Every year society is bombed with thousands of images of beautiful models and celebrities. This “reality” affect the sub-conscientious of many people with low self-steam and fill the mind of men and women with insecurities about their body images. Plastic surgery appears as an easy solution to this matter, but actually, cosmetic surgery can be just the tip of the iceberg of a more complex issue related with body images problems. Plastic surgery is not always related with a bad thing.
For example, facial and body injuries that cause a deformity can be corrected by plastic surgery. Also, plastic surgery can be a necessary in cases of extreme obesity as a solution to safe the patient life. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the number of cosmetic procedures has risen 77 percent in the last decade and 60% of plastic surgery patients are repeat customers (qtd. in Ball). This increasing obsession with body images and looks has spawned a growing number of plastic surgery addicts.
Moreover, a mental illness knows as BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder), is one of the major causes of addiction to cosmetic surgeries and the effects that this problem can lead are really severe as disfiguration or lost of functionality in body parts. Social pressure of looking young and fresh is always a concern, and more and more people are taking radical actions to solve this conflict. These actions are now based in cosmetic and plastic surgeries that can be invasive and extremely dangerous. The race against ageism is a common thing between men and women around the globe.
Amy Wechesler M. D. Dermatologist and Psychiatrist, said that many people suffer of “Cinderella Complex”, a syndrome where the person expect a almost magical solution of their problems, just by changing their appearance. She said: “Managing the Zerpa 2 expectation of the patient is very important. We don’t want to people think they are going to have a Cinderella effect, that their entire look is going to change their life, that they will get the job or get the man. This is never the reality”. The incentive is probably same as in Hollywood.
“Sometimes it’s ageism in the workplace,” says Dr. Wechsler. “A patient will come in and say, ‘I didn’t really think I’d be doing this yet, but my company is hiring all these twentysomethings. ’ This kind of social pressure is one of the factor that push people to have cosmetic procedures. (qtd. in Ball). But not only social pressure is the reason of addiction to plastic surgery, Also, Many of this patients who have more than one procedure suffer of a medical condition called Body Dysmorphic Disorder also know as BDD. According to Dr.
Sidney Coleman -a member of the board of New York plastic surgery committee- “Body Dysmorphic disorder affects man and women and manifest the preoccupation with an imaginary physical defect or a concern about a minimal defect”. He said: “This can lead the patient to a plastic surgeon or dermatologist in an attempt to try to change the perceive defect”. (qtd. in Pruit). “It’s more of a psychological issue than a physical addiction,” illustrate Canice E. Crerand, PhD, and psychologist in the division of plastic surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (qtd.in Stresing).
Concentrating upon the “defect” becomes an obsession and affects normal activities and responsibilities. As a matter of fact, studies suggests that as many as 33 percent of nose-job cases have symptoms of BDD. People who suffer of body dysmorphic disorder can spend hours every day trying to cover their unfavourable physical appearance using makeup, clothing, or accessories, or even attempting to do some form of do-it-yourself “surgery” to hide the feature. People with BDD also have unusually high suicide attempt rates.
Nevertheless no matter how many surgeries the patients had, they would be “rarely successful” because the patient will never be satisfied with the results of the procedure. This will happen over and over, becoming a cycle and an obsession for the person, who is looking for an unrealistic perfection that could never be achieve. Zerpa 3 As a consequence of repeated cosmetic procedures, patients could face really severe problems. One of this many problems is disfiguration.
For instance, Michael Jackson or Joan Rivers faces are almost unrecognizable, the amount of changes produced by several plastic surgeries has change their faces to the point that they are not themselves anymore. Another result of plastic surgery addiction is the lost of functionality in body parts who suffered the changes of this procedures. Faces who have suffered many procedures don’t look “normal” anymore and the skin is really thin and fragile. Also people who have multiples nasal surgeries can have problems breathing.
The reduction of the size of the nasal bone and orbit could lead in blocking the airways, causing difficulties in the breathing process. To conclude, plastic surgery is an alternative to correct congenital physical problems, problems caused by an accident or a small defect that affect people’s normal life. Society has pushed the boundaries of vanity to the limits and this affect on the minds of thousand of people who have insecurities about their body image, leading in the use of plastic surgery as an alternative to solve these problems. Social pressure for appear young and fresh is more a more high and difficult to face.
Many people who attend to plastic surgeons have a psychological problem and would never be satisfied with the results of the procedure. Also is important to point out the risk about the use and abuse of these procedures, disfiguration and lost of proper functionality of body parts are the most problematic effects that plastic surgery addiction can caused. Addiction to cosmetic surgery is a real problem and can cause devastating effects on people lives, and should be treated as a serious illness. Zerpa 4 Works Cited Ball, Aimee Lee. “Fighting Plastic Surgery Addiction”. Departures. Jan/Feb-?2012.
American Express Publishing Corporation. 1 May 2013 . Higuera VC. “Plastic surgery addiction-? a body image problem with our society. ” Yahoo Voices. 18 Aug. 2006. Yahoo! Web site. 1 May 2013 Medical Bag. ”Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A quest for perfection”. 24 Aug. 2012. The Medical bag. 1 May 2013 Stresing, Diana. “When Cosmetic Surgery Becomes And Addiction”. Everyday Health. 08 May. 2011. Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MPH. Everyday Health Media, LLC. 1 May 2013 Pruitt, Elana. “Cosmetic Surgery Addiction”. Plastic Surgery. 2007-? 2009. Plastic Surgery. com. 1 May 2013.