Exploring a new activity and body acceptance

I became a nudist for mental health reasons (clinical depression and addiction).

I'm not going to sit here and say it's the answer to depression or that it's for everyone...just that it helped me a great deal.

With my ex-wife it started as "exploration" and ended up being a full-fledged way of life. For her it was the social aspects of it that drew her in; after trying it a few times she realized that she really enjoyed hanging out with naked people and being naked with them - without having to worry about "appearance."

My fiancée tried a few things; but in her case it is definitely skinny-dipping that does it for her. Nude socialization is not her thing.

For me it is "all the above." As long as I can be naked around other naked people.

I recommend at least trying it. If it's not for you, it's not for you.

I was reading a thread about nudism but unfortunately it was too old to reply to.

I have always been attracted to being nude as well. Started before I even hit my teens.
I can't rationally explain it; but I do believe some people are "wired" to prefer being without clothes. Some people do not understand and/or label it as an "addiction" or "compulsion."

I was a "bedroom nudist" for a long time. When I moved out of the family home and got my own place in my 20's I decided to spend all my time at home naked. My GF at the time moved in with me; and at first she didn't understand why I "had" to be naked all the time. There was some friction at first; but she slowly and gradually adjusted.

Still, I felt something was "missing." I had been to the nude beach once before my GF moved in; but I hadn't really socialized there at all. So I started seeking out other nudists online. They recommended I try a nudist resort.
After doing some research, and taking "forever" to get my by-then-wife to agree to accompany me; we finally set out to a nudist resort. Our first time was "just okay." I got naked, she didn't; and we mostly kept to ourselves the entire time. I didn't really find what I was looking for.
She nonetheless agreed to another trip, to another resort, a year later. And that time everything just "fell into place." We arrived late in the day for an overnight stay; and the next morning, after getting out of bed, my wife decided she would be naked with me. We went for a walk and I felt an intense emotional connection to her as we walked hand-in-hand completely nude. We decided to go sit by the pool, around other naked people. I felt a tremendous connection to them to as we exchanged simple greetings; or even just a smile or a nod. I could see them "completely", without any obstacles or disguises; and they could see me the same way. It felt like I had "come home", if that makes any sense.

In the beginning of my nudist journey, I had some misgivings about it. "Should I be ashamed?" "Am I weird?"
But meeting other nudists, and having my wife naked by my side relieved me of those concern. I felt completely normal; it just all felt right.
I was lucky. My wife saw how happier I was when I could freely express my nudity; and she was the one who suggested we make it a way of life. She started being naked at home with me, and we started taking our daughter with us to the resort. Between nudity at home and resort trips, for the next following years we spent much of our time around each other naked.

I wrote this very long post to illustrate how far you can actually take your love of nudity. Some will probably think: "That's too far!", but it worked for me. And you don't have to make it a way of life. A nudist resort trip or two a year can be enough and still be therapeutic.
BTW I have chronic depression. Which led to low self-esteem and social anxiety. Nudism didn't magically "cure me"; but it created a safe haven for me to better deal with those issues. I recommend at least trying it.

I’m very glad that you brought up this subject! It gives me the opportunity to speak of something that I seldom confess.

You could toss a dime from my ‘birth home’ and hit Black’s Beach and - even all those years back! - it was a nude beach. My birth parents adopted a nudist lifestyle and we were naked at home, on the beach and on vacations (not only at specified locations but in state and national parks, for example). Even after my mother’s death, my father and I continued the lifestyle. Later came my evil stepmother. She was only half-accepting of the lifestyle - she loved getting her complete tan but she wasn’t much for socializing with others. At home my dad and I would tell her that we were going to ‘be naked’ for a period of time... so we were clothed most of the time.

When I left for college, I resumed my nudist lifestyle. I could not continue whilst hospitalized/institutionalized but I resumed, again, when I got my own apartment. I keep a t-shirt and shorts at hand for those who might be offended. But my postal delivery guy, UPS and FedEx folks all see me naked.

Most of my partners readily accepted nudism, some were already practicing - a few I even met in spots where naked was natural. During the warmer months, when going outdoors from my home(s), I only wore a pair of shorts and flip-flops and, even now, when I go outside during the warmer months, I only wear shorts (my body, at 59-years-old, is scarred but I am slender and well-toned and really don’t give a damn about what others think).

I believe that I grew up body-neutral (of my own body) and body-neutral (in my judgment of others). It never occurred to me to be ashamed of my body and, yeah, I still feel a kind of goodwilled freedom being around other naked people. I’m fine with oversized people but am seldom tolerant of the ‘morbidly obese’ who eat their way into death.

You know, I never considered nudism as a help with depression but my return to nudism coincided with the gradual healing from depression.

