May is Mental Health Awareness month and I will be publishing content that focuses on mental health topics. To read past posts, click on the Mental Health tab under the Dimensions of Wellness Menu.

I have yet to address one of the biggest impressions Germany left on me: body confidence. This, along with body positivity, is having a huge moment right now. But funnily enough, my impression is that this moment is largely Stateside.

Not once during our stay in Germany did I hear anything about body confidence, body positivity, size inclusion or the like uttered. So why did this make such a huge impression? Because it isn’t something they talk about in Germany. It is something they embody (pun intended).

To be fair, these are conversations that we in the States should be having. Although we could be using a bit more empathy but I digress. Body positivity, to me, means that you are viewing your own body with rose colored glasses. Not that you are denying any health issues, but that you can appreciate the one body you have and you are trying to care for it via sound nutrition and exercise practices that help you feel both mentally and physically strong. Additionally, we should not be commenting on or judging other people’s body journeys as we aren’t walking in their shoes.

But these conversations never came up in Germany. Because this is just the attitude they have. After spending so much time at the local playgrounds, it was inevitable to run into other moms who had just had babies. Discussions were never about how much weight someone gained during pregnancy or what they were doing to lose it post partum. Nope, discussions usually revolved around baby issues. Or if something physical was mentioned, it was more likely to involve asking about how to manage sleep or maybe what the best hold for breast feeding was. Basically, the Germans talked about how to care for their body as it was.

We also lived biking distance (of course) from a small lake with a beach. Now every lake in Germany has a family side and a nude side. Yeah, I didn’t know this either, but it stems from a long cultural tradition. (We never visited the non-family side, just in case you were wondering.) But even on the family side, it wasn’t uncommon to see younger kids (5 and under) playing and swimming in the buff. And nobody thinks anything of it. There is no shame because a body, to the Germans, is the physical shell that allows you to live your life.

If that wasn’t eye opening enough, that translates all the way up through the ages. I’ll speak from my own experience, but going to the beach or pool is definitely an event that requires mental fortitude here in the States. Way too much thought is wasted about which swim suit is going to flatter best or how to tie a cover up to hide something.

I was the only woman on that beach any time we went that wasn’t in a (fairly skimpy) two piece. Now I will own the fact that I am a more modest person than most but it’s not like I was on the beach in a muu-muu to cover up. These women, of all shapes, sizes, and ages, wore what they wanted and didn’t give a rip. They were there to have a good time, whether they were younger and hanging with their friends, moms playing with their kids, or older and just wanting to cool off on a hot day.

It took several trips to the beach, I’m a little embarrassed to admit, before my US brain would shut up and let my body just have fun in Germany. For all the chatter around body confidence and positivity, that nagging doubt in our brains still holds.

But at the end of the day, we do only have one body. Whether we currently love it, hate it, want to change something about it, or have made our peace with it, we deserve to have fun in it. And in my mind, that is real body positivity and confidence.

Until next time, be well friends!