Physical Complexes: What They Are, Causes, And How To Manage Them
Gray hair, stretch marks, love handles, extreme thinness, little muscle, small nose… Do you have any of these “defects”?
The list of physical complexes is long, as are the features of our physical appearance that we can worry and obsess about, complexes that, although we place them in our physical appearance, are often found in the way we look at ourselves. .
Whether based on something real or imagined, complexes are usually closely related to our self-concept, the canon of beauty of the society in which we live, and our experiences in childhood and adolescence. Let’s discover what physical complexes are, how they arise and how to manage them.
We can say that the physical complexes are any emotional and psychological discomfort that is caused by some discontent and discomfort towards one or more features of our physical appearance. These complexes arise from worrying about some part of our body and seeing it in a negative way, the result of a subjective perception of what our body is like that makes us see it in a way that does not have to correspond to how it really is.
The list of physical complexes is practically endless, as is the list of parts of our body for which we can be uncomfortable. Among the most frequent complexes we have those related to weight, height, hair, muscles, chest size, wrinkles, scars, stretch marks, color and shape of teeth, freckles, acne, shape of the nose, eye color and silhouette body in general.
Having some complex about what our body is like does not mean that we have a mental disorder, far from it. Almost everyone feels discomfort towards some part of their body, and the reasons behind it are very varied.. Physical complexes are something that we have all experienced personally and that cause us different levels of psychological and emotional discomfort, motivating us to do certain things to change them, such as dying our hair to hide gray hair or exercising to lose weight. weight.
In many cases, the perception of a physical feature seen as “defective” is distorted, that is, the person with the complex does not objectively perceive that body part and, in addition, may begin to become obsessed with said feature, seeing it every time in a different way. a more deformed and distant form from what it really is. In other cases, the physical characteristic is not appreciated in any distorted way and there really is some type of “defect” (e.g., congenital deformity) but the worry and anxiety associated with that part is so excessive that it greatly limits the life of the person. the self-conscious person.
Although our physical complexes accompany us every day of the year, There are times when these can occupy our minds more frequently and greatly influence our social life and leisure.. We have an example of this in summer, a time when people wear clothes that expose parts of the body and go to the beach. This time of year is especially hard for people with some type of complex related to their body shape, whether due to being overweight or underweight, in addition to some skin-related complexes such as stretch marks, body hair, skin spots…
What relationship do self-esteem and complexes have with one’s own body?
As can be seen from what we have seen so far, complexes with our body give rise to a form of self-esteem problem.
Now, this concept goes a little further than low self-esteem, since on many occasions, it leads us to see our body in a distorted way; without having hallucinations, We pay all our attention to areas of our skin, our hair or our bone structure that attract our gaze for making us feel bad about ourselves, and that we assume that everyone sees the same (negative) way.
Thus, in this case, low self-esteem is closely linked to elements that, although they are physical and palpable, have a large part of subjectivity and how we interpret reality.
Causes of complexes with one’s own body
The complexes due to the physique They are closely related to our self-concept and self-esteem. Self-concept is the set of ideas we have about how we are and this is formed throughout our lives taking as reference our strengths and weaknesses as well as our way of being physically, psychologically, socially and emotionally. All of these aspects not only help us form an image of what we are like, but also give us value as people.
If we consider that many aspects of our self-concept are “bad,” these will make us see ourselves as worthless people, negatively affecting our self-esteem. Taking this into account, physical complexes would be nothing more than physical traits to which we have attributed a negative meaning but they are part of our being and, consequently, they “take away” our value as people.
Among the main causes behind the appearance of physical complexes we have the following.
1. Feeling humiliated by some physical feature
In and of themselves, our physical traits are neither good nor bad, unless they involve some type of medical or functional problem. On many occasions it happens that people do not realize that we have something “negative” until someone tells us and, as a general rule.
This is what usually happens in childhood, when at recess time other children make fun of what our body is like, such as having big ears, being a little overweight or suffering from acne.
When we are children, these types of humiliations can be experienced in a particularly intense way, so much so that years later they return in the form of “microtrauma”, remembering over and over again what they told us when we were little and beginning to make us obsessed with the part of the body that was mocked.
But these humiliations are not only done by children. It also happens that our parents and reference adults noticed some physical trait when we were little and this marked us deeply. From our relatives we not only inherit traditions, values, language and culture, but also complexes and obsessions about what our body is like.
2. Obsess over specific parts
Our body is not an amalgamation of different unconnected parts, but rather they form a whole. This, which is an obvious fact, is usually ignored when we carefully scan that part of our body with which we feel so bad, ignoring the rest of the good things and forgetting that the body is a whole, a structure with proportions that give it beauty.
Paying attention to each of our body parts and understanding them as very different particularities contributes to suffering from physical complexes. We give importance to each of these parts separately, especially those with which we are not at all comfortable, distorting the perception of our own body.
So that we understand it: let’s imagine a person obsessed with their hairline, afraid of going bald. Every time she goes to look in the mirror, instead of looking at her entire body or, at the very least, her face, her gaze goes directly to where her hair begins. She looks at him and looks at him, ignoring that she has a beautiful nose, interesting eyes and sensual mouth that make her face very attractive.
