Negative Body Image to be Addressed in Schools
Posted by See Me, 26 February 2015
SCHOOL pupils in Ayrshire are set to take part in a new project aiming to address issues of negative body image in young people.
Workshops will be delivered in schools to help promote self-esteem and educate children on the important effect good roles models have on how they view their own bodies.
The workshops, which have been developed by mental health charity Penumbra, will look at the misrepresentation of body image in the media and the issues this has created. It will also look at the role media has in promoting positive messages around body image.
During the workshops the pupils will be given information about what positive and negative body images are and the effects these have on people’s health. They will have talks on the impact the media has on the self-esteem of young people by promoting unattainable body images.
They will also take part in a confidence building programme, to help them feel more comfortable with their bodies.
As well as the workshops, parents of primary school children will be given information about body image issues in children.
The project, which is being delivered in conjunction with North Ayrshire Council, will run for five weeks in Dyekesmains and Stanley Primary Schools and Ardrossan Academy. If the pilot is successful it could be rolled out to other schools in the area.
The project, which went live in schools last week [16th February], has been funded by See Me, Scotland’s programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination.
See Me is building a movement of people and organisations all over the country whose collective action will help to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with poor mental health.
The work by Penumbra is vital in bringing this movement to Ayrshire.
Allan Henderson, from Penumbra, said: “This is an extremely important project.
“As well as being a possible contributing factor to the development of Eating Disorders, the impact of negative body image thoughts and attitudes can have significant impact on health, mental wellbeing, mood, school performance, confidence, ability to socialise, bullying and in the most severe cases self-harm and suicide.
“We hope the project will create a much greater awareness of the issue, particularly in primary age groups where there is not a lot of work provided in terms of mental health at this point in time.
“Also we want to achieve a greater understanding by parents and peers of the impact their behaviour and attitudes can have on others and the potentially devastating consequences to someone’s self esteem.”
Judith Robertson, See Me programme director, said: “We are passionate about ending the stigma and discrimination that is unfairly attached to having a mental health problem.
“This project helps to tackle some of the stigma that surrounds body image and eating disorders in young people.
“It is vital that children are educated on the realities of the affects negative body image has on people.”
If you have an idea for a project which can tackle the stigma and discrimination around mental health and would like to apply for funding, click here to find out more.