When summer comes, in theory we should feel more free, lighter, happy. Yet for many people, it is exactly the opposite. The body becomes the protagonist – or rather, target – of criticism, comparisons, insecurities. It is not only an aesthetic question, but a real psychological distress. Is called Seasonal Body Image Discation (SBID)that is to say “seasonal body dissatisfaction“, And according to a 2021 study, it affects 70% of people. And guessing a little? The peak is reached right in the summer months.
It is not just a personal feeling: science confirms that summer is the moment in which we are more vulnerable to the unusuals of our physical appearance. The reasons are many and quite evident. It’s hot, you find out, you go to the sea, we wear light costumes and clothes. The body is exposed to the looks of others and, even earlier, to our ruthless judgment in the mirror.
In a context in which everyone shows more, Covering can make different “different”out of place. That extra segoo, that long shirt, become a way to hide, but at the same time they make it clear that you are trying to do it. It is a cage made of self-transfers and constant confrontation.
Social social media amplify the effect
To further worsen things they think about it social networknow saturated with posts and videos with slogans such as “Costume Test”, “Shape Your Summer”, “Beach abdominals”. Already from March and April we begin to breathe that invisible but constant pressure: we must arrive “ready” to the summer.
An analysis of 625,000 diet tweets found that the Spring is the period with the most hashtags on weight lossalmost a third of the total. Even before the summer starts, the message is already clear: if you don’t have the right body, you are not enough.
Also edit a selfiewithout even publishing it, can negatively influence our body perception. The comparison – especially the one towards those who consider more attractive – is inevitable and devastating: it brings with it frustration, sadness and a sense of inadequacy difficult to shake off.
Who is more vulnerable?
Not all and all live this discomfort in the same way. Teenagerspeople dissatisfied with their weight or who already suffers from Mental health disorders They may be affected even harder than the effects of seasonal body exampling.
For them, summer is not only an aesthetic question, but it can become a real threat to emotional balance. Exposure anxiety and bombing of images and messages on social media add up to an already present fragility, often invisible in the eyes of others.
It is not exaggerated to say that summer, for many people, can be one of the most difficult periods of the year. This is the moment when you feel obliged to show yourself, when in reality you would just like to disappear.
