Body positivity has been a hot-button topic in the media recently; however, it has been a major issue in both the male and female community for some time now. Personally, I have struggled with eating disorders in the past, specifically anorexia and body dysmorphia which has taken a huge toll on my life overall.

Anorexia involves inadequate food intake and restrictive eating habits that lead to dramatic weight loss. Body Dysmorphia involves the obsession over physical flaws that others may see as minor or un-observable.

I am very aware that I do not look like I am someone who has suffered from anorexia, I am on the heavier side of the scale. This is a misconception that people can have about eating disorders because, in the media, people with eating disorders are portrayed as thin sickly people. While it can get to that extreme, your body goes into survival mode first; clinging to any piece of fat on your body that it can. However, due to my issues with body dysmorphic disorder, I also didn't see the rapid changes happening to me until my mother pulled me aside one night when I was home for winter break during my sophomore year of college. She told me that the amount of weight I had lost in such a small span of time was scaring her and she wanted me to talk to my therapist about it. I didn't want to admit that there was anything wrong with the way I was "taking care" of myself but looking back on it now, I see that I was blind to what I was doing to myself.

I came up with any excuse possible to skip eating-- in fact I was embarrassed to eat in front of people out of fear of what they thought about me based off of my weight. I gained a lot of weight in middle school, and in the back of my mind, people were making fun of me for my weight behind my back and I felt like eating made me look heavier in some way. Sounds crazy right? Well, it's just how my mind worked. I would try to eat as little as possible during the day, substituting eating with drinking water. Whenever I did eat I felt sick, like I had done something wrong. It got to the point where I felt proud of myself for not eating during the day, as if it were some huge accomplishment.

I also couldn't see the changes that were happening. People would tell me that I was losing weight but every time I looked in the mirror I saw the same highly overweight girl I had always seen. I also saw my weight as higher than other people perceived it. I thought I looked something similar to Violet from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.

There was nothing anyone could say to me to make me think any different; it's hard to convince someone that what they are seeing with their own two eyes isn't reality. For me, someone telling me I wasn't morbidly obese was like someone trying to tell me that the sky is red.

Over the course of my struggle with both anorexia and body dysmorphic disorder I have learned a lot about self-love and body positivity. I'm not saying I have a magic cure for either, but these are a few things I have learned while battling both that have helped me achieve a healthier mindset when it comes to my physical appearance:

1. Stop Comparing Yourself To Other People

Everyone is built differently. The media has brainwashed us to compare ourselves to unrealistic expectations when it comes to physical appearance. When you stop comparing yourself to every person you see who looks the way you have been told you should look, you eliminate the power other people have over your mental health and happiness.

2. Set Reasonable Goals For Yourself

If there is one thing that I can't stand, it is the idea of "thinsperation." This is buying articles of clothing that are too small for you at the time to "inspire you" to one day fit into them. This does not work; please do not try this. All that does is remind you every day that you still don't have the body type that that particular piece of clothing is made for when you could have spent your money on something that makes you feel good in your own skin.

Side Note: When autocorrect wanted to change "thinsperation" to a real word...the first word to pop up was "desperation." Call me shady but I thought it was ironic.

3. Worry Less About The Scale And More About Your Health

It has already been proven that BMI is a crock (read more about it here); however, treating yourself right has other benefits beyond chopping digits off the number on the scale. There are many people who fall into the category of "obese" when it comes to BMI who are perfectly healthy. Plus, when you stop thinking about what the scale is going to say, you get rid of another voice telling you that you aren't good enough. Seriously, letting a piece of metal tell you you aren't good enough is one step closer to letting the machines take over.

4. You Are Your Biggest Critic

Ease up on yourself. No one can make you feel worthless unless you let them. The only person whose opinion matters is your own. Cut yourself some slack: it's hard to feel good about yourself as a whole when all you do is point out every little flaw in yourself every time you pass a reflective surface.

5. Rome Wasn't Built In A Day

Stop giving up just because you don't see results in a couple days. It takes time and usually you are the last person to notice any change. Personal experience: my family and friends told me I had lost a ton of weight. I looked in the mirror and thought "Really? I look the same though...oh god...how big was I!? And who let me leave the house like that??"

But again, cut yourself some slack.

This is not in any way me trying to tell people that they need to lose weight if they are plus sized because I believe that if you are comfortable in your own skin then you should go out there and slay like the queen (or king) you are. I personally wasn't comfortable with myself and honestly, I'm still not. However, I can say that I have healthier ways of dealing with those thoughts and feelings that aren't going to hurt my body while working on getting to a point where I can feel happy with myself overall.