We’re a quarter of the way through the year, and Sarah has a few thoughts in our latest, weekly, mental health column. Over to her.
Congratulations – you have officially survived the first 25% of 2025. And let’s be real, that was no mean feat. The world around us has suffered continued war, natural disasters, political unrest, financial crises, and more. And then whatever has been going on in your personal little worlds hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park, I’m sure.
So, let’s take a few minutes to just breathe. Sip a beverage of your choice, nibble a biscuit, and relax.
[Dear Film Stories editor, please use this space to play some relaxing movie soundtracks. Maybe not Jaws. Thank you.]
[Got it – Ed]
Feeling better? Good.
Now let’s get a little more serious, for a beat. We need to keep this positive and relaxing vibe alive for as long as possible. Nobody is asking you to become Elle Woods, but there are small things everybody can do to help make life a little more bearable.
Reaching April means the days are getting longer and lighter, the grey of winter should be fading away and be replaced with an explosion of colour that often accompanies Spring and Summer. Theoretically, this should also include improved weather conditions, but let’s be real… this author lives in the UK and our forecast has always been predictably unpredictable.
In anticipation of longer days with their expected temperature rises, there does come some real difficulties for many people with body image issues. To help those people, let’s all do one significant thing to help; let’s keep our mouths shut.
Hear me out.
We all have opinions, we all pass judgement, and we all display hypocrisy. This is because we are human. Pobody’s nerfect. But sometimes we need to learn to keep those opinions, judgements, and hypocritical words to ourselves.
“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”
Nobody – and I mean nobody – wants to hear your unsolicited views about their appearance. Unless directly asked, let’s not point out anything in relation to a person’s weight, or their fashion choices, or how they present themselves.
Telling somebody they are fat, look ‘short and dumpy in those jeans’, and need to shave their armpits and dye their roots does nothing to help and support them. And you don’t gain anything by being mean, realistically. All that happens is we perpetuate the idea that other people’s existence is based in our comfort and the acceptable rules set by glossy celebrity magazines.
Clothes are about to get smaller, tighter, and cuter, and if a person chooses to wear them they should be applauded for the choices that give them comfort and confidence. Body hair, facial hair, hair length and style, tattoos, piercings, make up and all the rest are the business only of the person whose body they belong to. Your negative opinion isn’t needed. At all.
We also need to remember that we don’t always know everyone’s personal lives or medical history, so randomly celebrating weight loss or shaming weight gain needs to become a thing of the past.
And another delicate element is going to become visible, too; scars. Whether from self-harm or from other events in a person’s life, scars may also reveal themselves more as temperatures rise and clothing choices are adapted to suit. Again, this doesn’t need judgement or comment.
Everybody knows their own body and taking it out into any public setting or sharing it on social media is not a free-for-all for others to belittle. Let everyone have their own time to feel adorable and just live. It isn’t harming the rest of us.
Just be kind.
We’re all capable of it.
