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I'm fat. I'm too skinny. I'd be happy if I were taller, shorter, had curly hair, straight hair, a smaller nose, , bigger muscles, longer legs.
Do any of these statements sound familiar? Are you used to putting yourself down? If so, you're not alone. As a teen, you're going through a ton of changes in your body. And as your body changes, so does your image of yourself. Lots of people have trouble adjusting, and this can affect their self-esteem.
Why Are Self-Esteem and Body Image Important?
Self-esteem is all about how much people value themselves, the pride they feel in themselves, and how worthwhile they feel. Self-esteem is important because feeling good about yourself can affect how you act. A person who has high self-esteem will make friends easily, is more in control of his or her behavior, and will enjoy life more. Body image is how someone feels about his or her own physical appearance. For many people, especially those in their early teens, body image can be closely linked to self-esteem. That's because as kids develop into teens, they care more about how others see them.
What Influences a Person's Self-Esteem?
Puberty
Some teens struggle with their self-esteem when they begin puberty because the body goes through many changes. These changes, combined with a natural desire to feel accepted, mean it can be tempting for people to compare themselves with others. They may compare themselves with the people around them or with actors and celebs they see on TV, in movies, or in magazines.
But it's impossible to measure ourselves against others because the changes that come with puberty are different for everyone. Some people start developing early; others are late bloomers. Some get a temporary layer of fat to prepare for a growth spurt; others fill out permanently, and still others feel like they stay skinny no matter how much they eat. It all depends on how our genes have programmed our bodies to act.
The changes that come with puberty can affect how both girls and guys feel about themselves. Some girls may feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about their maturing bodies. Others may wish that they were developing faster. Girls may feet pressure to be thin but guys may feel like they don't look big or muscular enough.
Outside Influences
It's not just development that affects self-esteem, though. Many other factors like media images of skinny girls and bulked-up guys) can affect a person's body image too.
Family life can sometimes influence self-esteem. Some parents spend more time criticizing their kids and the way they look than praising them, which can reduce kids' ability to develop good self-esteem.
People also may experience negative comments and hurtful teasing about the way they look from classmates and peers. Sometimes racial and ethnic prejudice is the source of such comments. Although these often come from ignorance, sometimes they can affect someone's body image and self-esteem.
Healthy Self-Esteem
If you have a positive body image, you probably like and accept yourself the way you are. This healthy attitude allows you to explore other aspects of growing up, such as developing good friendships, growing more independent from your parents, and challenging yourself physically and mentally. Developing these parts of yourself can help boost your self-esteem.
A positive, optimistic attitude can help people develop strong self-esteem. For example, saying, "Hey, I'm human" instead of "Wow, I'm such a loser" when you've made a mistake, or not blaming others when things don't go as expected.
Knowing what makes you happy and how to meet your goals can help you feel capable, strong, and in control of your life. A positive attitude and a healthy lifestyle (such as exercising and eating right) are a great combination for building good self-esteem.
Tips for Improving Your Body Image
Some people think they need to change how they look or act to feel good about themselves. But actually all you need to do is change the way you see your body and how you think about yourself.
The first thing to do is recognize that your body is your own, no matter what shape, size, or color it comes in. If you're very worried about your weight or size, check with your doctor to verify that things are OK. But it's no one's business but your own what your body is like. Ultimately, you have to be happy with yourself.
Next, identify which aspects of your appearance you can realistically change and which you can't. Everyone (even the most perfect-seeming celeb) has things about themselves that they can't change and need to accept, like their height, for example, or their shoe size.
If there are things about yourself that you want to change and can (such as how fit you are), do this by making goals for yourself. For example, if you want to get fit, make a plan to exercise every day and eat nutritious foods. Then keep track of your progress until you reach your goal. Meeting a challenge you set for yourself is a great way to boost self-esteem!
参考翻译：
自尊和身体形象
我很胖。我瘦得皮包骨头。我会更高兴，如果我更高,或是矮点，或是做个卷发,或是留个直发,或是有个小鼻子,或是肌肉更发达些，或是腿再长点儿。
这些话听起来是不是很耳熟啊?你是否在过去当众出过丑?如果是，那你就不孤独。作为一个青少年，你在身体上要经历很多的改变。而且随着你的身体变化,你的形象也会改变。很多人都调整不过来,而且这会影响到他们的自尊心。
为什么自尊心与身体形象非常重要?
