Christie Brinkley’s daughter Sailor wrote a powerful post about body dysmorphia

Trigger warning: This post discusses disordered eating and body dysmorphia.

Social media can certainly be a lot of fun, but it can also leave us feeling insecure—especially due to photo-editing tools that can drastically change our appearance with just a few clicks. Model Sailor Brinkley-Cook can relate. She just shared a powerful message about body image on Instagram, opening up about her experiences with body dysmorphia and disordered eating and why she’s “so fucking sick and tired of the Photoshop.”

“I’ve been so down on myself recently,” she captioned a series of pictures. “Crying about my cellulite, letting the fat on my body ruin my day, getting mad that I’m not as skinny as I once was. The body dysmorphia and left over eating disorder tendencies have been coming in strong.”

She continued, writing about the loss of “control” she feels over her body, with “hormones, emotions, growing pains,” as she grows up. By sharing her unfiltered selfies, Brinkley-Cook hopes to remind both her followers and herself that bodies are meant to grow and change and that so much of what we see on social media isn’t true to life.

As so many of us can relate to, she wrote, “I go on Instagram and scroll through photos of girls that look ‘perfect’…shiny skin with not a bump to be seen, tiny little waist, and thighs that look like chopsticks. And I compare myself, as if how someone on an app on my phone looks should directly correlate to how I feel about my body?”

However, Brinkley-Cook reminded herself of everything she does have and how she refuses to to feel shame about her body.

“I am so fucking LUCKY to have two legs and a healthy body that takes me through life. I’m so tired of thinking anything that makes up ME is something to be ashamed of.

So, she explained in the caption, this is why she’s taking to Instagram as “most 21st century girls would do”: “Declaring that I have cellulite, and a stomach that doesn’t always look “pleasant” (whatever the fuck that means) and I am 100% imperfect human. And I’m proud as hell of my body!”

Speaking directly to her followers, she concluded by offering up this advice: “If you’re out there hating on yourself, stop!! Appreciate yourself. You’re [sic] body is so magical.

Body dysmorphia is a mental health disorder that can cause intrusive or obsessive thoughts about your appearance. So while some of her advice can be easier said than done, it’s still a powerful reminder that all bodies are good bodies.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please visit the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) for more information and support or text “NEDA” to 741-741.

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