Quite a while ago, a lady we had met at a naturist resort in Thailand told us this story about how her friend was advised by a psychiatrist to give nudism a try.
The friend had severe body issues and months of therapy provided of little help. She had been a victim of body shaming and the ideas that everyone was prettier than herself had nestled in her head. In such a strong way that the psychiatrist felt that it was time for extraordinary matters. She asked “Do you happen to know a nudist?”. The patient did and was advised to ask the nudist friend to take her to a nudist club one day.
The friend had severe body issues and months of therapy provided of little help. She had been a victim of body shaming and the ideas that everyone was prettier than herself had nestled in her head. In such a strong way that the psychiatrist felt that it was time for extraordinary matters. She asked “Do you happen to know a nudist?”. The patient did and was advised to ask the nudist friend to take her to a nudist club one day.
Arrangements were made and on a nice day both ladies entered the gate of some nudist place in the USA. By the time that the lady we had met in Thailand was able to take off her shoes, the other one (yes, the one with the body issues) was already running around naked. She loved it. For the first time in years she felt comfortable again within her own body.
In the evening another problem arose. When she told her husband about her newly gained experience, he wasn’t all too happy about it. He didn’t want his wife to see naked men, he didn’t want her to be seen nude and rumour has it that he wasn’t all too happy either with the confidence that had gotten into his wife. No more of that nudism!
Several months later they were divorced.
In the evening another problem arose. When she told her husband about her newly gained experience, he wasn’t all too happy about it. He didn’t want his wife to see naked men, he didn’t want her to be seen nude and rumour has it that he wasn’t all too happy either with the confidence that had gotten into his wife. No more of that nudism!
Several months later they were divorced.
Embrace the vulnerability of nudity
We loved to hear that story, about how such a fragile woman with such big issues had turned into a confident one who wasn’t afraid anymore to stand up for herself. It got stuck in the back of our heads and remained there for several months until we recently met a psychologist at a nudist resort in Mexico. We started talking and told her this story. Her reply was pretty simple: “Oh, I advise my patients to visit nudist resorts all the time”. She had also noticed that many of the issues her clients were struggling with were things that could be related to body confidence. Her tactics to include nudism had shown to bring many positive results.
All of this goes back to vulnerability. People with body issues feel more vulnerable than others. They constantly think that others are prettier and better formed and that they are being judged for their flaws. Their issues can come from different sources. Some were heavily bullied during puberty or by a dominant spouse. Others were raped or had been in an accident that had left its scars. For some it was even just an idea that had gotten into their heads and never let go. It doesn’t really matter where all of this comes from. For those who are struggling with body issues, the most vulnerable position they could ever be in is of course being complete nude and exposed. And that happens to be exactly what has helped many of them to conquer their issues and fears.
We see two important reasons why nudism can help in these cases. On one hand you’re facing your worst fears. It’s like the arachnophobic who let a tarantula walk over their hand or those who are afraid of heights and jump out of an airplane. It’s a jump into cold water (well, hopefully not combined with that jump out of a plane) which makes you realise that it actually isn’t all that bad once you’re in the middle of it.
The other reason is equal vulnerability. By being naked you put yourself in the most vulnerable position but so does everyone else. Your scars and flaws are right there in the open. But so are everyone elses. At that moment you realise that the perfect body does not exist. That others are not any better or worse than yourself. A very liberating thought when you’ve been stuck in this negative spiral for who knows how long.
The other reason is equal vulnerability. By being naked you put yourself in the most vulnerable position but so does everyone else. Your scars and flaws are right there in the open. But so are everyone elses. At that moment you realise that the perfect body does not exist. That others are not any better or worse than yourself. A very liberating thought when you’ve been stuck in this negative spiral for who knows how long.
Nudism does not only cure body confidence issues
In Europe we notice a comeback of nudism especially between the age of 30 and 40. This is the time in your life when things start to go really fast (trust us, we know). You’re working on a career, you’re working on expanding the family, you have all these social contacts that have to be kept happy, you have this huge mortgage that has to be paid off and when you finally get some time for yourself somewhere late at night you turn on the TV and the news tells you that you have a bunch of other things to worry about. The economy is a dump, taxes will rise and many people are losing their jobs. Poverty is growing everywhere and don’t even think that you cannot be next.
