Mental Health/ Health & Beauty ~ Body image and effects of lockdowns

 Body image and Lockdown

I used to have a massive issue with my body image and trying to keep up with the standards of what the ideal male body should look like and what it should be. Growing up and seeing all these magazine and newspaper articles of toned, muscular men plastered everywhere had a huge impact on my outlook of what the ideal male body should be or what was idealised and featured as a want and a need for how a guy should look. 

Body standards and the way we look at body image has changed massively over the years. The idea and concept surrounding the 'perfect' body is continuously changing, and the 'ideal male' has changed during the course of the last 150 years. 

Years where most changes occurred within the 'ideal male body'

• 1870's
• 1930's
• 1960's
• 1980's
• 1990's
• 2020's

Firstly starting in the 1870's, more particularly the late 19th century where being overweight was a sign of wealth. This was due to it providing the physical evidence, well the sign that they had the means to feast and indulge in the finer things of life. This was so prevalent that a club know as 'the fat man's club' was created. The club was first founded during1866 and all members had to reach the requirement of weighing at least 200 pounds. This idea of the club became so popular that it rapidly spread throughout the United States. By 1930, the excess of weight had begun being associated with members of the lower classes. This came with the increases in demand for Hollywood actors to look good on camera and for them to be fairly fit. This started the representation of the new 'ideal male body'. 

By the late 1960's there had been a counter-cultural wave. The counter-cultural wave had begun as a way of people rejecting the look which had become associated with corporate mainstream. The main group which really took on rejecting the 'ideal' look was rockstars as they began representing the image of having a skinny body and pairing it with long hair. However, the counter-cultural wave, providing the new image of the 'ideal' male body didn't last very long as by the 1980's a more hyper-masculine body image began becoming more popular. this led to the increase in bodybuilding. Bodybuilding quickly became mainstream as action stars began rocking huge muscles such as Arnold Schwarzenegger. The concept and ideology of a more gym-built form and shape started gaining popularity. The gym-built hyper-masculine body quickly lost popularity as by the 1990's the idea of hyper-masculinity had gone back out of style and the concept of everyman came about. The ideal image for a male body now still fits in with that of the 90's, the whole lean but muscular body type.  

Personally I think that everyone is beautiful no matter their body shape or size. We are all unique and as much as I hate to say it, we are all 'perfect' in our own way. In my opinion, the constant barrage and bombardment of the 'ideal' male body being everywhere while growing up had and has massively affected me and my mental health. Growing up and being a victim of bullying, being called fat was a constant issue I had to deal with. As a result, I began developing issues surrounding eating and my whole relationship with food completely broke down. 

Eating became more of a task that I needed to do rather than a luxury. I stopped eating lunches in school to co-inside with the growing body dysmorphia as well as beginning to suffer from anorexia and bulimia. Now I took a rather extreme route in trying to conform with the ideal body standards of others within the media as well as from my peers within my year and other years both older and younger throughout my school life. It has taken me a while to get over some of these issues but at the age of 21 I have started learning to love myself and my body as I am unique to me and if we were all the same then the world would be a pretty boring place. So despite it taking me a long time to love myself and my body I have finally accepted that I don't need to change who I am or conform into fitting ninth category of the 'ideal male body'. There is a variety of different factors that can change and effect our body types. Factors like the physical requirements of different jobs, the different cultural trends which have had an influence and influenced our perceptions of humans' physical form, as well as the availability of food.  

However, despite this blog post featuring around myself and the 'ideal male body', the standards behind the 'ideal female body' are also severely damaging and have severe effects on the mental health of young and impressionable men and women.

We are constantly bombarded with the image of the 'ideal' body for both male and female. With the representation in the media of how we should look and whats attractive is damaging us as we are all growing up and develop within our selves both physically and mentally. With the media representing the altered and enhanced images of celebrities and social media stars, it changes how young men and women are looking at themselves and slowly they begin wanting to change and adapt their appearance. During my studies at college of Health and Social Care, one of the units I studied was Mental Health. The first assignment cover learning aim A & B and I covered issues surrounding body image and the influence of the media and the effect that it has on young adolescents. (See below for copy of above assignment)