3. Not feeling valued enough
As we said, physical complexes and self-esteem are closely related, with self-concept acting as a bridge between the two. People who have grown up in environments in which there has been no love or affection can have a very negative self-concept, thinking that they are worthless as human beings and this causes all kinds of concern to appear about how they are both physically and psychologically.
Believing that their parents did not give them love because they did not deserve it, many people begin to look for all kinds of “defects” that justify this fact, even if they are exaggerated and unrealistic. Insecurity and lack of confidence are two very common attitudes in people whose complexes were formed in this way.
4. Obsession with beauty standards
Although beauty canons have been evolving in recent years, progressing towards ones that are not so surreal, there is still a lot of work to do. Today, many people have internalized a very exaggerated ideal of beauty and their desire to achieve the perfect body, far from what is humanly possible, makes them feel very dissatisfied in the skin they inhabit.
Since you cannot be the person you want to be, many frustrations arise, as well as great anguish and discomfort. Pursuing a beauty ideal that is impossible to achieve will bring with it feelings of dissatisfaction and lack of acceptance of one’s own body, giving rise to physical complexes.
You may be interested: “Obsession with beauty: this is how it parasitizes our minds”
body dysmorphic disorder
A psychopathological condition closely related to physical complexes is body dysmorphic disorder. Also called dysmorphophobia, this disorder is characterized by a persistent preoccupation with one or more perceived defects in one’s physical appearance. These defects may not be obvious or may be very slightly visible to other people, but the person who feels self-conscious about them experiences them with great anxiety, giving rise to compulsive behaviors to calm the associated anxiety.
In many cases, the physical complexes that make these people uncomfortable are imaginary defects., while in cases where there really is some physically “negative” trait, these patients give it too much importance, experiencing it with great anxiety. Their degree of discomfort and limitation is so great that difficulties appear in social, work, family, academic and leisure life.
body dysmorphic disorder It is considered a relatively common psychopathology, especially in its less serious variants.. There do not seem to be gender differences and it has been described worldwide with prevalences around 2% in general population samples. Two out of three cases have their origins in the patient’s adolescence and it is believed that many of the patients who attend dermatological and plastic surgery consultations meet the criteria to be diagnosed with dysmorphophobia.
The fact that many patients with this disorder go to surgeons before seeking psychological or psychiatric help makes identification and treatment very difficult. For this reason, it is considered essential to train both surgeons and dermatologists so that they are well aware of this psychological disorder, detecting it in their patients and referring them to the consultation of a psychologist or psychiatrist before intervening surgically.
The referral is very important for this type of patient since, although those who suffer from body dysmorphic disorder trust that surgery will solve their complexes, the reality is very different. At first, when they have gotten rid of their “defect,” they stop feeling discomfort in the short term., but as the months go by they begin to detect new defects, feeling discomfort again and wanting to go to the surgeon’s table again. Since their problem is how they look and not what their body is like, no surgical operation is going to satisfy them.
Related article: “Anorexia nervosa: symptoms, causes and treatment”
How to manage complexes?
The case of body dysmorphic disorder is an extreme case of obsession with our defects, a psychological problem that, as such, should be treated with psychotherapy. However, this does not mean that we have to accept all our defects without further ado, accepting the philosophy that we have to look in the mirror and accept ourselves as we are just because.
There are several ways to manage complexes, although these mainly boil down to receiving psychological help, intervening surgically when necessary and, if possible and healthy, changing it on our own.
There are physical complexes that can really cause such a level of psychological discomfort that correcting them surgically or in other ways implies an improvement. on the patient’s mental health. We have an example of this in cancer survivors who have had part of their breast tissue removed, leaving them without breasts. In your specific case, reconstructive surgery can imply a notable improvement in your self-concept and self-esteem, recovering something that cancer took away from you.
We have another example in many people who are overweight.. No one should be attacked for their physical condition, and the only real motivation there should be for exercising is to be fit and healthy, however it is a sad fact that many people consider “fat” people to be worth less.
If you are overweight and there is no eating disorder, this complex can be corrected by working directly on the root of the problem by exercising, something that will not only improve your physical health but also your degree of acceptance with yourself. body.
Whatever the physical complex, what caused it, its severity and whether it is modifiable, Psychological therapy is a path that should never be ruled out. Psychotherapy can help us relate to our body in a different way and change our perspective, stopping focusing on what is “bad” that we believe we have and valuing all the good, both physical and psychological, that is undoubtedly part of our being. .
People who have many physical complexes are used to “running away from themselves.”, to not accept how they are and see themselves as less valuable than the people they interact with every day. They try to avoid looking in the mirror or, if they do, they focus almost exclusively on what they consider to be wrong in an obsessive way.
The objective of psychotherapy is to ensure that patients are able to integrate this defect and compare it with the rest of the body, have a global look at what their physical appearance is like and, if possible, do what is necessary to eliminate it.
