Have A Good Look In The Mirror

By Alice O'Brien

Churchview Psychotherapy, Millstreet

If you’ve ever lived with a toddler you will know the constant battle against the smudgy handprints. They get everywhere, especially on the glass and the mirrors. All over- they’re like octopuses. But, think about it, when a toddler walks past a mirror they see themselves, and they rejoice. They kiss and hug their own reflection. They really celebrate the person they see before them, they appreciate themselves, they love themselves.

Now think about yourself. What happened the last time you looked on the mirror- what thoughts did you have? Did you celebrate the person you saw looking back at you or did you focus on what you perceive as a flaw? Did you ridicule your body for its size or shape? Did you focus on the lines around your eyes instead of the life inside them? Whatever you did it wasn’t the same as what the toddler does, the celebration of what you saw.

So, how do you start to appreciate yourself more? Well, you could look at yourself as a whole person, not just on how you look. There is an endless list of your positive qualities, or characteristic that you have that have nothing to do with how you look. Focus on them, write them down and accept them.

Your body is so much more than how it looks on the outside. You might have had a battle with cancer that your body has fought with you. You may have survived a heart attack or be healing form an injury. Your body may have given you children, or helped you walk a mountain. All the things that you can’t see when you look in the mirror. So, what are you grateful to your body for? Write a list to remind yourself.

If you must focus on your reflection, try positive statements; try telling your reflection that you appreciate yourself, your life and your looks. There is only one of you so who better to be thankful for that than you.