Billie Eilish recently admitted that she has a terrible relationship with her body; how can women follow Eilish and take control over their mental wellbeing?
On Monday, Grammy award-winning artist Billie Eilish revealed that she has a terrible relationship with her body, in an interview with The Guardian.
The 19-year-old singer just released her latest and second studio album, “Happier Than Ever,” which allowed her to pull back the curtain on her own personal struggle.
“I see people online, looking like I’ve never looked,” Eilish told The Guardian. “And immediately I am like, oh my God, how do they look like that? I know the ins and outs of this industry, and what people actually use in photos, and I actually know what looks real can be fake. Yet I still see it and go, oh God, that makes me feel really bad. And I mean, I’m very confident in who I am, and I’m very happy with my life…I’m obviously now happy with my body.”
Fans of Eilish know that she regularly performs in loose and oversized clothing, which the artist also explained how she often has to tune out negative self-talk. “When I’m on stage, I have to disassociate from the ideas I have of my body, especially because I wear clothes that are bigger and easier to move in without showing everything – they can be really unflattering.” she added.
“In pictures, they look like I don’t even know what. I just completely separate the two. Because I have such a terrible relationship with my body – like you would not believe – so I just have to disassociate.”
Back in June, Eilish was featured on the cover of Vogue UK, where for the first time ever, Eilish had (regrettably) shed some layers of clothing – subjecting the artist to significant backlash.
“The body I was born with, is it not what you wanted? If I wear what is comfortable, I am not a woman. If I shed the layers, I’m a slut.” Following the June 2021 cover of Vogue UK, Eilish said the public reaction made her “never want to post again.”
Whether it is the paparazzi, media, or general fanbase, dissecting one’s body was perplexing to Eilish, who in her interview with The Guardian said, “it’s ridiculous that anybody even cares about bodies at all. Like, why? Why do we care? You know, when you really think about it?”
Women throughout the industry are still victimized by this body shaming culture, to which many fall into deep phases of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
“Self-love is the hardest love one can give themselves,” said Lucie Mitchell, co-founder of LifeFlip Media and a transformational nutrition coach. Mitchell, through her business Fierce and Beautiful Wellness, helps women navigate the inner turmoil they face with body-image issues and perimenopause, which often cause depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
Mitchell said that for most of her life, she suffered from body dysmorphia, adding that this continued until she was about 40-years-old. Body dysmorphic disorder is a mental health disorder in which an individual can’t stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flats in your appearance.
“…a flaw that appears minor or can’t be seen by others,” Mitchell said. “But you may feel so embarrassed, ashamed, and anxious that you may avoid many social situations. It was my own personal hell and one I didn’t even talk to my doctors or my family about – out of fear of judgment or disregard. It wasn’t until I went through some intense therapy and release work that I was able to actually look into the mirror and love what I was seeing.”
Speaking out on Eilish’s recent statement on her own body dysmorphia, Mitchell said she understands her pain:
“I can feel Billie’s pain and I totally can relate that there is a pressure and a stigma to look and appear a certain way. If I could tell her anything, it would be to release that pressure and see herself for how beautiful she really is – because her vision and viewpoint is the only one that matters.”
“Looking Right” in Hollywood
For decades, Hollywood has manufactured the dangerous belief that an individual has to look a certain way to be taken seriously – something that has created the very mental health challenges we are seeing today from artists like Eilish and others in Mitchell’s profession.
“I think we can blame reality TV and social media for this one,” Mitchell emphasized. “Sex sells, good looks sells, the right clothing sells. It is all about boosting ratings and profits, so the better looking, the higher the cost – even if that cost is one’s own self-image.”
With Eilish recently coming out and sharing her own vulnerabilities, could this set a precedent for bringing a healthy body image back to the industry?
Mitchell believes the precedent is already there. “I feel the precedent has already been set; Eilish is just making her voice a little louder. She is an amazing soul with a beautiful voice and look about her – and a story with tourettes syndrome that has given others with this hope. She is not trying to fit a mold, but rather break through glass ceilings.”
In working with struggling actresses and media executives, Mitchell’s experience as a certified transformational nutrition and life coach allows clients to develop healthy emotional eating patterns set by stress, trauma, unhealthy habits – as well as a balanced mindset and spirituality in their physical nutrition.
“I have been very blessed that my children know, feel, and hear how valuable they are. I have always made healthy nutrition and fitness a part of their lives and have done my best to avoid even putting myself down in front of them. It’s hard as a woman to not look in the mirror and say things like ‘this dress makes me look fat’ or ‘I really need to go on a diet’. If our children hear these comments and words, they will quickly start to think that way of themselves. We have an open dialog about their bodies and health and changes they are going through, the importance of all food groups and exercise. Even more importantly I have taught them to speak up when they hear other friends being put down due to weight or looks and to come to me or another adult if they are concerned for a friend’s mental and physical safety. It is so much more than looking at our children and telling them that they are beautiful. They need to feel it and believe it and see it within themselves. That is where the lasting change and results can happen.”
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