Body Image

The perception we have of ourselves is often quite different from what other people see. I once read that there are three perspectives:

1. What we think we look like.

2. What other people think we look like.

3. And what we really look like.

When people pass me in the street, or spot me in a café or shop, what do they actually see? If I’m sitting at a café and having a relatively good day, the medications keeping my tremors to a minimum, glancing at me you’d think there’s nothing wrong. But as soon as I get up out of my seat, it is clearly apparent to all that I am disabled, and with crutch in hand, there is no doubt. I may shuffle and move extremely slowly, stepping with care, shoulders hunched and the unmistakable shaking all give me away! However despite what you may see on the exterior, inside I am still very much ME, which probably goes unnoticed. I am young at heart, vibrant, with a dry sense of humour, positive and a bit of a chatter box. But these character traits are not seen or perceived when someone who does not know me, making hasty observations, reveals a completely different perspective. Catching a glimpse of myself in the reflection of a shop window, I can see how people that don’t know me can easily make the wrong assumption. A reporter asked me about the photograph that appears on the back cover of my book, for I look healthy, smiling and having fun whilst steering a boat. I told the reporter that this picture was a fluke; it happened to capture my essence somehow and shows how I feel inside. I have to admit that I am not steering the boat at all, I am merely posing by the helm. So you see how a picture can be misleading – how body image can send a positive or negative message.