Taking Care Of Your Appearance Is Not Superficial, It Is A Sign Of Mental Health

Great interest in appearance and image on the outside is often linked to something cold and superficial. This is incorrect. Taking care of one’s appearance – without it being an obsession – means that we take care of our holistic well-being. Feeling good on the outside helps us to feel good on the inside.

Feeling beautiful as we are is a sign of good mental health. Worrying about our health, hygiene or the harmony and beauty of our body is not superficial. It is a sign that we love ourselves. 

Cosmetic and personal care are our allies

Who has not heard that “big changes come with a makeover”? It is a popular saying that is a little vain and mediocre, but there is a truth in it. Sometimes people feel that they want a radical change, but they do not know how to achieve it. They lack inspiration or the means – not wanted.

Therefore, a  physical change can drive us to make other decisions or adopt new routines. This is well known in cancer wards at many hospitals. Courses in self-care are already used in the medical world to counteract the effects of chemotherapy.

Physical and aesthetic care as an ally in cancer treatment

In these cases, health is paramount and the person suffering from cancer should primarily focus on this. But we must also see health as a global concept.

The truth is, unless we ourselves have reviewed it, that we do not know what it means for a woman to experience a mastectomy. Or for a man or woman to suddenly lose their hair, eyelashes or get dry skin.

So we should not judge the way people treat the physical symptoms. Everyone has their own strategy for dealing with the cosmetic changes that the disease brings. 

For some, the approach that works best will be to naturally show the effects of the disease without trying to hide them. For others, it is therapeutic to counteract these effects with various techniques. They feel relief if their physical appearance does not reveal the medical struggle they are immersed in. It is a way to make the person feel that the disease does not define them.

There is a very inspiring story around this topic. In 1988, Gayle, married dr. Michael Brinkenhoff, diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. As she went through the stages of this complex, physical and emotional process, Michael wanted to help Gayle look better and feel better.

That’s why he created an innovative cosmetics brand in 2006 for women with cancer so they could use the products to grow eyebrows and eyelashes. It is an example of how aesthetics is not just a cold and superficial subject. It can often reflect a love for oneself and for others.

Losing interest in one’s physical appearance is not a good sign

There is an important link between the neglect of one’s physical appearance and the severity of certain psychological disorders. One of the indicators that worsens the prognosis of many disorders is losing interest in one’s physical appearance.

In depression, interest in activities that were previously of interest was lost. An indifference to what is happening in life, an inability to get new energy or to enjoy it. It is not strange that getting pleasure from looking in the mirror is not a behavior one sees in a depressed person.

It is not about the time that a person might dedicate to the care of their skin or figure. It’s about the joy of looking good and feeling good. It doesn’t matter if you use makeup or not. A person who loses interest in their life also loses interest in looking good and feeling good.

The difference between being captivated by aesthetics and benefiting from it

One’s physical appearance reflects the care one has for it. As long as it comes from a desire and not from coercion. As with most things in life, there is a very thin line that separates the sick from the non.

Taking care of one’s physical appearance as a priority in one’s life is completely respectable and even healthy. On the other hand, it can lead to serious consequences to feel depressed and anxious about not being able to fit into a perfect ideal and do everything to achieve it.

You can spend a lot of money and still feel that you are not perfect enough for others. You can measure your self-esteem in terms of weight and appearance, and that’s really bad. 

Body dysmorphophobia is a mental disorder in which a person is unable to lead a normal life due to a real or invented physical defect. The person spends countless hours checking their appearance and may undergo many treatments and surgeries without being satisfied. There are increasing numbers of cases of this disorder, especially in younger people due to the increasing influence of advertising and internet access.

To feel good in his own body

The most important thing for any person is to feel good in their own body and not be dependent on external influences. We must begin with our own image outwardly, looking at our own body without condemnation. We must choose to know which part of our body we want to improve, based on how we feel.

Sometimes it’s about improving what we see, and other times it’s about the relationship to what we see.  It is always important to remember that nothing happens in isolation because the body and mind are one. Do not be embarrassed by the desire to look better in the mirror. Remember that a smile is a helper and the perfect partner to achieve just that.