Body confidence influencer shares powerful bloating photo
First and foremost, let's kick this off by saying that bloating is nothing to be ashamed of (and can be caused by multiple things, ranging from a food intolerance to periods). At one point or another, it's likely we've all experienced it – and that includes Danae Mercer (a brilliant writer, Cosmopolitan Middle East columnist and self love activist), who recently shared her experiences with her 1.3 million followers.
Danae, whose feed is all about openly discussing the 'tricks' many use online (angles, lighting, apps etc) to change their appearance, also asked an important question in her post: do you squeeze your tummy in all the time? Until stumbling across her page, I'd never really thought about it, but actually, the answer is yes. I'm constantly breathing in, so as not to look bloated, and deliberately avoid tight-fitting clothes. And maybe you do too? Being asked to think about it so directly was a real wake-up call.
"Do you squeeze in your tummy all the time? I realised this month that I do it CONSTANTLY. I’m always trying to hide my bloat," wrote Danae, adding a reminder that while a small amount of bloating is par for the course, consistent or painful bloating isn't. "That’s why I’m on this gut healing journey. I want to understand and fix whatever’s going on, not just squeeze away the symptoms. Because while some bloating is normal, when it’s excessive or painful, it’s not."
A post shared by Danae | Angles + Self Love (@danaemercer) on Aug 15, 2020 at 7:13am PDT
She continued, "Honestly I’m not sure if dairy is the problem (like this sort of silly picture suggests). Or if it’s gluten. Or too much bacteria. Or not enough. And it seems like there are a thousand and one different solutions. But I’m learning." This is such an important reminder too, that it's so easy to focus on covering up a problem (underneath loose slip dresses...) rather than getting to the root cause of it, like Danae is trying to now.
"This week I got my SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) and gut health tests back. The results shocked me. I’ll talk about them, but not yet — I want to meet with the doctor first to understand the implications and next steps," Danae continued. "For now, I’d be just happy to hear your stories below. It’s nice to know I’m not alone on this journey and that we’re in this together."
Thank you to Danae for the much-needed reminder that consistent, painful bloating isn't normal (and that your GP can help discover why), but neither is feeling like you have to suck your stomach in 24/7 to fit in with beauty 'ideals'.
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