How Selfies Can Help Us Heal, Self-Portraiture As A Healing Art
Dismissing all selfies as narcissistic acts is myopic and not helpful, be a helper
There isn’t just one lens to view selfies through.
A study published in 2016 showed that “Regularly snapping selfies with your smartphone and sharing photos with your friends can help make you a happier person, according to computer scientists.”
The study found that “Qualitative results showed that those in the selfie group observed changes in their smile over time; the group taking photos to improve their own affect became more reflective and those taking photos for others found that connecting with family members and friends helped to relieve stress.”
So, basically, study participants experienced the following three benefits from taking selfies:
Becoming more self-aware
Becoming more reflective
Reducing stress levels
In a world where people are encouraged to act ‘as-if instead of how they really feel, we have an epidemic of individuals who are pretty out of touch with their feelings — stuffing them deep down and burying them in an effort to ‘fit in’, becoming more in-tune and aware of your feelings is a beneficial change, just as becoming more reflective, instead of reactive, is a beneficial change.
And I can’t imagine anyone would argue that reducing stress is anything but a positive side effect.
Would you?
Therapist Doug Ronning, MFT, RDT/BCT, writes that the selfie “can expand the image of one’s self by providing a means to explore depictions of identity: a former identity, a transitional identity, a hoped-for identity, even an imaginal or archetypal identity.
The effects can be immediate, according to a study with elders using portrait photography, “Seeing a photograph of one’s self smiling usually elicits another smile, and helps instill feelings of happiness.” (Buckner, 1978)
Additionally, selfies are a vital part of life for those who are trans or non-binary.
“Trans and non-binary people have complex relationships with our bodies. For those who are survivors of sexual violence, these relationships are even more complex.
…
Laverne Cox started the campaign #TransIsBeautiful two years ago “as a way to celebrate all those things that make trans folks uniquely trans, those things that don’t necessarily align with [mainstream] beauty standards.” The statement “trans is beautiful” flies in the face of what we are sold by the media and mainstream culture.”-Trans Survivors
Living in a body that doesn’t match your identity can be excruciating.
Taking and sharing selfies that affirm you looking like you — not like society has told you that you should love — is a powerful act of self-declaration. Having the ability to use filters, crop and edit photos is a way to share the truth of oneself — not the lie culture claims you to be.
Kimberly Vered Shashoua, a therapist who specializes in counseling for trans teens and their families, explains that selfies can be an immensely helpful tool for trans and nonbinary people at any stage of self-discovery or transition. — Allure Magazine
A selfie can be a way to document many vital things:
- I am here.
- I am alive.
- I am worthy of taking up space.
- I made myself a healthy meal today.
- I am becoming more and more who I’ve always wanted to be.
- I am safe to feel up AND down, anxious, scared, sad are all acceptable feelings to experience.
I’m not being narcissistic. I just need some proof that I exist, that I’m doing ok, that I’m a human being that can take care of myself. And that’s helpful, and not to be discounted as frivolous. — Veronica Stork
Selfies can also be utilized as a healing tool for sexual assault survivors.
Sexually assaulting someone is the act of declaring someone inhuman, a mere thing for your consumption.
The act of taking selfies for sexual assault survivors is the act of someone reclaiming their selfhood — their very humanity. The act of them posting those selfies is a declaration stating: “I am here. I am alive. I am not a thing. I will survive.”
“Then take more pictures,” she said.
Calling a sexual assault victim narcissistic for taking and sharing selfies is, well, cruel and fucked up because, in the end, you are pronouncing them as broken (narcissistic) when they are in the very acts of reclaiming their agency that brings healing.
In 2008, photographer Zoë Gemelli created a self-portrait project on Flickr called 365 where she took a daily selfie as she battled depression. Inside of those 365 selfies, she was able to document her hitting rock bottom, and also to bear witness to her survival and subsequent recovery.
Zoë recounts a conversation with her therapist at the time:
“A therapist asked me once if there was anything I was doing in the here and now. It took me a moment to ponder. “Taking pictures requires you to pay attention to the viewfinder for a second,” I replied.
“Then take more pictures,” she said.
I couldn’t agree more.
Taking a picture, even one just of ourselves, requires us to step into the present. We must put aside ruminations over the past and take a break, however brief, from fretting over the future. To take a selfie we need to be in the here and now, even if just for a second, and being in the here and now is where life truly happens.
So please, pick up your phone today and take a selfie — just for you.
Because being here in your life is a beautiful thing.
Thank you for reading.❤
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