Question: How do you learn to love your...

I too used to be self conscious of myself, I never thought I looked good enough and because of this never thought that any guy would ever like me. After going to a summer camp before my sophomore year of high school, I left with some good advice. It was to stand in front a mirror, it can be any mirror, and just simply say "I love you" starting off softly and slowly getting louder. You can do this everyday or just when you feel especially self conscious. Doing this really helped me and now I love myself and everyone has those days where they feel somewhat self conscious. I hope this helps.

Well, I don't know if you are a religious person or not, but I know that God created us all different because those are the little things that He loves about us; the things that make us different than everyone else. For instance, I am 17, almost 18, and I am 5'7 and 180 pounds, and COMPLETELY flat chested, and that is no exaggeration. I look way different than any 'normal' teenage girl would. My first two or three years of high school I was so self conscious, always putting myself beneath others and who I really was on the inside. I hung my head low and it got the best of me. But then one night we had a sleepover at my church with all the girls from my youth group and my youth leader had put up a full body mirror with the words " God, let me see what YOU see." on the top of it. We were asked to just sometime through the night go and stand in front of that mirror and repeat it to ourselves. I cried my eyes out for the rest of that night, and since then I am THE most confident I have ever been. I work what I've got by wearing low cut tops and cute accessories including scarves and multiple necklaces. I am into leadership and I am looked up to so many people, and most importantly, IM HAPPY!
I hope that I may have helped, and if you do happen to be religious, maybe post that saying on the top of your mirror, because I have it on the top of mine and it reminds me everyday that God made us all in HIS image, which is PERFECT.
Much love.

actually, lol looking at yourself naked is actually something i dont reccomend
i tried it last time and i got so judgemental
i mean my bathroom dont have a huge mirror and everytime im in my room(which has a huge mirror) im usually dressed
and when i tried this activity, i actually saw some parts of my body looked quite unusual; for instance my hips, i never knew i mean i always though it looked like this u know >

im happy that u acknowledge this...im 17 and i have the same issue i just want to get over it all ready and have confidence. i want to walk down the street and not worry about what ppl would say. id say..give ppl compliments. it willl boost ur self esteem know u had the balls to say something. talk to some 1 diffrent everyday..some one on the train some one oon the bus some one in the long line. wear stuff that u wouldnt usually wear. ...give ur self compliment ..when u flirt with a guy..start with" u feel like talking to a beautiful smart woman today" (i know kinda corney but i gots no game xD) or something like that...i hope that i can follow this advice too..
Good Luck!

I'm 16 and I have body issues too. My boobs are bigger den everything else. And i'm excessively hairy. Thing is mom wont let me shave nd it's kinda hard finding bra's for me that don't have padding in them. So all in all thing is be happy for wat u have cause 1 boy might actually like that u have a big thighs or have a small butt. And like Anonymous said I learned to love ma imperfections.

I'm 16 and I have body issues too. My boobs are bigger den everything else. And i'm excessively hairy. Thing is mom wont let me shave nd it's kinda hard finding bra's for me that don't have padding in them. So all in all thing is be happy for wat u have cause 1 boy might actually like that u have a big thighs or have a small butt. And like Anonymous said I learned to love ma imperfections.

yoga has made me feel much better emotionally and physically
there are yoga studios everywhere!
karate studios, spas, etc.
and there are countless videos you can buy

i've always has body issues. after my baby arrived, i avoided the mirror. one day, i was alone in the house, i just took a bath. i walked to the full length mirror in my bedroom and took the towel off. i looked, i looked, i touched and only God knows, i cried. every inch of me was hideous and i hated myself. i cried for about an hour or so. i got up and got dressed. i made a list of what i hate and what i love about my body. i knew the bad was going to out-weigh the good and it happened that way. i felt like who would be so stupid as to undress me and touch all that ugliness! it affected my emotionally. i started sleeping around with the hope of finding something worthwhile. i didnt. i learnt to accept myself with all my imperfections. i still avoid the mirror but atleast im happy with my self (emotionally). now i met someone who i feel is the one for me, i dont know how he'll react when he gets the chance of seeing me naked. it scares me alot, but i hope he doesnt judge me to the extent that i lose my self confidence again. LOVE YOUR BODIES WOMEN, WE EXPECT MEN TO LOVE THEM. LOVE ALWAYS STARTS AT HOME(YOURSELF)

These comments just lifted up my smile and self esteem (they almost made me teary-eyed). I hate how my body looks. Im over-weight and sometimes when my mom and I get into our fights, she calls me really mean names and sometimes they have to do with my weight. But you know what I do every day (or at least try to do every day)? I look at myself in the mirror, smile and thank the Lord for blessing me, thanking Him that I am here. Yes, I strongly believe in the Lord above. And you know what? If it wasnt for Him, I wouldn't be here. People do make fun of me for many different reasons (my weight most of the time, how I'm "slow" part of the time). But I've came a very long way. Try focusing more on yourself than on others. I'm not trying to sound "conceited" but I had to go through a period where I've felt down because of my self image, so I shut everyone out for awhile and tried to stay focus on myself. I had more "me" time. Let me just say I have found pretty interesting things about myself. I went shopping for clothes (found clothes that flattered my body more). I changed my taste in music (I listen to almost everything now). I just feel great in general about myself. I just hope this helps. :-)

If you are spiritually open-minded, there's a book called "Sexy Witch" by LaSara FireFox. It has a pagan bent to it, but you can adapt it to fit whatever spiritual beliefs you follow -- the goal of the book is in learning to love your body, not converting you. The author is really good at talking about body image without stating an ideal body image -- it's about loving what you have, not becoming what you're not.

You -could- look for clothes that flatter whatever figure you have, but honestly, that only goes so far. You really have to look at yourself naked, check out all the angles, and consciously decide to love everything you see. It's home, and it's all the home you've got.

A friend told me, once, that in relationships, there's a point where you go from being smitten-in-love with the person to consciously deciding you love them, quirks and habits and annoyances and good days and bad days and the lot of it -- you choose to love that person because you want them in your life.

This applies to your body, too, except with your body, you don't have a lot of choice. You can get surgeries and do crash-diets and over-exercise and apply makeup and swathe yourself in pretty clothing, but it'll only make you more self-critical and you'll honestly be a lot happier if you take care of what you've got. Once again: it's home.