Body Dysmorphic disorder or imagined ugliness

In my previous article Bdd treatment i explained how a large number of good looking people believe that they are ugly just because of psychological reasons.

The problem with imagined ugliness is that the person suffering from that disorder collects incorrect information about his looks. In other words, the person who suffers from imagined ugliness doesn't see the same face that others see when he looks at the mirror.

The distorted image this person sees fortifies his beliefs about his ugliness and makes those beliefs appear more real.

The best way to treat BDD is to stop collecting incorrect information about your looks and to keep collecting positive ones. If the positive information collected about your looks were more than the negative information collected then your false belief about your looks will go away. (see also The perception of physical beauty)

5 ways to reduce the symptoms of imagined ugliness

1) Examine yourself in the mirror from different distances People with BDD usually examine themselves in the mirror from one distance and that's why they always see themselves the same way. Trying changing the distance between you and the mirror and you will discover that most of your flaws aren't that apparent
2) Play with the lights: Change the light settings while looking in the mirror. Most probably you will discover that you look more attractive under different settings. If this can do anything to you it would be showing you that your perception of your own looks can change according to many factors, in other words, your perception of your own looks is not stable (see Attractinvess perception psychology)
3) Focus on different features: If you dislike your nose then teach yourself to look at your other features as well when you look in the mirror. The more you can shift your gaze away from the features you dislike the more you will be able to see your real overall looks. Note that i am not asking you to fool yourself but i am just asking you to see the realistic overall picture others see of you (see also How can i like my looks)
4)Change your clothes and look again: You might get surprised when you discover that your perception of your physical looks changes according to the way you are dressed. Change your clothes then look again in the mirror and you will see a different picture
5)Take many photos from different angles: Sometimes the incorrect evidence about a person's looks comes through the pictures taken of him. Because some people don't look good in pictures they quickly assume that their pictures represent their real looks. When you take more than one picture of yourself you will quickly discover that the way you appear in a picture greatly depends on the angle and settings (see I look ugly in pictures)

The conclusion

As you just saw the perception of your own physical looks can change according to many factors. Why did you choose the worst image you saw then believed that this is how you look like?

What about the other times where you looked good?
What about the people who told you before that you look good?

Learn how to see yourself correctly in the mirror and you will get over your imagined ugliness.

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