Body Confidence 2020 - My reflections
Well, what a year it's been. Reflecting over the last 12 months has made me both smile and shudder over how my Body Confidence (Cards) journey has been, especially in the context of the wider BC stories that have been playing out through this challenging year.
January got off to a great start as I attended the Anti-Diet RiotFest and it continued positively (despite the storms - remember them?) in February with my Q&A sessions after the brilliant Helen of Troy play.
And then came 'you know what'.
Along with being galvanised to get active with Joe Wicks in March, the sound of birds and lots of acts of kindness, we were bombarded with messages about how we shouldn't eat too much (shudder 1) despite the fact that we were locked in our homes and the comfort that food legit brings in such times. I was well aware of the impact of the memes and negative messaging, especially in possibly triggering disordered eating and so my "say no" narrative started.
Like many, I tried to make the most of lockdown and in April I pushed myself to do a few videos and started a card related Instagram account (@BodyConfidenceCards_db). It was good to do something to challenge the narrative (shudder 2) that was ramping up, no thanks for Boris Johnson, around weight and covid-19.
May was dark in many ways but a personal positive was being featured on Charlotte Markay's list of social media accounts to follow in Psychology Today.
In Summer I made the most of the weather we were blessed with but still found time to do a few bits - In June, I joined the You@Yours body confidence challenge. In July, I had a massive response to a blog on nude shoes, and in August I was inspired by a package I received to get some merchandise to improve how the cards were presented. Sadly, a wider argument was also hovering around during the summer with the frankly crap idea about weighing children on their return to school (big shudder 4)
Several months in the development, my website was finally launched in September but the real highlight of the month was that I experienced my first Body Happy Kids workshop. Beyond me, September also saw a Parliamentary discussion on Body Confidence.
With October being Black History Month, and given the discussions around race in 2020 (shudder 5), I spent time considering on how the cards reflected blackness and started planning a second edition which resulted in a new deck in November. In October, as the weather changed and I needed a boost, I also let my faith into my body confidence space by expanding my A-Z thoughts, one a day, into a Christian companion which I was grateful to be able to share. with a friend
An InstaLive with Merv of You@Yours (another first for me) wrapped up my Body Confidence year brilliantly. Sadly, this December we are also hearing about that an impact of the pandemic is an increase in cases of eating disorders (massive shudder 6). And so, as with the rest of the year I am mindful that what I do matters.
And here we are. New Years Eve. A traditional time to reflect.
In summary, I had a body confidence cards year worth smiling about, but many of my activities were a reaction to things that made me shudder. Next year, I hope to be more proactive and up my game. Starting tomorrow.
New Years Day. A traditional time to plan! (But not the only time).
Wishing you a healthy, happy, body confident 2021!
Denise 💞💞💞
Denise 💞💞💞
W: www.bodyconfidencecards.com
I: bodyconfidencecards_db
T: @_BodyConfidence
F: Body Confidence Card Club
