"The Mirror Doesn’t Define Me— Sadly others Do"

"I'm tired all the time. I hate my body. I just want to be normal."

That’s what one of my patients whispered, barely making eye contact. She wasn't ill in the traditional sense. She was just... exhausted. From battling the mirror. From being picked apart by strangers, family, even her own inner voice.

And I knew exactly what she meant. I’ve been there.

As a doctor, we have been trained to examine the human body with clinical objectivity. But as a woman, I’ve been judged, labelled, reduced to a number on the scale or the size of my waist. I’ve been told, “You’d be so much prettier if you just lost some weight,” as if beauty was my only purpose.

This is body shaming. And it's a silent epidemic.

It doesn’t just harm self-esteem — it destroys health. Women skip meals, avoid gyms, suffer eating disorders, or spiral into depression — not because they are weak, but because they are worn down by a world that profits from their insecurity.

What’s worse? Sometimes the comments come from fellow women.

“She let herself go after marriage.”

“Look at her arms!”

“She’s too thin, she must be sick.”

We’ve become both victims and enforcers of the same cruel standard.

But I believe change starts with us.

I now ask my patients:

“Do you feel strong?”

“Do you feel nourished?”

“Are you resting enough?”

Because these are the questions that matter. Not the scale. Not the label. Not the jeans that no longer fit.

Our worth is not tied to our weight. Our bodies are not battlefields for society’s approval. They are the vessels through which we live, create, nurture, survive, and rise.

Let’s stop apologizing for taking up space.