Plastic Surgery - a disorder?

[John_Mark]

Hello!
I was thinking about plastic surgeries. I was thinking that lots of celebrities get plastic surgeries nowadays, even if these type of plastic surgeries make them look good, even if they make them look worse. I think there are 2-3 types of persons that get plastic surgeries - those that actually need plastic surgeries (like an accident or something, like Rose Mcgowan (http://www.plasticsurgeryneed.com/did-rose-mcgowan-get-plastic-surgery/) - after a car accident), yet others that want to look better. But, I think there is a third type of people, those that actually have a disorder (I don't know how to call it?). Celebrities like the "Cat Lady" - Jocelyn Wildenstein or Elsa Patton and many others. These women spend millions of dollars (maybe less, maybe more) on plastic surgeries to defy the natural aging process, yet they don't look good at all. You can always look for pictures on the internet and let me know your exact opinion.

Do you think getting so many plastic surgeries it's related to disorders somehow? I really want to get your opinion on this one, because I'm very curios.
Would you get a plastic surgery yourself, if you had enough money? What type of plastic surgery would you prefer?

[jessed03]

You say plastic surgeries - as in plural.

What are you thinking of getting?

Sometimes plastic surgery is related to low self esteem, or body dysmorphic disorder. Sometimes it's just about wanting to enhance yourself. I've had plastic surgery. Had it on my ear at 19. It was a great decision.

I think there's an easy way to check if your plastic surgery is coming from a place of negativity, or a place of positivity.

And that's to get an idea of the image you have of yourself inside your head.

If you have a good mental self image, but a physical feature or two hold you back from living out that self image fully, or they stop you from being totally congruent with that self image (as society doesn't quite treat you the way your mental image expects to be treated) then surgery can be very successful.

If you have a poor self image, and feel ugly, or unworthy somehow - if you don't feel good enough - even if it's not crippling - and you're relying on surgery to transform that, and give you self esteem, or something that's not really there to begin with - then that's probably part of a disorder, as that rarely happens really. At least in the long term.
In those cases it's just an ongoing process of trying to improve physically, when the problem was mental all along.

In the book psychocybernetics by Maxwell Maltz, he talks about his time as a psychologist and as a plastic surgeon, and how few people actually benefited from plastic surgery, when their self image was somewhat poor.

I think plastic surgery only works when there's a realistic chance that your physical image will match your mental one after the surgery. Then it can be life changing.

Anything less and it's just another painful and expensive coping mechanism.

[snowberry]

My experience in this area is as follows.

I would like a chin implant, as my chin recedes slightly and it makes me look too young for my age. I think afterwards I will have a much more 'attractive', refined profile and that I will look more mature and therefore may find it easier in the workplace.

However, I am aware that:

- This surgery will not make all the bad things in my life go away
- I will not look like a supermodel afterwards, I will look like a better version of myself.
- Even if my chin does recede, it doesn't make me ugly or unworthy of love - it's just a 'flaw' that can be fixed if I choose, and I do choose.
- I want it to look natural - I don't want to look plastic or out of place.
- I have a realistic idea of what I will look like afterwards.
- My health is more important. If having the surgery posed a risk to my health, I'd forget about it.
- I am doing this for myself - no one else. Not my mother, not a boyfriend, not from friends, for myself only. Getting surgery for someone else's sake is as bad as getting their name tattooed on your body.

If you acknowledge each of those things, your attitude to surgery is probably quite healthy. But if you think that you are a disgusting person, that you need surgery to be loved or happy, that your partner or family will only love you if you have surgery, or that you want to look like a completely different person, then that is when you might want to talk to a psychiatrist about BDD or something similar before you even think about going under the knife.

[Dahila]

Snowberry, we all have flows and we do not improve it with the scalpel. I believe the plastic surgery is requirement when there is disfigurement, I think you need to start to exercise or any sport to take the not really smart thoughts out of your head. I bet you look lovely:))

[snowberry]

Snowberry, we all have flows and we do not improve it with the scalpel. I believe the plastic surgery is requirement when there is disfigurement, I think you need to start to exercise or any sport to take the not really smart thoughts out of your head. I bet you look lovely:))

Um, what did I just say? I know that surgery will not make my life perfect, nor do I think I *need* it. I want it, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You may believe it should only be for disfigurements, but I think that if you want it and you have both the money and the steadiness of mind to get it done, then why not? I don't have low self-esteem. I don't hate myself. Please don't patronise me.

[Dahila]

I think the Hollywood is giving society the wrong image.....

[John_Mark]

@jessed03 Yes, I said plastic surgeries, as in plural. Yes, I was thinking about multiple plastic surgeries, but there are a couple of problems. I am very afraid of pain. I hate pain. And, the other problem - the money. If I wasn't afraid of pain and had enough money, maybe I would consider plastic surgeries. I think about them, but I can't actually have them. A lot of time I felt ugly, because I'm skinny, but in time I started to feel beautiful. I know I'm not perfect, I know some plastic surgeried could make me better, but, that's life.

"I think plastic surgery only works when there's a realistic chance that your physical image will match your mental one after the surgery. Then it can be life changing." - I think this is exactly it. I see nowadays there are tons of celebrities that somehow managed to do just that. But there are plenty more than haven't succeed it. I, for one, like how Raquel Welch (http://www.plasticsurgeryneed.com/who-did-raquel-welch-plastic-surgery/) made it, even after plastic surgeries. She still looks good, yet she's rumored to got a lot of plastic surgeries.

@snowberry:
"This surgery will not make all the bad things in my life go away" - no, but it will make you feel better. This is my idea..
"I will not look like a supermodel afterwards, I will look like a better version of myself." - again, you will feel better with yourself. This is only my opinion, it could be false.

"But if you think that you are a disgusting person, that you need surgery to be loved or happy, that your partner or family will only love you if you have surgery, or that you want to look like a completely different person, then that is when you might want to talk to a psychiatrist about BDD or something similar before you even think about going under the knife." - I really like what you said.

@Dahila:

"I think the Hollywood is giving society the wrong image....." - Hollywood is all about money. At Hollywood everyone wants to be perfect! The "perfect" they need to be. But hey, why there are so many celebrities that look like Elsa Patton then?

[Dahila]

John I would prefer if you find your inner beauty, when you find it, it will influence the way you look. I think it is regular hating the body,,,every teenager sometimes it goes well in the early thirties ;)) Skinny, I wish I was skinny :))

You could look like Marlin Monroe and still feel ugly..