Beauty boost
Celebrating Women & Real Beauty
International Womens Day seems the best time to celebrate the beautiful women around me. If you didn't know already, one of my 'hats' is nursing. Predominantly a profession of women, nurses are caring professionals committed to kindness, compassion and patient advocacy. Often supporting other women through times in their lives when they maybe particularly vulnerable to disruptions in body image such adolescence, pregnancy, postpartum, illness, surgery and menopause. Like all women, nurses have themselves had exposure to external messages of "ideal" beauty. Girls learn from a very young age that they are often valued for what they look like and women can face criticism about their bodies from childhood through to old age. So, to be of benefit to others and good role models, nurses must have found peace between body and mind at some level and have developed healthy attitudes along the way right?
Meet the team (In no particular order);
Sandra
Is our resident star baker and daredevil nurse who loves a challenge in the kitchen and has recently skydived for charity! Sandra believes real beauty is when someone is comfortable in their real self. "They are beautiful, regardless of their physical appearance. If someone doesn't feel the need to have plastic surgery or fillers then that is beautiful". She goes on to explain, "Body confidence is when someone is content or happy in the body they have and do not feel the need to change themselves because of what others might think". She does not think nursing has changed her view of physical beauty but feels working as a nurse has shown her a person's true beauty can shine through in the way they treat others and nursing has shown her how beautiful people can be. Sandra says, "It's important to realise that everyone has "flaws" but everyone is beautiful in their own way".
Thanky
Is just as busy at home as she is on the ward (and Thanky is a supernurse!) With her little ones in tow she barely has alot of spare time but when she does you can find her enjoying the company of good friends and family.
Thanky believes beauty comes from an individuals mind, "the way an individual looks into things". It was a definate, "yes!" when I asked whether she felt she had body confidence. It was a ‘what kind of stupid question is that’? kind of yes. She elaborated to say that, "body confidence means you are happy with how you look, the way you are already". Thanky said she hasn't faced any issues yet with body confidence and doesn't think nursing has made any difference to her view of beauty. Thanky's advice for feeling good about youself is, "to surround yourself with good friends and family who will love you for being you and who will promote a positive way of thinking about beauty".
Tansy
Is a senior nurse with oodles of experience. She is a Zumba queen, a fountain of knowledge on plants, and enjoys spending time with her son and her friends. Tansy explains that "real beauty is when someone one is kind and considerate to others, doesn't wear too much makeup or have plastic surgery". She feels that body confidence is feeling happy in your own skin and says, "I don't have body confidence at the moment due to weight gain and a reduction in exercise" (side note - we were well into Covid lockdown No2 so Tansy couldn’t get to her keep fit classes) "I used to be a size 20 and lost 4 stone with slimming world and felt more confident as a result. I am self-conscious about 'spider thread' veins on my face (I have never noticed these!) As a child I hated my freckles, but as an adult I like them". Tansy feels that nursing has changed her opinion of beauty saying she appreciates inner beauty more. She also admits to having a distaste of plastic surgery for vanity's sake as she's aware of the risks people take to look fake. Her advice is to focus on being fit and healthy as she says it is so much more important than trying to achieve a stereotype of beauty/handsomeness.
What’s clear from the girls is that they all recognise and appreciate inner beauty. Inner beauty consists of a person's character, which includes their mental and moral qualities. Thanky saw it in the intellect, Tansy the heart and Sandra in confidence. There are many other personality traits that could be listed; charisma, wisdom, peace, sense of humour and so on proving inner beauty is pretty diverse. In fact, according to research published in the Journal of Personality, 2019 (reference below), kindness was the most sought-after trait in a romantic partner. So if kindness makes you attractive, make sure are you are choosing to be kind!
On a practical level we can all benefit from taking action in these three ways;
• Getting out in the sun as much as you can and allowing as much natural light as possible into your home because sunlight is a natural mood booster.
• Taking regular exercise. Physical activity enables us to feel good in our bodies and enjoy what they are capable of which, in turn, supports body confidence. Exercise has been found to treat mild to moderate depression so it maybe particularly beneficial if you are affected by SAD at this time of year.
• Spending time with friends and family who (hopefully!) model a healthy mindset. Try to seek out friends who make you feel good about yourself, have a giggle and watch your mood naturally improve.
Even something small like taking a walk in nature will enable you to reap the rewards of exercise, sunshine and mindfulness. A positive body image in adulthood is linked to better overall wellbeing and quality of life....so you have the perfect excuse to indulge in a little self-care knowing you get such positive returns on your investment!
Reference
Andrew G. Thomas, Peter K. Jonason, Jesse D. Blackburn, Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Rob Lowe, John Malouff, Steve Stewart‐Williams, Danielle Sulikowski, Norman P. Li. Mate preference priorities in the East and West: A cross‐cultural test of the mate preference priority model. Journal of Personality, 2019
