>>20351
>not having sex or children especially in your fertile years will cause emotional problems
Though much of what you say is valid, I'll add that you shouldn't feel pressured to have sex when you don't really want it. It's not imperative to have it regularly or right away, just in general being good to find a secure partner that you're comfortable with *eventually*. Sexuality is normal and healthy, but having the right partner is a big factor to sex being fulfilling. There is no rush, or at least I don't consider the decades of time before menopause to be a rush. Take things at your own pace.
>if anyone has managed to conquer such a demon I would love to hear about it
I wouldn't say I'm without flaws but I do consider my perception of personal beauty and fulfillment disconnected from society. The way I wish to look and express myself are the ways I found most comfortable, and much of it isn't the cultural norm nor is it so distanced from it that I'm fighting about it. I like being lean, but I don't like make up or typical fashion. I like baggy but functional clothes with dark or neutral colors. I like my hair long and very pretty. My likes are variable between girly, neutral, and boyish.
I don't think shunning the social norms are the way, nor abiding them, but to try and free your mindset from viewing convention as a rule. Some things you prefer will almost certainly be what's normal in your culture, and some things will distinctly not be.
I dislike the "hardcore" feminists that demonize women who just genuinely want to enjoy something normal, even if it's something I hate like the make up industry. If you really like putting on all the hot cosmetics to look like Kim Kardashian, that's on you, and that's fine. But if you also enjoy Dragon Ball Z and shounen comics, don't feel like you have to portray it ironically to fit in, or hide entirely. That's what I see as the best perspective.
That lot gets a little away from the topic when it stops being about body image or other aspects of health, but it at least ties in with mental health at this extent.