It’s not a coincidence that burn-outs and depressions are some of the major diseases of today. The use of anti-depressants and sleeping pills and relaxation medicines is on the rise. We are poisoning ourselves on a regular basis in order to keep up with this rollercoaster rat race we call life.
In many cases, the solution is not to be found in a little pill (or a dozen of them) but rather in de-wiring. Some time away from it all, an hour, a week, as much as is necessary.
In many cases, the solution is not to be found in a little pill (or a dozen of them) but rather in de-wiring. Some time away from it all, an hour, a week, as much as is necessary.
Some can do this through sports. By pushing themselves physically to the limits once in a while, they can temporary forget everything and the rush they get afterwards pumps up enough endorphins to help conquer the stress of the next days.
For those who are not that much into sports, nudism can provide a decent alternative. Many nudists will testify that with their clothes they also take off some of their worries or struggles. Because when you’re nude you’re out of your comfort zone. We see this as a completely different environment which makes it much easier to de-wire. Especially for first timers, it pumps up quite some endorphins as well.
For those who are not that much into sports, nudism can provide a decent alternative. Many nudists will testify that with their clothes they also take off some of their worries or struggles. Because when you’re nude you’re out of your comfort zone. We see this as a completely different environment which makes it much easier to de-wire. Especially for first timers, it pumps up quite some endorphins as well.
This is old news
What we are telling here is not particularly something new. We have written articles in the past in which we talk about the how nudism can help you to destress. Nude Psychotherapy has been existing since the 1930s. The several psychological advantages of nudism are just out there and yet we wonder why many psychologists would prefer a months long cure of Zoloft and Prozac over a couple of mandatory weeks at the local nudist resort. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.
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Oh what a marvelous article.
I should change my nick to devils advocate hah 🙂
I honestly dont think being naked helps anything, i think its all in the head.
U put it in ur head that that will help u, and it does, but not cause it actually did ,but cause thats how u wanted it to be.
This can be aimed at literally anyting else, doing sports, running in the evenings around the block so on …
As for that more Europeans are getting nudies,i dunno that info, i guess i`ll have to trust u , tho it might have something to do with social media, where i guess today its cool to post halfnude or nude pic, and im not talking about nudies here but ppl like Kardashian Rajatkovski or whatever her name is .. showing nakedness is more and more eccepted by ppl not cause its good or bad ,but cause there`s simply more of it anywhere u look around.
So you don’t believe that running helps clearing the head? You think that you could have the same stress relief while sitting behind your office desk if only you could set your mind to it? We don’t believe it works that way. Your mind needs triggers to make changes, sports provide such a trigger and so does nudism.
No i kinda think that whatever is in ur head ,can help you, so its ur head thats helping you, not the place where u at or the thing that u do.
If you tell your colleagues that they don’t need any vacation, they can just relax in their head while at the office, you’re not going to make many friends 🙂
Of course you’re right, it’s all in the head but that doesn’t mean that you can trigger any changes yourself. If somebody dies, whether you cry or laugh is also decided in your head, but you can’t automatically switch from one to another.
But the point is that its still in ur head.
Btw LOL, i was actually asked by my former boss once, that why do i need off day holiday if i dont plan to travell anywhere? (cause i live in a shithole and cant afford to).
Anyhow let me tell you a story how everything IS in ur head.
When i was a kid , i was riding my bike on this narrow road ..there were tons of cars parked on one side of it, and while i was riding, a car was passing by, so i moved a little to the side (towards the parked cars) ,so that i can let him pass and so that he wouldnt hit me .. as i did that ,i hit my left foot ancle from the insde on one of those parked cars bumper, where that little bone is sticking out …
It was a hit and i was awww damn .. and i moved on riding ,after like 10sec . i felt that my foot is wet, when i looked down, my entire shoe and socks were bloody, and when i stoped and moved the socks, i saw that my skin cracked i could see the bone, and only then i started to feel the pain.
