Psychological effects of beauty standards

           PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF BEAUTY STANDARDS 

As per psychology, beauty has many more components than just what is visible with our naked eyes. Our brain is wired to certain elements that we consider as beautiful. It can be according to our culture, experiences, or what we see around us.

The world is a hard place to live in, and in the world of social media, there are certain beauty standards all around the world. We see influencers every day trying to figure them out and secretly wishing if we were anything like them. But what we don’t realize is that the self-criticism often has negative effects on both our mind and body.

So in this Blog, we are going to discuss the psychological effects of beauty standards and how you can deal with it.

• what is beauty?

Beauty is a quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations (such as shape, color, sound, etc.), a meaningful design or pattern, or something else (such as personality). Said another way, "beauty" is a quality of a person, object, place, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, affirmation, meaning, or goodness. The subjective experience of "beauty" often involves the interpretation of some entity as being in balance and harmony with nature. This leads to powerful feelings of attraction and emotional well-being. (definition of beauty according to internet)

Beauty is subjective and perceptive. Every day we look into the mirror, thinking that we could change so many things if we really could. We use several beauty products to hide what we naturally have and what we don’t like. But when we try to fit into someone else’s definition of beauty, do we understand what beauty really is?

Beauty, as the society normalizes it, is having flawless skin, perfect body, and living up to the beauty standards we see in the movies, magazines of beauty pageants. But the truth is the concept of beauty can be different for different people, culture, and society. It basically depends on one’s own perception.

Other major psychological effects of beauty standards are that we try to fit into someone else’s definition rather than realizing our own worth. The most important thing is that beauty comes from within. It should not be a forced concept that the outside world puts on you. There is no single definition of beauty.

• Beauty and Psychology

Often times, due to media, our brains perceive the psychological effects of beauty standards. Media plays a huge role in the perceptions of these ideas. This is because it is the media where we get the ideas of perfect beauty and body from.

From social media, television, fashion magazines, billboards, and so much more, we carry the idea desirability and appearance. It is because of the media alone that we have body shaming issues, plastic surgeries, and eating disorders. The media industry, however, takes this criticism unrealistically. Still, it is because of them that our attitude towards our own self and others is changed by the perception of beauty standards.

• Psychological effects of beauty standards 

The idea of beauty is circulated across so many media platforms that women carry these ideals as their own, and they start to feel disappointed in their own skin. These unrealistic ideals can be damaging and harmful for their own self. The concept of ideal feminine beauty is mostly created by society and often depicts physical attractiveness that every woman should possess to be desirable and attractive. These principles are largely based on hetero-normative ideas and often discriminate against women based on social orientation.

Women these days are trying to comply with these beauty ideals and standards, which are leading to several psychological disorders. Studies have shown that such ideals can often lead to psychological issues such as depression, reduced self-esteem, eating disorders, and so much more. Girls from a very early age are subjected to these images of perfection and their exposure extends to adulthood.

The ideal feminine beauty is considered to be a faultless, flawless impossibly-proportioned woman upon who all the other women should base themselves to be desirable and attractive. This ideal, however, is not entirely theoretical. Still, beauty advertisers are cashing in the demand to perfect to market their beauty products.

So when do we know that beauty is the beast? When the perceptions of beauty interfere with your healthy well being, and all it is giving you is stress and depression, then you should know that this beauty is not worth it. It is always recommended to be true to yourself and that nothing is more important than your mental and physical health.

                                          

• Disorders due to beauty standards 

If you flip through any beauty or fashion magazine you will most likely see multiple tall, incredibly skinny models with body proportions that are impossible for the majority of women to attain. These “ideal bodies” and unrealistic expectations are thrown at us from every direction and can have detrimental effects on the lives of women by influencing their body image, self-esteem, and even causing eating disorders. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Not only are those suffering at high risk of suicide, but the chronic malnutrition they endure takes a serious toll on the body as well. An eating disorder can lead to heart and other organ failure, low blood pressure, low heart rate, severe fluid and electrolyte imbalance, seizures, and many other problems, and this epidemic is only growing.

Body dysmorphic disorder is maintained by unrealistic attitudes about body image, and the misinterpretation of the facial expression of others as being more critical than they really are. Furthermore, they perceive their actual appearance as being far away from the ideal, and for this reason, they are likely to undergo cosmetic surgery to gain perfection. 57 percent with body dysmorphic disorder were also found to have a co-existing personality disorder. Most frequently: avoidant, paranoid, obsessive-compulsive, and dependent personality disorders.

• Some Ways To Deal With Psychological Effects due to Beauty Standards

When it comes to psychological disorders, the world still lives in the Stone Age. This is why people with mental disorders find it difficult to come out in public. It is even more difficult when you are really sick on the inside but show the world that you are doing just fine.
Honestly, there is nothing to be ashamed of mental illness. This is because the world that we live in and the pressure of perception it puts on us, it is just normal to have insecurities. Here we are sharing some ways by which you can keep a healthy perspective.

•Know what you’re good at Do not be depressed with your limitations; instead, focus on your strong points. You might have an absolute perception of beauty, but that does not mean that you have to copy someone from head to toe. You can definitely take inspiration and be your own kind of beautiful. So instead of sulking into your depressed state of mind, get up and do what you are good at. If you still don’t know how to deal with your depression, then there are online therapy sessions you can go for or can see a psychologist.

•Accept yourself wholly A lot of us find it really difficult to accept our own selves, but most of the time, it is because we want to fit onto someone else’s expectations. So it is essential to find someone who will accept you for who you are. People have high expectations, but in this whole wide world, you will definitely find a person who will love you for who you are.

•Stand up for yourself  Believe in yourself and be confident. Don’t ever let someone bring you down or mistreat you. People can be mean and miserable, but you should know that if you do not stand up for yourself, then no one else will. So never allow anyone to tell you that you are not good enough.

•Stop trying to be like someone else Another crucial thing you need to do is to stop comparing yourself with others. Everyone is their own kind of beautiful. So if you are trying to be like someone else, you need to stop it right away. Frankly speaking, it is just going to make you feel lower. To see and do things that will make you love yourself.

• Conclusion

The media and beauty advertisements only portray and unattainable and overly sexualized version of beauty. You should not be harrowing yourself with these ideas and notions in order to look or feel beautiful. Spending your energy and time analyzing perfectionist beauty ideals does more bad than good. Therefore, just love yourself and stay healthy.