Last year, patients worldwide spent $12.2 billion dollars on cosmetic procedures. As you can see by the statistics stated above, we in the United States endear a growing culture of cosmetic surgery, a culture which has a direct impact on our psychological lives as the notion of a “quick fix” becomes more prevalent and more accessible.
According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), in 2006 there were approximately 11.5 million surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed in the United States, 1.1 million of them surgical. Liposuction continues to reign as the most popular surgical procedure, followed closely by breast augmentation. Disturbingly enough, since 1997 (the year in which the ASAPS began keeping nationwide statistics on their procedures) there has been a 446 percent increase in the total number of cosmetic procedures. Of these increases, surgical procedures were seen to increase by 98 percent and non-surgical (such as laser hair removal) procedures by 747 percent.
As the demand goes up, price goes down, making cosmetic procedures of all kinds accessible to people from a varying scale of socio-economic backgrounds. It still may cost upwards of twelve thousand dollars to augment breasts in the United States, but in other countries where such procedures are also performed, for example Thailand, Lebanon, or Iran, the procedure may require a mere four thousand dollars, or a third of the price in the United States. Similar statistics suggest that per-capita demand in Lebanon, is comparable to that of the States. Cosmetic procedures are an undeniable growing global trend.
You may be wondering, what does this have to do with hypochondria? In the words of Carla Cantor from her book Phantom Illness
(a book which documents her own hypochondriacal experiences with the help of collaborator Dr. Brian Fallon), she answers succinctly, “Plenty.” (pg 126) On the relentless search for the “perfect body,” we become less accepting of who we really are; wrinkles, rolls, sags, and smiles, not to mention fluttering heart rates, periodic headaches, and bothersome indigestion included. This cosmetic culture has, in Cantor’s words, “redefined virtue as health, confusing the moral with the physical,” thereby endowing many of us with the sense that money can buy spiritual rest and physical satisfaction.
Ms. Cantor discusses in her book how Dr. Arthur Barsky, a psychologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, believes hypochondria to be “primarily a problem of cognitive and perceptual distortion,” which is recruited in a process he deems amplification. “[People who are] Amplifiers…are more sensitive to minor physical sensations and have a greater awareness than others of the grumblings, twitches, and creaks of the body…Their discomfort frightens them and they become anxious…[creating a] loop in which each form of suffering perpetuates and intensifies the other.” (pg. 94).
If Dr. Barsky is right, it seems that the more attention you pay a symptom, the more discomforting the symptom can become, and the more serious it may seem. Similarly, as evidenced by the high-profile case of Tara Reid , the more cosmetic surgery she underwent, the more dissatisfied she became.
Obsession with a part of the body perceived to be deformed or ugly is called dysmorphophobia, or body dysmophic disorder, and is colloquially referred to as “beauty hypochondria.” (pg. 51) Catastrophic thinking about one’s symptoms can lead to hyper vigilance, which in turn can increase self-checking and contribute to lower self- esteem, thereby influencing one to seek medical attention. There are many treatments available, but if you think you are suffering from hypochondria, please consult a mental health professional to determine which treatment is best for you.
In the meantime, do something nice for yourself today. Shut off the media’s inundation of celebrity self-obsession, hide your mirrors, and chant this old mantra: “I am the center of love and light. I bring blessings of good to others and to myself….” (ERD)
