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A “Healthy” Challenge

Love | 09.21.16

The word “healthy” can be defined differently by everyone on earth with the basis around the actual definition; in good health. With it’s base “health” meaning the state of being free from illness and injury based on your physical and / or health.

With these definitions in mind, lets explore mental health with the impact of verbal bullying.

Words told to another person about them to them or to others is said to experience a form of verbal abuse. When we think of abuse our mind usually generates images of physical abuse not verbal because the wounds from verbal cannot be seen by anyone except the person it happened to in the form of a flashback to the moment the words were spoken.

Getting away from anyone can be difficult, especially if it’s your partner, spouse, family member, and sometimes in  your circle of friends. The friends portion of that can be just as complex as a family member or spouse because unless someone is loyal and loves another person enough to defend them, it just won’t work.

I’ve learned even best friends won’t uphold that same belief and they’ve continued a relationship with the person that made me and several other women feel horrible about our bodies. But the drama of voicing that concern to defend us wasn’t a conversation she was willing to have.

Rather than split hairs over something that doesn’t deserve oxygen, I’ll cut to the point. I have photography shoots with Anna May Photography because I wanted to streamline the images I post to social and have on my blog. Images are a huge part of a company’s branding because the aesthetics of them is what will build recognition and recall from my targeted following.

I receive the most beautiful images from our photoshoots but everyone is their own worst critic and we tend to see the worst in ourselves instead of the best.

I type all of this with a bit of hesitation because there are a few pictures that I’m not crazy about. Not because they’re bad. But because of the body image wounds I received about my body from an old faux-friend.

This person was once a woman I respected and cheered for. But it all came to an end when there were countless women that we knew that started telling me how uncomfortable she made them because she would make body comments as a form of shame and a way to make everyone join her.

This person told me that I was “fat” on a semi-frequent basis, one time she actual pointed it out in person. Eventually I felt like I listened to her for approval and to be accepted by her so she’d stop saying mean things about my body.

However, the imprint she left on me impacts my mind to this day. I realize my stomach may swell sometimes because of disease; Crohn’s & Colitis.

For the record, I wear a size 2/4 and battle with severe weight loss because of my flare that kicked off in the Fall of 2014. My body is still trying to recover from the intense amount of stress my body went through and how the medications side effects impact me today.

The wound is there but it’s healing. The challenging part is accepting my body and not believe the words she said.

My body isn’t perfect but it’s mine and I love it. I almost never shared this image because of my stomach but it’s me … Flaws and all.
image

All of the above leads me to the challenge I’m posting:

Try going one day not judging your body. Instead of judging another woman, give her a compliment. Write a list of 10 things you love about you; mind, body, and spirit. The next time someone says anything to you that makes you feel bad about yourself, forgive them for being cruel, throw glitter by paying another woman a compliment, and write out another list for YOU. If we can’t build ourselves up, we may never be available to help build others.

Eventually, you’ll have it memorized and then you can take on the world … One compliment at a time.

• LOVE WINS •

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✨ 𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑒 ✨ Compared to ✨ 𝓉𝑜𝓅 𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑒 ✨ Compared to other years, 40 posts in 2020 is scarcity at its finest when compared to other years of me posting almost every day. The time away has allowed me to get through one of the darkest years, so many of us have faced. While I’ve historically turned to my keyboard as a release of hardships, I’ve been unusually reclusive as I’ve focused on a silent health challenge, family, friends, work, and school as a guiding light. ✨ 2020 was a year I never really wanted, but I learned much about myself and tapped on inner strength to push through. ✨ Therefore I must be grateful for the lessons I’ve learned. 🙏 2021, please be kind. The world and I need it. #thankunext #surviveandthrive #ciao2020 #topnine
✨ 𝓂𝓎 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 ✨ “I can't h ✨ 𝓂𝓎 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓁𝒹 ✨ “I can't hide. How I feel about you inside. I'd give everything up. If I could just have you, be mine. Be mine, baby.” 🎶 𝓂𝑔𝓀 💛 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 62 𝒹𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒻𝒾𝒻𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈𝒶𝓇𝓎 🥰 #foreveryours #mcmeveryday #herecomethekuebers #lovewins
🔥 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑒𝓃𝑔𝓉𝒽 𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝑒 𝑔𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓌𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝓋𝒾𝓋𝑒. 🔥 #fanyourownflame #putyourheaddownandwork #mentalfitness #bethelight
• 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 • Today I choose to show up as the best “me” I can be, much like how the ocean shows us how to be. ☀️ The empowered me that battles my autoimmune diseases with radical approaches to heal all within me. 💪 The confident me. The me that handles both anything and everything the world tosses at me. 🌎 The me that faces the world with eyes of possibility, creativity, and solution. 🤩 The me with a heart full of hope and a head full of beautiful dreams. 🥰 The me that floods others with kindness and love. 🌊 The me that knows my strength is my best asset because it paves the way for all of my dreams, much like a powerful currant like the waters can be. 💛 The me that knows it will be okay. Because this life is much like water, it never stays the same as it ebbs and flows. It’s a mystical cycle that reminds us how small we are compared to the big picture of this journey called life. 🤗 How refreshing is that ocean breeze. • 𝓈𝒽𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 • #writersofinstagram #wanderer #transformationtuesday #bellaoflouisville ✨
{ 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒸𝓀-𝒾𝓃 } It’s my birthday week, and while there is so much happening in our world that impacts each of us in a multitude of ways, there is still so much I’m grateful for. • I have a loving husband, kids, mom, extended family, and my fur babies. • I’m in remission with my autoimmune diseases. While I still have bad days, the good ones overshadow them. • I’m growing my career with education to continue chasing my dreams. • I have a loving roof over my head, cozy clothes on my back, and inner peace about things I cannot control. • It might not sound like much, but for me, life has given me more than I’ve ever prayed for. • I’ve “socially distanced” myself IRL and digitally with COVID to focus on family and my faith. I’m re-emerging into the world with a renewed sense of contentment and optimism. I’m ready to shed the 37-year-old shell to joyfully leap into 38 with all the hope I can muster. ✨ Cheers to this wild journey we call life! 🥃 #anotheryearwiser #cheers #celebrateeveryday
✨ 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝓃 ✨ ✨ 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑒𝓈 𝑜𝓃 ✨ I get by with a little help from my friends and mother nature. ☀️ #thankfulgratefulblessed to find solace and lots of laughter with great friends to push me through this week. 💛 #lifeiswhatyoumakeit #peacefulmindset #naturegram
Happy birthday, Ra-Ra! ✨ I felt the need to writ Happy birthday, Ra-Ra! ✨ I felt the need to write a strong caption, but how can I describe you or our friendship in a caption? I can’t. So much comes into my mind when I think of the growth we've both shared, witnessed, and supported. The world may keep us distanced, but you are in my mind and heart every day. LOVES YOU! 🎂🥂✨ #shewild #shefine #hurras
✨ 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝒶𝒸𝒸𝑒𝓅𝓉𝑒𝒹 ✨ Thank you, @whitneyharding_ for the kind reminder of the strength I have within me to persevere through the next few weeks of treatments. 💛 This challenge couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you. I miss you and love you so! ✨ #challengeaccepted #autoimmunewarrior #womenempowerment #womensupportingwomen
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