by Joan Inong

Created on: May 01, 2009

Self-perception is incredibly related to weight. Body image and weight issues are closely tied together, and it is only in studying their relationship that we can find out why they are associated with one another, and how this association may be avoided.

We are constantly reminded about the way we are supposed to look. When we watch television, we see products that advertise younger, more radiant-looking skin or diet pills that will make you lose twenty pounds in twenty days.

Our perception of ourselves is shaped by our environment. Humans are absorptive; they take in what their environment puts out. If our environment encourages violence, we will be prone to act violently. If our environment advocates beauty, we will seek beauty, whether in outward forms or in ourselves.

But, standards of beauty are not set up by us. We can see ourselves as beautiful, but societal standards of beauty may, and usually do, differ from our own. This is the most unfortunate fact that makes the relationship between self-perception and weight so negative. For, if we could define beauty in such a way that fulfills the old adage "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," then we would not see the association between self-perception and weight as negative.

Self-perception is riddled by the way we see our environment, as aforementioned. Yet, how do weight issues relate to the way we perceive ourselves? This is a question that means to be simple, yet isn't. For, weight issues involve more than just losing weight or gaining weight or looking good for someone else. Weight issues also involve the emotions, and emotions and the psychology of the mind are two very difficult subject matters.

But fortunately, self-perception can also be shaped by ourselves. If we can somehow separate our perception of our selves from that of society's, then our self-perception will be pure. We have no judge but ourselves. And, when we apply this to weight, we can see that weight is nothing but a mask with which we protect ourselves. The issue is not inherently about weight, but about the way we see ourselves. If we learn to see ourselves in a new and positive way, we learn to accept ourselves, and we soon remove weight from its "central" place in our lives.

Achieving true self-perception, in a positive way, is a long journey. And, like any journey, it will have rocky roads and smooth roads. But what is achieved is a freedom from many traditional chains like weight issues, and what more can one want?

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