This video tells the story of Kelsey, a young woman struggling with body image issues and unhealthy coping mechanisms. It highlights the importance of seeking professional help and learning healthy coping skills to deal with negative emotions and body dysmorphia.

Some days, you may feel strong, secure, and confident in your skin. Other days, you may feel uncomfortable in your body or unhappy about how you look. These perceptions are called body image. Many people become insecure with their appearance, and it keeps them from living their best lives. It can also prompt attempts to make changes that are dangerous to their health. Meet Kelsey. Kelsey was invited to a birthday party and was super excited. After dinner, she and her friends danced all night and took lots of pictures. The next morning, Kelsey woke up with a notification on her phone and clicked the icon to see what she was tagged in. As images appeared from the night before, Kelsey's heart sank. "Wow, they look happy and beautiful. I look terrible," Kelsey thought. She sadly untagged herself from the photos and cried. "Everything is going wrong," she said to herself. Her mind reviewed the events of the past week where she and her boyfriend had a fight and decided to break off their long-term relationship. "And now my own body is betraying me. I hate being me." After her tears stopped, Kelsey decided that she would eat less, wear loose clothing to hide herself, and limit time outside of her room until she felt better about her body. Kelsey's roommates began to express concern that she wasn't acting like herself and noticed that she was weak and sometimes unsteady on her feet. She was able to share through her tears that she felt badly about the breakup, felt terrible in her body, and wasn't eating enough. One of her friends suggested she see a mental health professional to work through things. A few weeks later, Kelsey found herself sitting with her new therapist. She learned that her body is good, no matter its size, and that she is worthy of eating enough food and having social interactions. Her therapist helped her understand that it's common to experience poor body image when feeling strong negative emotions. It took time for her to be able to act on the things she learned, but eventually, she was able to feel free to offer compassion to herself when she has negative feelings and avoid withholding food and friends as a response.