Shattering Mirror Myths: A New Approach to Body Image

By Laura Lee Anders, MD

Are you ready to shatter your "Mirror Myths"?

Laura Lee Anders, MD offers a bold and innovative approach to discovering your new body image.

- How do you see yourself when you look in the mirror?

- Do you struggle with how you view yourself and your body?

- Do you ever wonder if what you think you see is real, or imaged?

If these questions resonate with you… you're not alone.

Each day, millions of people are challenged with how they view themselves, and their bodies. Girls, teenagers and college-age women are particularly vulnerable to body image problems. Faced with issues of low self-esteem and "I-hate-my-body-because-I-don’t-look-like-a-model" mindset, many find themselves in a cycle of behavior that seems unescapable.

If you are ready to change all that, this book offers a new approach to how we view ourselves and our bodies.

Speaking from a place of both personal experience and a decade of professional psychiatry, Laura Lee Anders explores how we use, and often mis-use the mirror as a source for our perceived "Body Image".

Through her unique process, Laura Lee will help readers understand the physical properties of the mirror so they can see their body in a realistic way, free from distortion and judgement. With practice, readers can become experts in using the mirror in a positive and truthful way, enabling them to see themselves as they truly are.

How would your life be different if you were free from the mirror’s power over you?

Empower yourself with the tools to liberate your body image, and make the mirror work for you!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483515212

Book preview

Sources

Introduction

When I first found out my family was going to Hawaii, I was excited about going to the beach. As an eight-year-old in a small town in Arkansas, I’d never been to the beach, or even on an airplane for that matter. I couldn’t wait to go to a luau, hike through a rain forest or see an active volcano, but my main focus was swimming in the ocean. I have lots of memories from this trip, but mostly what I remember is my swimsuit. It wasn’t a normal swimsuit. The material was cute enough, red with white circles, but the suit itself was more like a tunic. It came down over my torso and belly like an apron. I chose it because it hid my body. I was most embarrassed by my thighs, but no swimsuit covers thighs. So I picked the next best thing—a dress.

After a long day of sightseeing, my parents got comfortable in a couple of lounge chairs, while my sisters and I raced toward the ocean. But my red swimsuit was uncomfortable and difficult to play in. The dress kept wrapping around my body. It was heavy and cumbersome in the water. I was desperately stuck between shame about my body and wanting to play. In the end I chose to sit in the shade with a towel covering my legs.

A few years later, I had a similar experience in sixth at a grade pool party. Most of the kids were rich and popular. I was neither, so I was thrilled to be invited—mainly because I wanted to swim. Of course, that meant wearing a swimsuit. I wore a popular 1980s style, cut high on the thigh. I hated that swimsuit because it not only showed my saddle bags, but also my new hips. When I looked at other girls, I didn’t see these two bulges like mine. I saw a smooth curve, just like the women in rock videos.

I spent most of the party submerged in the water so no one could see my thighs but at some point, I started chasing a boy around the pool. We made it all the way around before one of the chaperones scolded us to stop running. When I got home, I started obsessing about it. Didn’t I realize everyone could see my thighs when I got out of the pool? I was embarrassed and ashamed. The saddest part of this story is that I failed to notice that the boy liked me. In fact, now that I look back, he was flirting with me!

I continued to hate my thighs through junior high school. In eighth grade I tried out for drill team. I just knew that if I made the team, I could be popular—something I hopelessly wanted. It also meant I got to wear the white and gold miniskirt uniform to school on Thursdays. I went to rehearsal every day after school for two weeks to learn the routine, practicing until I was exhausted.