Many women are dissatisfied with their appearance: – I still struggle

Many Norwegian women are dissatisfied with their own appearance. A survey from 2022 shows that 1 in 10 Norwegian women have undergone cosmetic surgery.

In recent weeks, young students have taken part in free courses in Trondheim to get a better body image.

One of them is 24-year-old Eline Verkerk.

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One day changed her

Eline remembers well the first time she became dissatisfied with her own appearance. She even remembers the date. March 26, 2015.

The then 15-year-old girl stood on a bathroom scale. The body weighed one kilogram more than usual.

– I have been dissatisfied with my body since then. It developed into an eating disorder. I still struggle with it, but less now than before, she says.

Eating disorders are the biggest mental illness among girls aged 13–25. The disorder has increased among young girls in the last ten years, according to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

International project

A total of eight young women have taken part in the course program “Body Project” over the past four weeks. The courses have been arranged for one hour a week.

The program is led by Sit and is a free offer for students in the city.

The “Body Project” has been developed and evaluated at Stanford University and the Oregon Research Institute in the USA. Over 6 million girls in 140 countries have participated in the past.

Public health nurse Monica Brun Løkkeberg and psychologist Mirjam Espevik are employed by Sit and have led the courses in Trondheim together for the past three years.

– Many students tell us in conversations that they struggle with a negative focus on appearance. When we heard about the Body Project, we thought “we have to have this here”, says Løkkeberg.

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More uncertainties

Two of the course participants, who will not be named in the newspaper, were only 10 and 12 years old when they first felt that something about their bodies was ugly.

They are now in their 20s, but still struggle with negative thoughts about their own appearance.

Eline has often wished she was taller or thinner, while the other two have been more dissatisfied with their stomach, breasts or face.

– It has been an eye-opener to be part of the Body Project. We are in the same boat, but have completely different uncertainties. On one of the courses we talked about what the “perfect body” is, and much of it was contradictory, says Eline.

– Unrealistic expectations

The course participants believe there are many reasons why so many women have a bad relationship with their own appearance.

They mention, among other things, social media, film and TV series, newspaper articles and the beauty industry as driving forces.

– Throughout history, there has been more focus on women’s bodies than everything else we do, says Eline.

The other two nod approvingly.

– There are generally unrealistic and high expectations of how women should look and behave. It is reinforced through the media – and not least an industry that profits from women’s insecurities, says one of them.

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Seeing progress

Psychologist Mirjam Espevik in Sit finds it very common for young students to seek help for low self-esteem and associated self-esteem.

She and Løkkeberg have seen good results from the Body Project in recent years.

– Many of the participants feel constantly exposed to triggers that trigger a poor self-image, for example through social media. At the end of the course, many people take active steps to distance themselves from it, says Espevik.

– We see a clear change in mentality. They go from feeling the situation is awkward to being provoked and wanting to change something. It is rewarding to see how vitalized they are at the end, says Løkkeberg.

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Unity in the group

The women who have participated think that the courses in recent weeks have helped a lot.

Among other things, they have been given homework to challenge themselves, done tasks such as writing a list of things they like about themselves and discussed thoughts about their own bodies.

There has been both laughter and tears in the spa cellar at Gløshaugen.

– It became a safe place from day one. We have spoken openly and supported each other. Everyone has something they are insecure about – and some may be jealous of you for what you yourself consider “ugly”. We intend to keep in touch and meet again, says Eline.

Some advice

Psychologist Espevik has several thoughts on how young women can strengthen their self-confidence.

First and foremost, she believes women should get to know their inner dialogue and think about what they like about themselves and what they achieve. They should also be helped to find reasonable standards to compare themselves to.

– It can also often be a good idea to explore how one interprets situations one finds oneself in and thoughts that appear “automatically” – and question these. Many also need help to practice a more friendly and caring dialogue with themselves, for example as if they were talking to a good friend, she says.

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