On plastic surgery, plastic looks and Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Apparently a lot of us are suffering from BDD – Body Dysmorphic Disorder or ‘imagined ugliness’. Yes, there’s a disorder for everything, but in this case they are probably right as my first thought was, ‘well, in my case, it’s not imagined’.

Not surprisingly lots of people with this idea of themselves get plastic surgery and, oddly enough, there are high numbers of people who have had plastic surgery who later end up being a suicide statistic. How curious.

Not that I’m blaming the plastic surgery industry (now there’s a concept). I have had minor thoughts about ethics, but I understand the society I’m living in and I get that they are on the end of a long line of other money-grubbing, anti-ethical industries.

I mean, who would think that the images portrayed in the media would make us all feel that we should look like we are made of plastic or porcelain, to the point where people go out and try to achieve that impossibility and aren’t going to be happy with themselves ever? Who would think that?

Consequently, we have to waste a lot of time on research into these areas, when really, there are people starving.

I understand there’s real mental anguish going on – suffer quite a bit of that myself over not being perfect, but on the scale of things, this is less than nothing. In a world of poverty and war and environmental devastation on a planetary level, maybe we all need to think less about ourselves and get some sense of priority.

It would be nice if we could channel all the money that’s going to pay for golf carts into something useful and, really, if I decide I’m too ugly to live, at least it will take the weight of a Westerner off the back of the world.