"UGH, I HATE HOW I LOOK!"

If the title to this feature is a sentence that goes off in your head every time you stand in front of the mirror, you need to keep reading. No, this is not your run-of-the-mill self-love spiel that will magically change your self-image by the end. It won't. And it definitely won't silence the voices that have told you to fix, hide, and erase parts of you deemed “too much” or “not enough”. What it will do is offer something rare: a reason, however small, to stop waging war with your reflection, and feel a little better about coming home to the person who's been there all along. You.

- Sharon D'Silva

The mirror can be your best friend, or your worst enemy.” Whoever came up with that line probably didn’t imagine it would define — and haunt — countless generations of women. It’s 2025, and it still rings true, louder and crueler than ever before — and that’s saying something. In today’s time and age, finding a woman untouched by body image issues is the equivalent of spotting a mythical creature — technically possible, but damn near impossible.

Let's be real: 'self-loathing' isn't just a passing phase anymore. It’s been industrialised, monetised, and glamourised. You see women on celluloid, airbrushed to perfection, and you think, “How much she must hate herself to have gone through all that!” Because that’s what it looks like now — cosmetic procedures disguised as self-love, injectables passed off as confidence boosters, nips and tucks sold as 'just taking control'. And those who can't afford to do these carry the weight of “what ifs” like a second skin. What if I had a snatched waist? What if I didn’t have these eye bags? What if my face didn’t betray my age every morning?

The real heartbreak? These questions aren't vanity, they're survival tactics. Born from a belief that’s been planted early and watered daily: that our bodies are somehow never enough. As poet Rupi Kaur so poignantly puts it in her debut book, Milk And Honey: “We are all born so beautiful, the greatest tragedy is being convinced we are not.”

So what fuels this quiet war we wage against our own bodies? And, more importantly, can we ever break free from it? We don't claim to have all the answers, but we do have experts who can help you cut through the noise and start making peace with the mirror. The best part? We're going skin deep - literally and emotionally.

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