecurity
Stretch Mark Reduction - Connecticut Skin Institute
How to Deal with Stretch Marks
15 Min Full Body Daily Stretch for Tight Muscles, Soreness
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