I always try to
keep up-to-date with what is going on in the world, in regards to Plastic
Surgery, and in one of the articles I was reading, a phrase caught my
attention. It said: “… the surgeon can only affect how the world
sees you, not the way you really are.” It got me thinking
as to what that meant exactly, but somehow I interpreted it as referring to the
expectations we have from a cosmetic procedure done, whether it be on our face
or body.
It is true that
post-op, plastic surgery patients generally report a boost in self-confidence,
self-esteem and enjoyment of life, an enhanced feeling of health and a
diminished feeling of anxiety … but it will not transform you into someone
else, improve your social life, or the way you look at the world. Plastic
surgery, for example, will not save a marriage – neither will having a baby, or
buying a new house, for that matter. But you do realize what I’m saying.
Cosmetic surgery can help people take pride in their appearance and enhance
their day-to-day outlook on life, but it cannot turn a homely housewife into a
drop-dead beauty queen running down the catwalk in a Miss America-type pageant.
And it’s true that
most of us have something we don’t like about our appearance, and want to
change it,
… nonetheless, these issues may be solved with a procedure, giving us a GREEN
LIGHT for plastic surgery! There are those though,
who are able to function well in society, but remain secretly obsessed by their
“horrible nose”, their “hideous acne”, or their “revolting hair”, sneaking
constant peeks at a pocket mirror, or spending hours at a time redoing makeup
or in front of a full-length mirror. However,
there are people who are suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD - a
body-image disorder characterized by persistent and intrusive preoccupations
with an imagined or slight defect in one's appearance), which causes them to be
obsessed by their perceived flaws in their appearance, and it gets them
thinking about these flaws for hours and hours each day, inevitably interfering
with their lives, to the point where they simply disintegrate. As Katharine A.
Phillips states in her book The Broken Mirror:
Understanding and treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder, this
disorder may afflict as much as two percent of the population, or nearly five
million people. People with BDD can’t control their negative thoughts and don’t
believe people who tell them they look fine. Their thoughts may cause
severe emotional distress and they do tend to avoid social situations, while
concurrently they try to isolate themselves in order to keep their flaws
hidden.
BDD drives
sufferers to have numerous unnecessary plastic surgeries to correct
imperfections, but they never find satisfaction with the results. A great example
is Jenny Lee, who was also a guest at the Oprah show for the number of plastic
surgeries she has done: 59 in total! When Lee was questioned about how she
feels about herself after her plastic surgeries, she replied: "When I look
at my reflection, I still don't like what I see. I'm trying to grow to
accept what I see... If I could be just OK with it -- just OK -- I would be
very happy." Oprah on the other hand said that this woman really looked
like a real-life Barbie doll! This is precisely the definition of BDD and
consequently a RED FLAG for plastic surgery! So as you can tell: “… the surgeon can only affect how the world sees you, not the way
you really are.”
What
it boils down to is the fact that it really is a plastic surgeon’s
responsibility to assess a prospective patient’s reasons and expectations from
a procedure, before agreeing to operate. That having been said, the best
outcomes will be for the patients who take personal responsibility for their
own reasons and expectations. So, while you’re making up that list of questions
to ask your surgeon, make sure you are also taking the time to ask yourself the
important questions.
Works cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_dysmorphic_disorder
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