Moral of the story, i had a cracked skin with bone sticking out for full 10sec or more , and i didnt think of it anything nor i felt pain, till i actually saw it.
Iceman: I think that your lack of immediate pain when you hurt yourself has more to do with shock and your nervous system than it does your mind conquering pain. I experienced the same delayed pain on fracturing a hand. It is the body’s way of allowing us to get out of danger before dealing with pain.
If we could just tell people with depression to stop being so miserable and think happy thoughts society wouldn’t need psychiatrists or therapists or drugs or alcohol… I also think you have confused sexualized nudity in the media with non sexual nudity in naturism. They often have the opposite effects on a body confidence.
I dont agree…
I didnt even know i had busted my skin, it just hurt as a hit that second when i hit it and thats it…i felt nothing for full 10sec or more ,till i felt that something is odd cause i feel liquid in my shoes, and only when i saw the blood, thats when i started to feel the pain .. so ur theory is totaly off…
As for depression, well i suppose u have never had one, so u havent got the slightest idea what ur talking about.. so i recomend u to look at the movie called Boy Interrupted .. its actually a documentary not a movie, about a boy that commited suicide when he was 15 .. had been depressed since like age 7 8 9 .. cant recall..
Body confidence is a made up thing, dont tell me that a 150kg person that says hey i like me body ,really likes it? .. and even so, u dont have to be nude for that anyway.
I think you misread my post. “If we could” means we can’t. We can’t tell depressed people to cheer up even though it may be in the head because 90% of
what is in the head is normally inaccesible to our conscious mind. Depression is not a simple condition; it can be chemical as well as psychological. The delayed pain is a medical fact and is also chemical: to do with endorphin release and “fight or flight”, it’s not my theory. If you think body confidence is a “made up thing” consider body dysmorphia, anorexia nervosa, bolemia and many other related mental conditions which can be fatal (as with Carol Carpenter for example). A person’s body image is a deep rooted psychological precept which influences their behaviour and mental state profoundly. Finding a way to improve body image and like their body with its imperfections could change a person’s life immesurably more than trying to improve their physical body alone.
Oooook, i guess i misunderstood u then hah ,but ya i agree on that one.
Altho i still dont agree with the pain thing, it wasnt a delay, i didnt even know i was busted open ,and i wouldnt even if there wasnt for blood .. only when i FELT ,not seen the blood, i felt moist in my shoes first, then i looked down and i saw tons of blood,and only then i felt the pain.
So it wasnt like i saw it and it started to hurt 10 sec after .. it never hurt untill i saw it, and if there wasnt for blood, maybe id never knew i was busted open.
Again, as for the body , i dont agree… ppl will look different act different like different things, some are common some are rare some are good some are bad, some are illegal(odd word, nothing is illegal till its made to be) ,so the majority is the “normal” as there is no such thing as normal.
Improving body image has nothing to do with being nude, it wont make u be less fat or with no cuts ,regreted tattoos .. burnt marks,whatever… its still there and shall be forever unless u work out or do a surgery to remove all the things u dont like.
Or, u can just not give 2 fucks like i do, not cause i like me, not cause im super hot ,with nice hair 6pack ,smooth body.. but cause ive seen that all of those things are fake af, .. whoever wants to impress one with their looks ,is a sicko in my book, regardless of age, sex, job,reason.
Looks are gods gift, we have adorable puppies, we have ugly motherfucker dogs that look like the devil him self, nothing will change that, we wont kill that ugly dog, that still dont mean that it aing ugly.
Things as things are simple, but we just love to make them complicated, rather its by stupid laws, or fake morals ,or fake standards,where ppl love to be looked at as gods,the elite .. hence thats one of the reasons why i aps hate those “luxury” resorts or when ppl talk about them .. its majorly assholish.
Shit .. im all over the place with this but forgive me ..but i just watched Ash vs Evil Dead, and im in the groove haha 🙂