Mumbai may be known for its glitz and glamour, but a study shows that 3/4th of its youth are not happy with the way they look. At least 68 per cent of the men and 79 per cent of women are dissatisfied with their appearances.
The study was done on 700 Mumbaikars belonging to the age group of 20 to 25 by the Podar Institute of Education in Santa Cruz. At least 58 per cent of women said that they had considered cosmetic surgery to improve their looks.
However, tellingly, the study also indicated that a significant number of youngsters had shown symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD is a mental disorder wherein a person becomes obsessed with the defects in their appearance and starts running from one doctor to another to correct a particular feature.
“The disorder is characterised by an unhealthy obsession with a perceived physical defect, ranging from skin colour to body shape. No one is perfect, we all have some defects or the other, but not every one becomes obsessed with changing their appearances,” said Dr Parul Tank, consultant psychiatrist and therapist, Fortis Hospital, Mulund.
To attain their desired looks, they don’t even mind going under the knife for plastic surgeries, the survey said. And most importantly, patients don’t even understand that they are suffering from such a disorder, said Dr Tank.
However he said that such cases were rare. “We hardly get 10 such cases of BDD out of the 100 who come to us for counselling. There is a thin line between disliking and the disorder. But when the disliking turns into an obsession, it becomes a disorder,” said Dr Tank.
Commenting on the disorder, Dr Sagar Mundada, psychiatrist at GT hospital, said such patients suffer from too much of mental agony as they keep seeking perfection.
“A patient when after several plastic surgeries if still complains about his/her appearance, the surgeon becomes suspicious and sends the patient to a psychiatrist for check up. After counseling we get to know if the person has BDD,” said Dr Mundada.
The report also stated that 51 per cent of the surveyed use social media at least five hours a day. Some 38 per cent accepted that they joined social media to make friends as they lack friends in real life and it helped in boosting their self-esteem.
“With the growing usage of social media, such cases have become common in metros. Many youths with low self-esteem suffer from anxiety and depend on social media to gain their self-confidences. This further aggravates their condition as their inner strength gets dependent on the number of likes or comments they receive from their virtual friends,” said Dr Tank.
