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"Kim," a high schooler, has had plastic surgery three times and seen a dentist three times a week for the last year. She thinks she is ugly and has bad breath, so people don’t want to be near her. "She showed sings of depression and got obsessed with her appearance after her friends told her so two years ago," her parents said. She is seeing a psychiatrist to correct her self-image and is getting better.
Some people who suffer from a persistent sense of inferiority about their appearance, figure or academic or job performance may have a problem with their self-image. A distorted self-image can cause both psychological and physical disorders. There are people who see themselves as fat when actually they are rather slim and try everything to lose more weight. Those who think they are incompetent may by a vicious cycle fail to display their ability fully.
The most famous symptom of distorted self-image is body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Sufferers from the condition have a preoccupation with certain physical defects in their appearance, like thinking that their complexion is too pale or their nose too big. To them, the mirror will confirm this. They may also think they smell and, in worst cases, hurt themselves. As a result, they are afraid to go out and have problems socializing. Some resort to plastic surgery to the point of addiction. According to psychiatrist Paik Ki-chung of Dankook University Hospital, in the U.S. upto five percent of people who seek help from plastic surgeons suffer from BDD. Some of them take their own lives when they cannot be satisfied with their appearance despite having several operations.
Some experts attribute teenagers' obsessive interest in weight and figure to distorted self-image. A survey of 2,891 elementary, middle school and high school girls by the Health and Welfare Ministry and a team of researchers with Korea University Ansan Hospital found that 42.1 percent had gone on a diet although they were of average weight and as many as 10.9 percent showed sings of eating disorders due to excessive concern with their physical looks.
Self-image also has grave effects on academic and work performance. Robert Rosenthal, a psychologist at the University of California, randomly chose 20 percent of students at an elementary school and told teachers that the children would see a big improvement in their intellect. Eight months later, he tested the academic performance of the children, which was indeed better than that of other students. Kwak Geum-ju, a professor of psychology at Seoul National University, says positive self-image not only affects children and teenagers but also enhances learning and job performance of adults.
When a person suffers from a seriously distorted self-image, it is very important for them to seek psychiatric treatment. For medication, they will be prescribed a serotonin re-uptake inhibitor, which prevents serotonin, the chemical substance regulating happy emotions, from decreasing in the brain. Counseling is equally essential to help patients realize that they do not really have any physical defects and their problem is distorted self-image. Concern from friends and family are almost always helpful.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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