'Writing this has made me realise how much I've allowed for my mind to bully my body'.
Women including Millie Mackintosh and Roxie Nafousi have joined in an empowering campaign which sees them penning love letters to their bodies.
Started by @thisisfindingbalance on Instagram, the series is called 'Love Letters To Our Body' and anyone can join in by sharing the complicated and often difficult relationship they have with their body, with the aim of creating a safe space for others to relate and feel less alone.
"Over the years I’ve been my own worst critic and had a love/hate relationship with my body," Millie Mackintosh wrote in the caption for her love letter. "My hope in writing this is that I can remind myself how lucky I am to have the body I live in and to treat it with more respect and kindness".
The 31-year-old, who gave birth to her first child Sienna in the summer, broke her love letter down into sections, including 'my hair', 'my skin', 'my boobs', 'my tummy', 'my bum' and 'my legs'. She writes candidly about acne, cellulite, stretch marks, sagging and bloating, and finishes her essay by saying: 'Writing this has made me realise how much I've allowed for my mind to bully my body. Our bodies are rooting for us all the time, constantly working to keep us alive, strong and thriving. Even if the mind decides it doesn't love what it sees in the mirror, the body will always love us back again... This exercise has uplifted me in ways I didn't know to be possible'.
Influencer and emotional health advisor Roxie Nafousi also penned a powerful love letter, saying: 'I am truly so sorry to you for all the shit I put you through. I have abused you emotionally and physically. I have called you all the most horrible names under the sun...
'I can finally say that I love you, I respect you and I will always treat you with the kindness you deserve'.
Another moving post came from @phoebegreenacre, who apologised to her body for 'all those years of trying to change you'.
'I’m sorry for all those years I looked at you, wishing I could mould, shape, and distort you into something you were not,' she wrote. 'Thank you for sticking around, and persevering. We got there in the end.'
We think this safe space for women to share the intimate, complex and deeply personal relationship they have with their bodies is just what the internet needs right now.
To read more in the 'Love Letters To Our Bodies' series, head to @thisisfindingbalance.
This originally appeared on GLAMOUR UK | Ali Pantony
