What is something you come across every day of your life? Advertisements. Unbeknownst to you, you view thousands daily. It seems as if you can never get away from them and you can’t. If it isn’t physical ads, then it’s real life people advertising their lives on social media. We all know at least one of those people who appear to have the picture perfect life. Seeing those ads and social media posts leave nagging voices in our heads that trick us into believing that we aren’t good enough. We aren’t skinny enough, healthy enough, or pretty enough.

The mastermind behind all of this body negativity is the media. The media is the main culprit in perpetuating the culture of body issues. These body issues have the ability to result in eating disorders or even body dysmorphic disorder. Which I am sure, a lot of us are aware of. Yet, anyone can have these disorders. Disorders don’t discriminate against race, gender, size, or age. They can affect anyone.

The worst part is that disorders aren’t always transparent so people could be fighting a battle that you may know nothing about. You can't just easily write someone off.

When we aren’t worrying about the media, we are worrying about social media. Out of all the social media platforms, Instagram inhibits self-esteem the most. The whole idea of “liking” pictures and videos posted says it all. Granted, people can post about anything. However, selfies tend to be posted for different reasons. Let’s admit it, when you post a selfie, you are yearning for as many “likes” as possible. It’s a destructive mindset to have because you don’t need someone’s approval to be considered beautiful. A number of “likes” on Instagram does not equate to your worth and beauty as an individual. To some, the mentality is that having a numerous amount of “likes” means you are liked and accepted by your peers.

It’s called self-esteem, not everyone-esteem.

We don’t need to alter our appearance to be accepted by society. Your self-image is what matters.

With self-image and body positivity being so important, brands have also taken notice and have decided to take a stand against this artificial idea of perfection. Aerie is one of the brands taking a stand against body shaming and image retouching. They launched an ad campaign titled “Share Your Spark” which features women of every body type.

These women are not all models either. Some are everyday women. They also focus on how each of their images is natural and not retouched. This allows customers to see that there is no need to try and be the impossible idea of perfect because perfection does not exist.

The bottom line here is to stop comparing ourselves to others. I know it's hard, but nothing good comes out of it. We are our own harshest critics so comparing just adds more fuel to the destructive fire. Instead, we should stand together in this battle and be more supportive of one another. But first, it starts with you, so go take a moment and look in the mirror. Remind yourself to be kind to your mind, body, and image. Then pass that reminder on to a friend. Remind them that as women, we have worth and that we are enough.