If there was one word I could use to describe everyone in the world, it’d be insecure. Everyone has insecurities. Even the most confident people in the whole wide world do.

It is human nature to want to be better, and this means people often obsess over parts of themselves they don’t like. However, sometimes these insecurities start to grow too strong and that’s a real problem. Insecurities often eat people up, even when there’s nothing to be insecure about.

A common thing people say when asked for advice against insecurities is “just be confident”. As a teenage girl with loads of insecurities, I can say that this doesn’t always help. So, I’m here to give some tips to teens for dealing with common teen insecurities.

Body image

Body image is one of the things almost all people are insecure about. We often wonder if we should be skinnier, taller, curvier, and so on. All body types are beautiful and unique in their own way, but if you often feel insecure about your body, try these tips.

1. Understand your anatomy. For example, many women are insecure of the layer of fat on their lower abdomen, but this fat actually serves as protection for the uterus that most women possess.
2. Be aware of Photoshop. There are a lot of famous models and celebs whose photos are edited. You can see this by looking at before-and-after pictures shared by models or other influencers. Many people edit photos of themselves to seem skinnier or unblemished or lighter skinned. When teen girls see this and compare it to themselves, they get insecure, so understanding that most photos are edited and posed could greatly help with this insecurity.
3. Get some exercise. Just about 20 minutes per day can drastically help build confidence. You can focus on the parts of your body you are more insecure about or want to change. Be careful though, some people take it too far and exercise too much too soon, or do exercises that are too hard, and then either burn out quickly, or they get hurt, which leads to stopping altogether. The point of exercise is consistency and stability.
4. Control your diet. This doesn’t mean stop eating, it just means that you should be aware of what you eat. For example, you can drink fewer sugary beverages and eat less candy and sweets. Instead, focus on eating healthy and nutritious meals with plenty of fruit, veggies, and healthy protein. Another easy way to manage your diet is to pay attention and limit (but not eliminate) the amount of carbs, like rice and noodles, you eat. Beware, however, to never use pills. They will only further harm your body, and nothing is more important than wealth.
5. Look for potential allergies. This one is more of a long shot, but sometimes when people eat food they’re allergic to, they bloat. Sometimes the whole body becomes bloated, sometimes it’s just on the ankles or other parts of the body.
6. Drink more water. Water reduces calorie intake and lowers appetite, and it’s also really healthy for your body.

Of course, every body type is beautiful in its own way, but if you’re looking for realistic and harmless ways to lose some weight or look better to yourself, try these tips out.

Face

Another part of themselves people often feel insecure about is their faces. Here are some tips to help cope with your insecurities.

1. Understand your heritage. Nowadays, white girls are often the beauty standard, yet as an Asian, there are just some ways our face will look different. Every ethnicity looks different and beautiful in their own ways. By understanding your heritage, maybe you’ll come to cherish your face for not conforming to white standards of beauty.
2. Focus on the good parts. Of course, you shouldn’t dislike anything about yourself, but if you do, try focusing on the parts you like first. Understanding that you are unique and beautiful is important.
3. Take a look at your teeth. Maybe there are some dental problems you haven’t considered before. Your teeth and your jaw play a huge role in how your face looks, and getting braces if you can will greatly help.
4. Try light makeup. If you’re too young, please don’t use makeup as it harms your skin, but if you’re older you can try some light makeup. I don’t wear makeup, but a lot of my friends do, and it seems to help them gain confidence in what they look like, so it’s definitely worth a try.
5. Try massage for your face. I know people will say this is a hoax, but it works. You may receive short-term effects from it. Just make sure you’re being safe and not squishing your face around.

The most important factor is to learn to love yourself no matter what you look like.

Popularity

Lastly, many people, especially teenagers, are often insecure about their level of popularity. Here are some tips to help you realize that popularity isn’t as important as you think it is.

1. Don’t care too much. I know this is really hard, especially if you are currently obsessed with popularity, but not caring can be learned. This way, you won’t feel as if you aren’t popular enough.
2. Picture the future and not just the “now”. When I feel like I’m unpopular, I picture the future. Will those who have managed to befriend every single person in their lives maintain all these friendships? I don’t think so. By thinking realistically, you’ll realize many people make friends for the sake of popularity, and that’s not what we should be looking for. We should be looking for friends that’ll last.
3. Try maintaining the relationships you have. The friends you do have right now have a better chance of being true friends.
4. Understand quality over quantity. This is a very cliche thing to say, but it’s true. There was a point in my life where I just made friends with everyone, even people I didn’t really like. I was just trying to have as many friends as possible. Later on I started to realize that of all those people, only a few mattered.
5. Don’t suck up the popular people. Many think this is the way to become popular, but this is just a way to seem desperate.

– –
As a teenage girl, I understand that insecurities are going to exist no matter what. Although I do hope that someday you’ll realize there’s nothing to be insecure about and you’re perfect as is, I also understand how annoying it is for someone to say this to you. I’ve been there, and I’ve learned that simply saying these encouraging words might not always help. So these tips are just some things that you can do to cope with your insecurities.