Mark,

Yes, but I don’t know why I just can’t change my way of thinking. I’ve tried and I just want to be pretty. It’s weird because I crave approval from others regarding looks, but nothing else. At the same time, I am trying to get my life together which requires me to be working and I can’t take time to dress nice or do my hair or makeup. I really don’t know why but beauty is so important to me.

Mark,

Yes you are correct I am 19. And honestly… no there aren’t other things that make me happy. Maybe there was a time when other things made me happy but currently, no. There isn’t. Not even the people around me make me happy except my boyfriend. I don’t feel successful or happy in any area of my life. And if there was, I feel like they were washed away by the constant pressure I feel every day. I was in therapy for a little bit, but I never talked about my body image issues. I’m currently looking for another therapist as I am living somewhere else in the summer. I hope that will help me.

Mark,

I don’t know if this could be the cause of it but my parents are pretty uninvolved in my life. My dad is always at his job and my mom has depression so she is in bed a lot. I was directionless and friendless until the age of 14 when my cousin and I got super close and she basically became my parent. She told me what to do and how to act in certain situations. I was really motivated to start my life when my cousin came into the picture because I spent all day doing nothing. I think I did nothing because I had no guidance from my parents. When my cousin helped me, she basically gave me the message that if I want to make friends I needed to look pretty. So I started dressing very nice, doing my hair and makeup, and I made a lot of friends. Then I met one of my best friends who is beautiful and we became super close, but I noticed how much attention she got for her looks. I learned that being pretty = the key to life. Even before my cousin, when I had no friends, I would still occasionally get approached by a guy in my class because he thought I was pretty. For a time, my only social interactions with people in my class were guys who thought I was pretty. That didn’t help.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by Katie.