For some women, a mirror is just glass. A passing glance. A surface that reflects back an outfit, a detail of hair, a quick check before the day begins.

But for others, the mirror is never that simple. It feels like a confrontation. A reminder. A test.

It doesn’t just show your image—it holds years of silent critique. Every moment you learned to measure yourself against impossible standards. Every time you tried to mold your body, your face, your very presence into something softer, quieter, smaller… something that might finally be acceptable.

And when the reflection doesn’t comply—when it refuses to fit those rules—you turn away. Not only from the mirror, but from yourself.

There are seasons when your body no longer feels like yours.

When burnout runs so deep that even lying down feels like a guilty indulgence. When betrayal stains your skin with memories you never asked to carry, leaving every touch heavy with echoes of what you endured. When neglect—whether at the hands of others or through the ways you’ve abandoned yourself—whispers the lie that your body is not worth tending to.

And somewhere inside all of that, you begin to slip away.