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England and Bristol Bears prop Sarah Bern said building her social media profile has helped her confidence after struggling with anxiety around body image.
Bern has been capped 71 times by the Red Roses and was named in England's 32-player squad on Thursday for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
The 28-year-old was in conversation with double Olympic gold medal winning boxer Nicola Adams in the latest episode of The LGBT Sport Podcast.
"My opinions on social media have really changed over the last year and I really struggled with anxiety. I feel a lot more confident now - but [I] really struggled with being myself," Bern said.
"I was always bigger as a young girl and I never felt like I was good enough or pretty enough or any of those things. I feel like a lot of young girls feel that.
"I was really anxious about a lot of things and social media, I was like 'no one really wants to see what I'm doing'."
Bern, who won her first England cap in 2016, cited American centre Ilona Maher's spell at Bristol Bears earlier this year with helping her see the value in using her profile online.
Maher is the most followed rugby player in the world on social media with more than 8.5 million followers on Instagram and TikTok and has built a profile on messages of body positivity, which has propelled her to global star status.
She signed with the Bears for three months from January to March to play in the Premiership Women's Rugby.
"She [Maher] was with her family and her energy and how she managed to get her social media alongside her being a professional athlete, I found it really cool and like it wasn't a big task," Bern added.
"Especially for women's rugby, we need more fan engagement. We need more fans. We need to grow our sport - what's the best way to do that? Well, show ourselves.
"Now I like really love it and I just relish it and I actually think it's really helped me to be less anxious and just be myself."
Bern will be appearing in her third World Cup for the Red Roses next month when the tournament kicks off in England, having been part of the squads that finished runners-up in 2017 and 2022.
Despite going in as one of the favourites to win the trophy, Bern said she feels "less pressure to live up to expectations" this time around and instead feels excited for the wider impact a home World Cup could have with the public.
"It's been a learning curve for me to actually just enjoy it and enjoy the experience of it. This World Cup I'm excited for in a different way. I hope we win, but I don't feel like that's the biggest thing that could happen," she said.
"We're on the brink of hopefully doing what the girls [England women football] did with the Euros and really making the sport blow up across the globe."
