If you’re like me and self-conscious or even the slightest bit insecure, being nude doesn’t sound like it would be your steeze. Yet, shockingly, it could be just what you need to gain that extra bout of self-confidence. Trust me, I am an anxious, overthinking maniac and I feel like I’m insecure in all aspects of life to a certain degree. I’m most confident professionally, like when it comes to my job there’s nothing I won’t at least attempt once. I’m least confident in my love life and that’s solely from past experiences that I haven’t fully unpacked and let go of, but it’s a work in progress as is everything.
I’m new to the whole nude scene and still not quite sure how I feel about it just yet, but I think it’s given me a bit of confidence that I didn’t have before. The environment in the nude community is just the most comforting and inviting place. It is judgment-free and carefree in the best ways possible. But you don’t have to participate with the outside world to be a nudist.
When people think about going nude they immediately assume it’s going out in public areas that are clothing optional, but in actuality, you can practice nudism in the comfort of your own home. If you aren’t super comfortable or accustomed to the thought yet you can always start with sleeping naked. There’s a huge benefit to it as well.
Some people claim it helps them fall asleep faster. For women, sleeping naked can help your lady bits take a breather. Underwear, especially the wrong kind, can trap moisture and cause infections or just straight up uncomfy-ness. Moisture, especially in dark, covered places, is breeding grounds for bacteria to grow and that sounds like an awful time. It’s been proven to heighten self-esteem as well. It comes from the belief that as you strip away your clothes you also, metaphorically strip yourself of self-doubt, negative thoughts about your body, and any shame you carry with you about your body or stuff you just simply cannot change. It’s all about getting comfortable with yourself in a way you haven’t before that boosts self-confidence.
Reacquaint yourself with your body in the most intimate of ways. Self-love is the first step. I read an article that said looking at your naked body in the mirror every morning before you start your day and saying 5 loving things to yourself can increase your confidence by huge amounts.
I feel like as women there is so much pressure to look, act, and be a certain way so much that we end up compromising ourselves and our health just to keep up with the latest trends. I mean the Kardashians did not come out of the womb looking like that, that took money and doctors, not exercise and good genes. But we women are consistently criticized for everything, what we do and how we do it, from the clothes we wear down to the way our body looks or should look, so no wonder we have confidence issues. And for the women of today to preach such body positivity, 9 times out of 10 it’s toxic nonsense that we hear from other women.
I’m personally not a big fan of the word “feminist” because of what it turned into and it just proves that in the wrong hands any word can be turned negative. The official definition of feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights based on the equality of the sexes. Not to burn the patriarchy and say “men ain’t shit” for every little thing they do wrong. I do agree that some men are pieces of shit, but it’s not all men. Abso-fucking-lutely take back your rights as a woman, use your voice, but make sure you’re projecting positive noise into the world and practice it at home as well. Start with yourself.
My therapist has 2 sayings that she preaches to me anytime I make self-deprecating jokes, “If you find something in yourself that you’re unhappy with, identify it and change it before it manifests itself into its person” meaning lots of things and it’s up for individual interpretation. I took it as we all find ourselves identifying traits in others that we hate and judge people for when we do them ourselves, so get your shit together and stop worrying about everyone else. The other one she constantly tells me is “you can change things one of 2 ways: you can either decide to change it physically or you can change your mindset about it, and move on ”. I think the same thing goes for nudism.
People have negative connotations of being naked when it’s just a misconception. Not all nude people are hypersexual beings or hippies. Sometimes it’s just nice to be naked! That is the way God intended it (if you don’t get that Friends reference, WE are not friends). But what you believe or who you are has nothing to do with a desire to be naked that’s the wonderful thing about nudism, everyone can do it. It doesn’t matter what side of politics you are on, what God you pray to, what race, age, or sex you are. It’s an all-inclusive activity that I guarantee the most unsuspecting of people practice.
Ultimately, I think that nudism is a great way to uplift your self-esteem. In the environment we’re currently in where there’s so much hate for each other, we need to at least be nice to ourselves. It will have a domino effect eventually and that self-love we start giving ourselves will slowly but surely trickle out into the world. At least I hope so.