Linda has body image issues and views her body as imperfect, and always puts herself down. Dawson tells her, “Don’t buy the lie that you’re not good enough.”

Body Image and Society Today

LINDA'S (LUBBOCK, TX) QUESTION:

Dawson: Hello, Linda.

Linda:  Hello, Dawson.

Dawson: How are you tonight, Linda?

Linda: I don’t know, I guess okay.

Dawson: It says here on the screen that Linda views her body as imperfect.

Linda: Yes.

Dawson: Well, welcome to everybody else. We all feel that way, don’t we?  

Linda: I don’t know. I guess everybody else has a way of dealing with it. I always put myself down.

Dawson: You tear yourself down?  

Linda: Yep.

Dawson: Do you have any friends?

Linda: Yes, I have a lot of friends. I usually just keep that subject away.

Dawson: So, you don’t actually talk to them about how you feel about your weight?

Linda: Sometimes.

Dawson: Are you overweight?

Linda: No, I’m not overweight.

Dawson: So, what do you think would cause you to go around saying I got this awful body, imperfect body…when really you have a great body?

Linda: I don’t know how to explain it. It’s hard to look at society today and what they expect of everybody. It makes you feel really bad about what you look like. I’ll just be sitting there, and I’ll notice something on me, and I’ll feel bad right away.

DAWSON MCALLISTER'S ANSWER:

Dawson: You might want to do some study on the internet on all the lies of the culture and the confusion we have over our bodies and self-esteem. I would start there. So, when you look at yourself and see something out of place, you say, wait a minute…right now, I am buying into a lie. That says I have to look a certain way, sound a certain way, walk a certain way or I’m a failure. That is a lie. So, you uncover the lie first, then you replace it with truth which says, I’m deeply loved and I’m grateful for the attractive body that I have. Uncover the lie and replace it with the truth. Because all you’re doing is buying a lie. How many people can really keep up the model of the perfect body? Not very many. Besides it’s not how we look on the outside, it’s all about how we look on the inside. You’re a very tender, kind person, also very bright. I like talking to you, Linda. Don’t buy into the lie.

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