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happylittlepet -> RE: Hating Nudity (9/24/2009 7:47:47 PM)
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FR after readthrough
I am raised in a very very prudish family. My father still admonished us not to look at mating doves on a roof beside the yard a few years ago. The village where I grew up was soooo religiously rigid, that public advertisements showing naked boobs would be covered with paint during the night out of protest (years ago I actually agreed with this).
As far as nudity goes, I don't think I will ever get to a point where I will be ok being naked with strangers, in/outside does not make a difference. However, the thought of it smells of liberation. I will cross this bridge if I ever get to it.
Lately, once the kids are off to school in the morning, I am getting used to being naked at home, alone. I have to admit, after a few hours I find it tiring, and am happy to put at least some panties on. I hope you all get a good laugh out of that one, because I am grinning too. And of course, the longer I am naked, the bigger the chance (which is not true) that someone will ring the door bell unexpected, so I am sure that putting at least some clothes on helps with diminishing my anxiety about that. I know, this is just silly.
It's been 3.5 years since I have been intimate with someone, and if that would happen in the future, I am sure that would make me a bit nervous. The other side is, I am who I am, and my body is what it is. Losing some pounds is more because it's healthy than for the looks, and if someone would have issue with my body I would say, too bad.
As far as getting beyond this point, for the OP, it is possible to 'expose' oneself to one's anxiety (if that is manageable). E.g I have done it with my anxiety about having a perfectly clean house. Being raised in a house where cleanliness was next to godliness, having my own household, over the years I became aware that I became increasingly anxious if a. the house was not spotless, and/or b. if I hadn't done any cleaning that day. I knew nothing about exposure techniques at that time, but thought it a good idea to not give in to the anxiety/need to clean, but to resist it and see that nothing bad came from it. I actually went so far as to decrease my cleaning to a bare minimum, and only do it when I decided that something needed to be done badly, and not because of that little voice in my head (my mom) criticizing me. (You have to understand that the way my mother cleaned was too much of a good thing, probably to keep her own anxiety under control).
And I think, why on earth do I post that here? Well, because it worked. Over time my anxiety became less and I was able to control how I clean, and not the other way around.
I am not saying do that same with being naked, but consider what the worst thing can be that can happen to you. Think, is that realistic, how big is the chance that that will actually happen? Maybe talk this through with a trusted friend. If you consider going to a therapist make sure that he/she is experienced with dealing with phobias/exposure techniques (if that is what you need). And yes, maybe when the day comes that I will go naked in public, I have to use the same technique again [;)].
I wish you well.
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