Unit 20 

Mental health

Assignment 1

Learning aim A & B

Bailey Cooper

Mental health affects a diverse variety of people no matter what religion, sex, gender or sexual orientation. However some of these factors can cause their mental health to be worse or contribute to what is causing their mental health. Mental health has a variety of different types and causes whether that be anxiety, depression, bipolar. Some common causes of mental health include bereavement, a troubled childhood and even a relationship.  The effects of mental health on the individual and the individuals family will be completely different as the individual who is suffering from a mental health condition will have a different view and experience on what it’s like to live with a mental health issue, compared to the view of their family who may see it as more of an issue than it actually is. The individuals take on how they are coping with their mental health will be different to what others are seeing as they may see their mental ill health getting better however to other people it may be getting worse or they may have become someone that they aren’t due to the medication they are taking or the type of therapy they are having in order to try and cope with their mental ill health. Mental health is seen as more acceptable within society today, however in the past suffering from mental ill health was seen as a bigger issue than it needed to be. This is due to the stigma that comes with mental health due to people’s perception of what having a mental illness means. The topic of mental health is more spoken about within schools and due to the government recognising mental ill health as an issue that needs to be helped. This has led to more funding for different mental health helplines and supports being out in place. Most mental health services are charity based such as Anxiety UK, Bipolar UK, Mind, Samaritans and YoungMinds. In the past mental health was believed to have been mainly related to behaviour or emotions, although the two are some of the visible signs of an individual's mental health, they are more broadly considered as the tip of the iceberg that is the underlying issue. However in more recent years mental health has had more research done surrounding it leading to a better understanding of mental health, and has helped health and social care professionals as well as the rest of the population being more aware of of the wide variety of factors that can influence not only our own mental health and mental wellbeing but others as well. This can help with diagnosing individuals and helping them to receive the correct help to deal with the root cause of the mental health condition. The dual axis model helps to put into perspective if an individual is suffering from mental ill health or is just feeling low that day. The dual axis model has four parts. It helps to determine an individual's mental health and whether it’s flourishing or languishing alongside the individual's mental wellbeing and if they are showing high or low levels of mental illness. The dual axis model helps health and social care professionals to look at the individual symptoms and feelings and put them into perspective of where the individual would be on the dual axis model. This can help the health or social care professional to help the individual to ensure that they are seeking out the correct help that they need in order to carry on with their mental health. Before the use of the dual axis model, it was assumed that mental health was on a spectrum where mental wellbeing was at one end and mental illness at the other. It was widely believed that the majority of the population would be on the wellbeing end of the spectrum with a select few being placed at the illness end.  This assumption is what had led to much of the stigma which is now attached to mental health.                   

Many individuals show symptoms of mental health, however they may only be showing symptoms of mental ill health and not actually be suffering from mental health. For example, everyone has days when they are feeling really low, and that may be the day that they are being assessed on their mental ill health. Some individuals may be more prone to suffering from mental ill health, for example the prison inmates and those serving in the army. One major cause for them suffering from mental health could be due to the isolation from their loved ones, so that family support that they would look for when they are feeling low won’t be bailable at the time it’s needed. For those serving in the army, the risk of mental health is high due to the graphic scenes that they are witnessing. Many factors from serving in the army can lead to many mental health conditions. Some include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. This is when the effects of what they have witnessed can lead to the individual suffering from a wide variety of symptoms which may eventually lead to suicide. Some of the symptoms for PTSD include the constant re-experience of the trauma through distressing recollections of the events they have seen or been part of, other symptoms include feeling jumpy, being easily irritated and angered as well as struggling with concentrating and sleeping. These traumatic experiences are usually most prominent for the individual through nightmares.    

Factors affecting mental health and mental wellbeing.

The ideology behind good mental health and mental well being is more than just the absence of mental illness. Having good mental health can be seen as a state of mental health that allows individuals to fully enjoy life. Everyone during some point of their life will experience down times and feeling low. Everyone’s ability to cope with negative experiences is different from each other.

Mental health affects everyone at some point during their life, most mental health issues come from individuals childhood and adolescence years. Some factors include physical ill health,  behaviour difficulties, feeling loved, self-esteem, confidence, family break ups and even abuse. Physical ill health can affect mental health due to injuries, diseases and other physical problems which could lead to the individual having a poor childhood. Some physical causes such as brain injury, birth trauma and even drug abuse can directly affect the chemistry of the brain and can contribute to mental illness due to the hormone imbalance that this may cause. In many common cases of mental health poor physical health can affect individuals self esteem and their ability to reach their goals and aspirations, this could lead to feelings of unhappiness and even depression.

