Beauty And Mental Health — Interview w/ Jason Shiers, Psychotherapist & Transformative Coach
Jason Shiers is a Certified Transformative Coach and Certified Psychotherapist working in the field of Mental Health, Addiction and Eating disorders for the last 25 years.
His evolution of understanding shifted from the outside to the inside when he discovered the teachings of Sydney Banks in 2017. Prior to that it really looked like behavioural change was required to feel better on the inside, and the past was the sole cause of all present day problems for his clients. What he realised in 2017 was that no outside change could fix the internal struggle that people suffered from. Because the problem was created in the mind, it was not about the body.
This completed his own healing journey from 40 years of eating disorders instantaneously, from then on things have grown from strength to strength and while for many of his clients, this looks like the end goal, he knows, this is just the start.
What is the role of beauty in life?
Taking care of the physical body we have been given in life. Attraction, recreation, it is part of the big picture, not all of it.
What are common misconceptions about beauty today?
That somehow, someway changing the outside, changes the inside, this is the futile search that is endless for many.
How does a child perceive beauty?
Through the eyes of their conditioned thinking based on the exposure from their parents, the world, people around them and anything influential.
How can beauty/self-care practices empower mental health? Please give an example.
It is nice to look nice to take care of your physical appearance there is nothing wrong with it, but you just know when the line is crossed when it becomes a need, a necessity. They are 2 different uses of the same process. Looking good, feeling good is great, going to the gym for exercise is good for your mind, but feeling guilty and beating yourself when you dont go is part of the misunderstanding.
How can beauty standards affect mental health?
When people are not aware they are being conditioned, then they are going to follow trends and popular standards, the major problem here is, people do not know who they are, and they are doing their best to fit into something where it is impossible to fit in, fitting in, comes from within not from the outside.
What is a healthy way to approach beauty?
To understand who you are, and to express yourself however you want beyond societal constructs with no regard for standards and peer pressure.
What are trends in beauty that you find healthy, which are trends that are unhealthy?
Healthy and unhealthy are concepts, there are varying understandings of each but to be clear there is no right answer here. Everything in moderation and with careful consideration is ok, and can be abused without the right reflection.
What needs to change to create a healthier image of beauty?
Change only happens one way, from the inside out.
What do you wish people knew about beauty?
That their beauty is within them.
Is there anything you would like to share that we have not asked you here?
Happy to share anything about my own personal battle with weight, surgeries and outer looks and the 100s of people I have worked with in this area.
THANK YOU!
Connect with Jason Shiers at wideworldcoaching.com/
Demee Koch about the MEDIUM interview series on Beauty And Mental Health:
Hello! I am a serial entrepreneur with more than 2 decades of experience in the health & beauty industry. This interview series is about the effects of beauty, self-care and the beauty industry on mental health.
For me, beauty is a way to love — it is about self-care, art, nutrition, exercise, life, self-love. With this interview series, I invite experts to become part of a movement that re-defines beauty with its trends, standards and practices. Let’s empower beautiful minds.
Thank you for being the change. I’m looking forward to learn from each one of you. Reach out to me via LinkedIn.
Demee ❤︎
