I spent a wonderful yesterday afternoon shopping with my daughter for her graduation dress.
Shopping is a great way to raise oxytocin, the hormone of bonding and connection. "Retail therapy" as I like to call it, with family and girlfriends has always been a fun and therapeutic outlet for me.
Teen girls, actually all of us girls, can sometimes be so hard on ourselves when trying clothes on. Not sure about you guys. It’s as if we’ve conditioned ourselves– If we don’t feel good about our body– that: “Oh, nothing looks good on me”
”My hips are so fat”
Or ”I gained weight and look horrible”
When really none of that is true. I heard this from my daughter. Many outfits were so lovely on her and yet she didn’t find anything!
I used encouraging statements like:
”You are gorgeous!”
”God designed you perfectly” (I thought to myself “Of course! She looks like me )
”You’re made strong and we are meant to survive the famine which never came!”
”Each day make the choices so that what crosses your lips nourishes your body!”
”You’re perfectly and wonderfully made! Beautiful, strong and healthy!”
”Your smile makes you even more beautiful!”
Now, I have long ago (mostly) got that nasty naysayer off my shoulder who says:
”This/that doesn’t look good”
”This/that makes you look fat” and so on
You’ve probably heard her too.
While I worked with words and actions and the sweet sales clerk at Meo’s Suite to encourage and complement my daughter truthfully, she did absorb some of it. We will do some more oxytocin building shopping and other fun things today.
Well, I must admit between shopping for one daughter’s sweet 16 and one’s graduation, (Ahh, life’s so good!) my oxytocin is soaring and I have bought a few new cute outfits for myself in the process and must admit, look fab in them!
What do you do and say to encourage yourself and your children? How do you knock that nasty naysaying b*!%h off your shoulder?
You too, are perfectly and wonderfully made.
Each day we are where we are and can make the right choices to do the next one thing that will make us even better.