How to Accept Your Body

People are constantly bombarded with unrealistic and potentially harmful images of “ideal” body types. This can make it difficult to accept, love, and feel confident in your own body, which is critical. It's also important to learn what your body can physically do and become comfortable with these capacities. According to philosopher Baruch Spinoza, humans “know not what a body can do,” in the sense that nobody can know exactly what their body is actually capable of doing, at least before experimenting with it. Psychologists note that there is a distinction between how people perceive their bodies and how their bodies engage in actions. In order to accept your body, it’s important to get in touch with both of these aspects of your body on their own terms.