Individuals who have behavioural difficulties tend to be unhappy. This unhappiness is either internalised by the individual or acted out. The individuals who act out upon this anger and unhappiness are usually perceived as having bad or difficult behaviour. This is usually seen through abusive language, aggressive or violent behaviour, stealing, refusing to comply with requests and expectations within the home and school environment, damage of property and displaying inappropriate actions.

An individual that is feeling loved and wanted by their family may help to prevent the development of mental ill health. Children who feel loved, accepted and trusted by their parents and other members of the family are more likely to have good self-esteem. The individuals are also more likely to feel safe, secure and comfortable. They are also more likely to be better at forming positive relationships in the future, and the individual is more likely to be better at communicating.

An Individual's self-esteem affects mental health and an individual's self-esteem is the value that they place on themselves. The self esteem of an individual is based on their own positive self-image and their sense of self worth. Individuals who have high self-esteem tend to have a positive outlook and tend to be satisfied with themselves, most of the time.

As children everyone is encouraged to discover their own unique qualities and confidence. Individuals are also encouraged to use this confidence to face challenges and take risks. Individuals who have been brought up to have confidence in themselves are more likely to lead happy and productive lives as well as have a positive attitude. Having this confidence is also more likely to revert the individual from suffering with mental ill health as they won’t feel left out or alone as they will have the ability to make friends easily and live a fulfilled life.

Family breakups or loss can affect people differently leading to mental ill health. Separation or divorce if parents or the loss of a percent or sibling is really painful and can affect children leading to the loss of trust within the individual and the feeling of abandonment. For the individual, finding ways to cope and adjust to the changes brought on by these events can be critical for everyone, but more particularly for younger members of the family. Everyone deals with grief differently and for younger individuals, seeing how their parents and other family members deal with grief could affect them negatively for years. Many people seek out professional help with bereavement if they or family members are finding it difficult coping with the loss.   Abuse may affect people at some point during their life, whether it’s from abuse in their childhood or abuse as they get older, such as domestic violence. Abused children are more likely to experience mental illness or mental disorders during childhood and into early adulthood. Abuse that the individuals may face could be physical, sexual, verbal or psychological.  Abuse can lead to feelings of low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, isolation, depression and anger, all of which are feelings that can impair an individual's chance of leading a happy mental ill health free life. Due to abuse, the individual may start to lose trust in others, feel helpless and vulnerable. The individual may also start to feel that the care they seem to be receiving may lead to more abuse.

With the few factors listed that can affect mental health, it’s important to receive and seek out the correct help in order to attempt to prevent suffering from mental ill health. However, due to the stigma which surrounds mental health many individuals won’t come forward and ask for help, it’s important to look out for and care for your own mental wellbeing and mental health as well as helping others such as family members and friends to show that they are not alone and that there is people who can help those who are suffering. 

Not all factors that can affect mental health stem from childhood. Environmental factors can also lead to individuals suffering from mental health issues. Some environmental factors include having an unhealthy family environment where abuse can occur, whether that’s physical, sexual or even psychological. These can contribute to an individual's mental wellbeing and mental health making it nearly impossible for the individual to not suffer from mental ill health. The effects of abuse of this kind can stick with the individual for years and may possibly lead to post traumatic stress disorder.

The current classification system for mental health is updated and changed regularly. The classification system comes from the use of the ICD 10 and the DSM 5. Chapter five of the International Classification of Diseases, (The ICD 10 is produced by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM -5) is produced by the American Psychiatric Association (APA)).

The ICD 10 and the DSM 5 are used by different health and social care professionals throughout the health and social care sector. They are both used to check the symptoms and actions of different individuals and linked them to what mental health issue they may have or be suffering with. However, the main problem with this is that most symptoms are linked to a wide variety of different mental health issues. This can lead to man6 people receiving the wrong diagnosis and therefore receiving the wrong medication and help from the health and social care sector. This can also lead to in some cases the individual committing suicide if they are really struggling and finding it difficult to cope and live with their mental health issue. This may lead to more mental health issues developing within the family of that individual as they would have to come to terms with and adjust to life after the bereavement.  

