Under Pressure

Under Pressure defined :

A compelling or constraining influence, such as a moral force, on the mind or will: pressure to conform; peer-group pressure

We are under pressure. We place ourselves in our own pressure cooker to perform. As moms we never feel as though we are doing enough and we often compare ourselves to other women who seem to have it all together. How do they hold it together, look so great and have a clean house? Well , a good guess is that they don't have it together and neither do you or I. Why do we look to others and society and give ourselves a grade? Why do we  feel as though we don't measure up?

Society, has done a horrible job the past few decades portraying real beauty! Our children are placed  under pressure. Eating disorders are on the rise and if asked most women let alone girls ages 8-17 would tell you they are not happy with their appearance.  We are all beautiful and all though we might not judge someone else on their looks; we are the biggest judge of our own self image and appearance. We have been ingrained to think a certain way about our bodies.

At 43 I can honestly say that I am comfortable with who I am and how I look. My positive self image did not come easy. From age 10-25 I had a very poor self image and struggled with eating disorders. I now eat healthy and strive to be at a healthy weight not because I am using society  to measure my worth or looks but because I want to be healthy for me and my family. I have two young girls and I just hope that they will continue to have a healthy outlook on life. With all the "pressure" on girls out there this will not come easy.

Girls today are under more pressure than ever. More than 90 percent of girls want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance, with body weight ranking the highest.

The Dove Self-Esteem Fund  was established to inspire and educate girls about a wider definition of beauty and is committed to reaching 5 million girls globally by 2010 with self-esteem programming.

The DSEF is part of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty  , a global effort designed to widen today’s stereotypical view of beauty. The Fund is a global project, which consists of a network of local country initiatives linked in strategy and direction by a global steering group. In each country, the DSEF supports a specific charitable organization to help foster self-esteem.

In the U.S., the Fund supports uniquely ME!, a partnership with Girl Scouts of the USA that helps build self-confidence in girls ages 8-17 with after-school programs, self-esteem building events and educational resources. In the United Kingdom and other countries, the fund supports Body Talk, an educational program about body image and self-esteem in schools. Since 2006, Dove has conducted nearly 2,700 self-esteem educational workshops around the world.

Thank you to Dove for taking such a big step in educating and changing the negative self  image so ingrained in women today.