All posts tagged: illusions of normal

We compare our insides to other people’s Facebooks…

One of my favorite quotes is attributed to many. I think this wisdom is timeless. “We compare our insides to other people’s outsides”.   Spot on. And that is never more true in the era of social media, where sometimes the most unhappy people can convince themselves and others that they are happy, successful and without a care in the world.  We’ve all seen it.  Just look on Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Vine, Instagram… take your pick! …here’s the thing to remember.  They are only showing you what THEY want you to see. So don’t view their posts as their life. They aren’t going to write “came home, had three drinks, drove carpool, stopped at Dairy Queen for a blizzard before dinner, and slapped my husband when he came home late because I know he’s seeing someone”. STOP COMPARING. Because it’s like comparing apples to a screwdriver — not even remotely related! You are comparing your inner thoughts, often full of self doubt, questions, and insecurity (read = NORMAL) to someone else’s made up and carefully crafted …

We filter things through a fun house mirror.

Updated 11.2018 Women in America have an incredible hurdle to overcome when it comes to being at peace with “how they look”.  Why is this?  Due to media, we live in what one author called a “crazy funhouse mirror”, where what we think is normal is NOT NORMAL.  Let’s look at what has historically happened to play games with our minds, and maybe knowledge is the first step to self acceptance. Only 20% of American Women are satisfied with their appearance. The average American woman is 5’4″ and weighs 168 lbs and has a 38 inch waist. (2018 CDC statistics) Compare that with the average model, who is 5’11 and weighs 115 lbs.  Twenty years ago, the average fashion model weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today, she weighs 32% less! Over 50% of American women wear size 14 or larger.  Yet most clothing in stores is 14 and smaller. Plus-size models have shrunk, too. A decade ago, plus-size models averaged between size 12 and size 18. Today, the majority of plus-size models an …