The current classification system is used by health and social care professionals throughout the United Kingdom as well as the United States of America. However the ICD and the DSM are updated regularly. Due to these constant updates the previous codes for different conditions become deemed unusable as what may have previously been considered as a symptom of a mental health condition may no longer apply, for example a symptom such as fatigue may have been linked to a mental health condition but in a newer ICD or DSM, may no longer be relevant, this could lead to a misdiagnosis which in very rare circumstances could lead to the death of a service user as it may result in the given medication affecting them in the wrong way leading to the individual dying as a result of drug abuse, even though the medication would have been prescribed. 

There are many strengths to the current classification systems used in the diagnosis of mental ill health conditions, such as due to the constant updates of the codes for every condition, it can ensure that the correct help and advice is passed on from the health or social care professional to the service user and their family, however again there is the weakness if the wrong advice being given to the service user as a result of the updated to the ICD, and the DSM. Other strengths include the addition of new conditions being added and recognised as a mental ill health condition rather than something that can’t be explained by the health or social care professionals. Also due to new conditions being added it results in more people suffering from mental ill health being recognised and services being made available for those who need them. A limitation to the current classification systems is that multiple mental ill health conditions have similar if not the same symptoms, for example depression and bipolar have very similar symptoms. This can lead to the individual being left vulnerable as they may get the wrong diagnosis, resulting in them receiving and seeking out the wrong help which could have a drastic effect on their mental wellbeing.

The current classification system for mental ill health lays out the wide variety of different conditions and the signs and symptoms that are linked to the mental ill health conditions. The current classification system for depression is based on the diagnosing of depressive episodes. In the ICD–10 and DSM–IV there is a considerable overlap for depressive episodes but there are some differences of emphasis. In ICD–10 the service user must have at least two of the first three symptoms, depressed mood, loss of interest in everyday activities and a reduction in energy,  the service user also needs to have at least two of the remaining seven symptoms; while in DSM–IV the service user must have five or more out of nine symptoms with at least one from the first two p, being depressed mood and loss of interest. Both diagnostic systems require the symptoms of depression to have been present for at least 2 weeks to make a clinically based diagnosis, however it  can be shorter with use of the  ICD–10 if symptoms are unusually severe or of rapid onset. In both the ICD–10 and DSM–IV the symptoms must result in impairment of the service users functioning that can lead to severe and unusual symptoms. 

The most up to date classification system has changed the way autism is based on. They changed all of the sub-categories, so that autism isn’t seen as a wide difference, instead they are all seen as one category. This makes it harder to work out what type of autism the individual out of the three different types. Autism used to come under the three different categories of Autistic Disorder, Asperger Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. However, within the new classification system the three categories have been merged into one, this would make it harder for the individuals to receive the correct help that they need. This makes the health and social care professionals have more of a challenge when looking for the correct diagnosis for individuals. This can result in the individual receiving the wrong treatment and medication for the type of autism that they have. This can lead to misdiagnosis and the individual getting the wrong medication. This can lead to overdoses if they are taking the wrong amounts of medication and possible the wrong type. This can lead to a diverse range of ethical issues such as the wrong dosage being given, as well as the wrong medication. This can lead to many individuals feeling distressed. 

Mental health disorders need to be operationalised if they are to be definable within the DSM. This would mean arriving at lists of symptoms and behaviours to make the disorder measurable. This can make it easier for the health and social care professionals to come to a conclusion as to what the service user is suffering from. However, it has been argued, that in operationalizing a concept such as depression, something is lost from the understanding of the nature of the whole experience of depression. Due to the loss if understanding to what it’s like to experience depression, the DSM can be deemed unusable, which then means that the DSM is not a valid tool in the fact that it now lacks construct validity, due to the constructs which are drawn up, this  may lead to the evidence and service users response to the professional not actually be sufficient to represent the disorder.

A lack of validity during diagnosis from using the DSM and the ICD, can lead to more problems for the service user, it may result in their mental health condition getting worse and may possibly lead to further damage being caused, such as in severe cases suicide. Validity when used in mental health explores the extent to which a measure of a psychological variable measures what it sets out to measure, in the cases the severity of the individuals mental health. Essentially this means the correct variable, in clinical psychology, this variable will be a mental disorder and mental wellbeing, is measured, by arriving at the correct diagnosis. However, regardless of the health and social care professionals arriving at the correct diagnosis, if the DSM were not reliable, it would not be valid either, which every now and then the wrong diagnosis is given to an individual suffering from mental health. For the DSM to be considered unreliable it would have to mean that inconsistent diagnoses are made, and so if there is inconsistency it would also seem that the DSM would also not be valid either, otherwise the correct diagnosis would have been made.  

