LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Instead of celebrating her spectacular Super Bowl halftime performance, singer Lady Gaga was punching back against a wave of social media criticism about her body.

The criticism prompted Lady Gage to respond on Instagram Tuesday. Her post read, in part, "I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I'm proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too."

Licensed therapist Lara Rhodes-Levin told CBS2 that she knows exactly why people say and post body shaming comments, and it goes beyond the courage of sitting at your computer.

"I think honestly, at the core, it really is self-judgement, and our own feeling of insecurity that promotes us to do that," Rhodes said Wednesday.

Levin says she knows firsthand how such comments can affect people.

"It's awful, it breeds terrible insecurity. And unfortunately, I see a lot of young women -- 14, 15 -- who, if they don't fit the picture, they literally want to kill themselves."

Levin says body shaming can be hurtful to adults, but especially children. She encourages parents to reinforce self-love and remind their children that we all have special gifts and it's important to know your purpose.

"The fact that she (Lady Gaga) loves herself is her greatest gift."