Mom Shares Viral Photo in Dress She Has 'No Business Wearing'

One mom of two is tired of critiquing her body. Katey Johnson, the face behind the blog The Mother Octopus, shared a Facebook photo on Monday of herself in a little black dress.

"This is me in a dress I have no business wearing," she writes in the caption. "I know it's not flattering but I don't want you to say, 'OMG, YOU LOOK GREAT!' I don't want you to say, 'GOOD FOR YOU!' I want you to know why I'm wearing a dress I have no business wearing."

Johnson, 40, goes on to say that she loves what the dress brings out in her, despite the fact that it doesn't fit her well.

"Someone could say that I look a little pregnant in it, because of, you know, that part sticking out in the front. I do look a little pregnant. That's fine," she said.

"I bought this dress for a trip my husband and I took in July. When I tried it on I knew the dress wasn't made for my 5'2" body, 160 lb. body, but I felt great in it. I don't know why. I just did. I'm not known to wear form-fitting clothes. At all. But I wanted it, so I bought it. And I was proud of myself for it."

She went on to say that she's struggled with weight issues her entire life and is turning over a new leaf by "being kind" to herself and her body.

"For 40 years I've stood in the mirror and compared how I look to how I THINK I should look. And it's exhausting," she wrote. "Now, in an ugly world where I have so many other, more important things to worry about, I'm hitting that red decline button when the self-doubt calls start pouring it. I don't want to do it anymore. I want to be in the business of loving myself. It's as simple as that."

Johnson's post has over 10,000 reactions and over 2,000 shares.

"Posting that ... wasn't easy for me," she told Us Weekly. "But I hope that my moment of bravery will inspire others to let go of their inhibitions a bit."

"I think everyone struggles with body issues, regardless of sex or age. Everyone feels vulnerable when it comes to how they look and how others perceive them. We're so inundated with images of the ideal body that picturing our less than ideal bodies in a beautiful way has become difficult for a lot of people."