Today I like you because… you are you and you are taking the time to read this blog. So thank you.

So, you may have noticed the ‘Today I like you because…’ letter boxes around Students’ Union venues on campus and in the village and wondered what they are, or how to take part?

All you have to do is write an anonymous compliment to anyone you want to, just something nice that you have wanted to say, but might not have been able to, or you just want to put a smile on someone’s face. Then write their full name on the envelope and put it into the post box. One week later all of the envelopes will be displayed on two boards, one in the student village and one on campus. All you have to do is check the boards to see if your name is up there! [Please note any unsuitable comments or messages will be removed]

Still don't understand? Then click here to see what we mean!

Why do this?

This week is all about self esteem, being healthy, happy, appreciating yourself and others. ‘Today I like you because...’ is one of three events going on this week, there is also ‘Come Dine with the Dietician’ and SRSH’s ‘Love Your Body’ campaign. All of these events are to address issues of self esteem the way we treat each other and unhealthy lifestyles.

To find out more:

‘Come Dine with the Dietician’ http://www.facebook.com/events/150518168434844/
‘Love Your Body’ http://www.facebook.com/events/528456840509418/

This may sound all very ‘cutesy and fluffy’ but there is a serious message behind these events which is becoming a more prominent topic of debate; personal image and how the media and society portrays women and men. Granted this has been an issue for a while, but recently there has been a surge in people going on diets, leading unhealthy life styles and taking drastic measures to become what they see in magazines etc. However, these images that are being displayed to us are unrealistic and are so edited and unobtainable that the models and celebrities in the photos and adverts do not even look like themselves.

“Even the models we see in magazines wish they could look like their own images.”

Women and now even girls who haven’t reached their teens yet are suffering from eating disorders and believe themselves to be ‘too fat’. The problem is so acute that girls as young as five now worry about their size and appearance, half of girls and one quarter of boys believe their peers have body image problems, and appearance is the largest cause of bullying in schools.[1] This is not the message that should be sent out to people. Eating disorders amongst students is becoming an increasingly worrying problem, because of the stress put on students and the lack of resources to give these students the counselling support that they need. Eating disorders are a recognised debilitating mental illness / mental disorder that affect sufferers in more ways than just weight loss. The disorders also affect the sufferers working ability, social interaction, and self esteem. The common eating disorders are; Bulimia nervosa, Anorexia nervosa, Binge eating disorder and Eating disorders not otherwise specified. The latter is not as widely known however, may affect students the most; it covers all maladaptive eating behaviors that do not fit into the above diagnoses. Unfortunately, only a minority of the people who meet stringent diagnostic criteria for eating disorders receive mental health care. This means the majority of persons with a severe eating disorder lack adequate treatment.[2]

Therefore, the Students’ Union has come together with SRSH and the Mental Wealth society to raise awareness of how aspiring to these unrealistic goals can have a negative impact on your lifestyle and mental health. It is normal to want to change your appearance and put yourself down, but why? We want to help you focus on what is good about yourself and steer you towards being happy with yourself in a healthy way and raise awareness that these images are unobtainable to almost every person in the world. So have a think, why do you like yourself today?

For more information on the issues discussed please follow these links:

http://www.SRSH.co.uk
http://www.ymca.co.uk/bodyimage/report
http://campaignforbodyconfidence.wordpress.com/

http://www.allwalks.org/category/about-us/
 

If you are worried you have an eating disorder please contact this confidential email address: swansea@srsh.co.uk for more information on the SRSH group sessions or to get involved in the campaign team please email the non-confidential email address : SRSH@swansea-union.co.uk