Mental health is more spoken about and much more publicised within the media since 2010. Many celebrities have a huge impact on the issues regarding mental health and mental wellbeing. This may lead to the government and more charities becoming more aware of the problem of mental health which has led to more work and money being put into the mental health sector. With many celebrities portraying mental health and talking about their own mental health through the use of social media, the influence that it’s having on the younger generation has led to more of an understanding of what these individuals may be going through, this has helped many people seek out the help that they need. Mental health is also spoken about in schools and colleges, to help provide more of an understanding on what having good or flourishing mental health is and how mental ill health is something that can be solved. Through the backing of the government, counsellors are now made available within schools and colleges to help the students who are suffering from mental ill health and those who may have poor mental wellbeing. 

The ‘am I perfect now?’ image has become relatively well known within society with multiple people remaking and reposting the picture across social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The idea behind the image is to show that society says we all have to act, look and behave in a certain way, but that’s not who we really are. It shows that even now society is saying that being perfect is the only way to fit in, it sends the message that inside not everyone is okay and that people do have their own personal battles. The image helps to send the simple but yet effective message to everyone, that message being ‘if you're not okay, then that’s okay’ it’s so simple but it has had a powerful impact on the perception of mental health and the stigma that has become attached to the idea behind mental health. 

Where mental health is so widely spoken about now with many celebrities talking about their own mental health issues and how their mental wellbeing has been affected leading to mental illness, many people have felt comfortable speaking about their own mental health issues as the stigma that has been attached to mental health seems to be fading as mental health has become more acceptable now due to the use of public figures and influencers. No the less, due to the influence of celebrities and the portrayal of how people should look due to the photoshopping of pictures, can lead to many teenagers suffering from mental illness. These mental illnesses include anxiety and anorexia. This is due to the pictures of celebrities that are posted everywhere whether that be on social media or in the news, the younger generations are feeling more pressure to fit in and be more like their role models. ( https://www.hypnotherapists.org.uk/6137/using-hypnotherapy-to-counter-anorexia/ Accessed 2 February 2018) (https://blackhairstylehits.com/search/cut.asp Accessed 2 February 2018) 

(OK! Magazine, Posted on blog article on Wednesday, 13 March 2013, accessed on 2 February 2018, 10:23, http://lookinggoodfeelongfab.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/celebrities-before-and-after-photoshop.html?m=1) The images above show the effects of what teenagers feel they need to do in order to fit in and be perfect. The type of disorder, anorexia,  can stem from images and articles like the ‘OK! Magazine, with Kourtney Kardashian’ and her losing her baby bump) images and photoshopped articles such as these can lead to many of the younger generation believing that they are not perfect and not what society wants to see. This may lead on to further mental ill health disorders such as depression and self harm as the individual may feel that that the only way they can fit in is to control what happens to them, what pain they feel, what they eat, how they exercise. This is where the help and support within schools and colleges come from in order to help the individuals who are struggling. The teachers, lectures and other staff members are all trained on how to pick up on the different signs and symptoms of mental illness and how to help the individual seek out the help they need.

     

Celebrities and influences such as you-tubers have been using their power over the general population to help educate people on the concept of mental health. They use the influence and power they have to help those who are struggling with mental ill health and those who have poor mental wellbeing. You-tubers such as Zoë Sugg, other wise known as Zoella, ( https://m.youtube.com/user/zoella280390) and Inanna Sarkis,( accessed 1 August 2017, uploaded 1 August 2017,  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fGcxWotX1Aw) have both used their YouTube channels to help those with mental health issues. Zoella uses her channel to talk about her own mental health issues and how she has attempted and tried a variety of different techniques and has managed to learn to cope with her mental ill health, whereas Inanna has used her channel and has made a variety of different videos where she puts in to concept the effects of different mental illnesses and the effects that they have on people. She has also used these videos to show what she believes about mental health and how the stigma behind the idea of mental health is wrong.

Source of body standards images: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-perfect-male-body-changed-2017?r=US&IR=T#in-the-future-new-technology-may-give-us-more-control-over-how-we-look-who-knows-what-will-be-in-favor-then-14