自尊心是指人们如何评价自己，对自身的自豪感,对自身价值的感觉。自尊心是非常重要的，这是因为自我感觉良好会影响到你的行为。一个有很强自尊心的人将会很容易交到朋友，有很好的自控能力，能更好地享受生活。
身体形象是人们对自己的身体外表的自我感觉。对于大多数人来说，尤其是那些青少年,身体形象与自尊心有着紧密的联系。这是因为当小孩子成长到青少年的时候,他们更加关心他人是如何看待他们的。
什么因素影响一个人的自尊心呢?
青春期
当一些青少年进入青春期的时候，他们便与自己的自尊心做斗争，这是因为身体经历许多变化。这些改变,与自身渴望感觉到被接受结合在一起,这意味着，它可能吸引人们与他人做对比。他们可能把自己和周围的人们或是在电视电影杂志上看到的演员和名人做比较。
但是通过与他人对比来进行自我衡量是不可能的，因为每个人在青春期的改变都是不一样的。有些人开始的比较早,有些比较晚熟。有些人暂时地长了些脂肪,来准备更快的成长，而有些人永久性的长胖了，还有些人无论吃多少都还那么瘦。这都由我们的基因来决定身体将如何成长。
伴随青春期而来的这些变化， 可以影响女孩们和男孩们的自我感觉。有些女孩子可能觉得不舒服或是对她们自己日益成熟的身体感到尴尬难为情。还有些可能希望他们长得快一点。女孩可能对苗条感到有压力，而男孩可能觉得他们看起来不那么高大或是肌肉不够发达。
外部因素
尽管,并不是只有成长影响自尊心。还有很多其他因素(比如媒体上瘦瘦的女孩和高大的男孩的形象)也都会影响一个人的身体形象。
家庭生活有时候会影响自尊心。相对于夸奖孩子来说，有些父母花更多时间来批评指责孩子的外表,这.会削弱孩子塑造良好自尊心的能力。
关于人们的外表,人们也可能经历一些来自同学或是同辈人的负面的评论或是伤自尊的戏弄。有时候种族歧视和民族偏见也是这些评论的来源。尽管这些通常是由于无知,但是有时候他们确实对人们的身体形象和自尊心产生一定的作用。
健康的自尊心
如果你对身体形象有一个积极的态度,你可能喜欢或是接受你自己的样子。这种健康的态度可以让你探寻成长过程中的其他方面，比如,发展良好的友谊，锻炼自己离开父母的独立性,还有挑战自己的身体和心智。发展这些部分可以帮助你增强自尊心。
一个积极的乐观的态度可以帮助人们发展强烈的自尊心。举个例子，当你做错事犯错误的时候，你说，“嗨，我是个人物”,而不是说“哦,我是个失败者”，亦者，当事情不如你预期的时候，不要责备别人。
懂得是什么让你开心,如何达到你的目标，这能够让你感觉自己是有才能的,强大的,而且是能够掌控自己的人生的。一个积极的态度和一种健康的生活习惯(比如锻炼身体,合理饮食)对于塑造良好的自尊心都是很好的。
改善你的身体形象的小贴士
一些人认为他们需要改变自己的形象或是行为来让自己感觉更愉快,但是，实际上你所需要的是改变你看待自己身体的方式，以及你对自己的认识。
你要做的第一件事情就是认同你的自身，无论它是什么形状,尺寸，或是颜色。如果你非常担心自己的体重或是身高，与你的医生核查一下，来核实是否有问题。但是，你自身怎么样,这不是其他人的事情而是你自己的事情。最终，你不得不对自身感到高兴。
接下来，明确你外表的哪些方面是你可以实际上可以改变的，哪些是不能变的。每一个人(即便是看起来完美无缺的明星)都有他们自己无法改变而且必须接受的地方,比如身高,或是他们的鞋号。
如果有些地方是你想要改变而且可以改变的(比方说你的健康程度),那么就给你自己设立目标来完成它。举例来说,如果你想要变的更健康，制定一个计划，每天锻炼身体,吃有营养的食物。然后跟踪自己的进度,直到你达到目标。迎接你自己给自己下的挑战,这是一个增强自己自尊心的很好的方法!