Yes, I believe that you have hit upon an aid for combatting depression. There is nothing like full-body-exposure (and ‘being comfortable in your own skin’) that can stimulate a full-mind-exposure. Once you’ve come face-to-face with the latter you can begin realizing and ridding yourself of the psychological toxins that find fertile growth in a diseased mind.

There probably aren’t any nudist psych hospitals. There should be. Full exposure and disclosure.

When I had legs - over eleven-years-ago - I would go for long walks, alone or with others, and I felt such freedom, naked. I can no longer walk and my manual wheelchair will not roll upon sand nor wilder ground. But I can visit my lover’s home, in a meadow by a pond, and I can control the temperature in my apartment and, when friends and lovers visit, we can be naked. Oh, I loved our young bodies but I may love our old bodies more. I will not go into my reasons, only say that our old bodies bear time well.

There was a night that I remember so well, another university far away from my own, with excellent acid and at least three-dozen naked bodies. A rope tied to a limb allowing us to swing from one side of the river to the other or, most frequently, to plunge into the deeper water of the river. One young man feared exposure and did not participate in our nightswimming.

Yes, it is good to be naked. Thank you for mentioning this subject.

Peace.

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

I challenge myself a lot. I have low self-esteem about my body. I would like to be able to be comfortable with nudity. I have been to nude beaches but that was 30 yrs ago!

I think being comfortable with nudity is great.

By being nude we are bareing not just our skin, but our soul. It's the purest and simplest form we can show the world. It can be a bit scary to some, but I love bedroom nudity.

MY BLOG IS NOW CONVENIENTLY LOCATED HERE!!
[UPDATED: 4/30/2017]

LIFE IS TOO SHORT, TOO VALUABLE AND TOO PRECIOUS A THING TO WASTE!!

I grew up with nudism. There is such a sense of freedom in many ways. Some beaches, for instance, have spots where sex is okay. Sometimes others (men) will gather round and masturbate. The voyeurism feels good and the masturabers become participants in the act.

For me - not for all - there will always be a sexual element in nudism. Mine is a nude household.

I think that I responded to that old ‘nudism’ thread. Difficult for me these days because I never know which messages will be ‘published’ and which will be moderated away.

@winter loneliness writes of having low self-esteem about her body and I wonder if she had grown up in a nudist family if she would feel the same? I’ve never had the six-pack muscles but I considered my body to be a kind of regular body with gifts. I have heard so many excuses that people make for even, for instance, not removing a shirt or blouse because they feel that they will not measure up to others. Resorts, particularly inland areas, make others impervious to body-shaming. Sexual beach resorts? Jamaica? Tricky. Again, semi-secluded spots but you’re generally on show. You really need to think in a body-positive way.

Yes. Let’s talk of nudism.

I'll talk about my ex for a minute, because she's a good example of overcoming body-shame.
Like many other women, she had a good deal of negative self-image. She felt she didn't look good enough to be naked in front of other people; and that other people would judge her by her looks . Not only that but she also feared she would be sexually objectified.
I still managed to convince her to accompany me to a resort. Which was a safe environment. And she did go nude; but only when it was just the two of us, outside the more populated areas. Otherwise, she'd stay somewhat covered. And she would definitely cover up if someone tried to chat with us. She just couldn't bring herself to fully participating in social nudity.

After a couple of resort trips I managed to convince her to go to a club get-together, which was a non-landed function at someone's home. She initially did not want to go; but eventually agreed, stipulating that she would stay covered. When we got there, there was a good number of women socializing in a group. They were very friendly and invited my wife to hang out with them. She reluctantly agreed, fully wrapped in her sarong while all the other women were nude.
After spending some time with these women, many of which were older, she saw how comfortable they were with their nudity. They seemed to not have the body-shame or concerns she experienced, which alleviated her anxiety. And so she decided to take off her sarong and join them. And as the day went on she also decided to not cover up again, choosing to face her fears about other people seeing her naked.

That experience profoundly changed her self-image. The change was gradual at first, as we returned to nudist venues and she showed less embarrassment at disrobing. Until she started participating in nudist activities, and became more and more comfortable being nude in front of other people. As she became an active social nudist, her hesitation at being openly nude dwindled to nothing. It had taken some time, patience and perseverance; but she eventually became a full-fledged nudist, embracing social nudity without any hang-ups or hesitations.

Just like nudism is not a perfect "cure" to depression, it is also not a cure to negative body-image. It takes work and commitment. Meeting other people and being able to interact with them nude is a huge step in that direction.

I have wanted to explore this activity outside of my bedroom for some time now, but for now, I put it on the back burner so that I can work on becoming more independent from my parents. I'll get there someday.

MY BLOG IS NOW CONVENIENTLY LOCATED HERE!!
[UPDATED: 4/30/2017]

LIFE IS TOO SHORT, TOO VALUABLE AND TOO PRECIOUS A THING TO WASTE!!