Taking care of appearance is not an unacceptable fact, the problem lies in the obsession of some people to look impeccable. If you know of any case where the person is unable to perceive and identify their external attributes or virtues and only highlights their defects, you could be in the presence of a possible diagnosis of captotrophilia.
Captotrofilia is a psychiatric-type disease, where affected people feel the need to constantly look in the mirror, in order to detect or imagine imperfections. This leads to making inappropriate decisions that can mean unnecessary surgical interventions, which, even if they are carried out successfully, will not reduce physical discomfort.
Specialists point out that this disease can be caused by personality disorders, low self-esteem and even respond to consequences of bullying, since social pressure and its ridicule and stereotypes can trigger the need to approach perfection, for which psychological conditions emerge. Beauty standards that are erroneously established in societies play a harmful role for those who tend to have emotional weaknesses and physical nonconformities.
The mirror is one of the main enemies of people who suffer from this disease, studies indicate that they can look at themselves in them more than 74 times a day, either to check their appearance or to look for details that awaken behaviors of rejection to certain parts. of the body, the latter being the most usual of the reactions.
To obtain a diagnosis that can ensure the presence of this condition, it is necessary to visit a specialist, however, there are certain behaviors that could glimpse its presence:
- Ÿ Low self-esteem.
- Ÿ The need to reflect in any space that can constantly show its complete image.
- Ÿ Disagreement with what is seen in the mirror.
- Ÿ Obsessive concern for responding to stereotypes of beauty.
- Ÿ Excessive desire to please others.
- Ÿ Take many photos pretending to find physical alterations.
In order to determine the ideal treatment for this type of patient, it is essential to consult a specialist, although it normally consists of psychotherapy sections where the treating physician performs an exhaustive evaluation of the affected person, in search of possible influential elements that are related directly with the stage of childhood, environment and family group, in order to detect the origin of the disease and the degree to which it presents, and all this will govern the treatment guidelines. Working on points that reinforce self-esteem, minimizing the use of mirrors during the day and focusing on behavioral work that eliminates obsessive attitudes, is part of the specialist’s objectives.
Mental health is essential for the development of human life, and captotrofilia is a factor that prevents the correct development of patients who do not attend to it on time. For this reason, we invite you to monitor your behavior and that of your loved ones, so that you can detect this problem in time and guarantee yourself and your family a full and happy life.