Anxious over the physical effects of ageing? Here's how to embrace the passing years
Mental health experts said that it is normal to fret over the occasional grey hair or wrinkle, but warned against becoming obsessive about one's evolving appearance as the years roll by.
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When my new byline photo was published two months ago, I was taken aback by how different I looked compared to my first portrait shot taken at this same workplace some eight years ago.
The hair, skin, weight … I’m still cringing too much to be able to pen down my thoughts in detail. But suffice it to say that the photo is a stark reminder of the physical changes we all go through as the years roll by.
Some friends even jokingly compared me to a fairly well-known public figure who turns 70 this year, while I'm 34. To be fair, it was more a commentary about my choice of hairstyle and glasses. And I genuinely find it hilarious, too, even as I'm writing this now.
Still, it would have been nicer to be compared to a younger, bespectacled and curly-haired public figure. Like a youthful Harry Potter.
For instance, it is unhealthy if a person becomes so obsessed with exercising that it takes away time from socialising with his or her loved ones.
Or when it comes to fighting the physical signs of ageing, a person may start off with topical products, followed by non-invasive laser procedure, and then move to a surgical facelift, hoping that each step would help them to regain wrinkle-free skin.
“After the facelift, she now becomes aware that she might need a tummy tuck and the compulsive need to perfect the body does not have an end.”
Dr Tsao also brought up body dysmorphic disorder, a mental condition where a person spends excessive time worrying about flaws in their appearance that even people around them do not notice.
She noted that this typically affects young people more than older people.
“Although there isn’t a disorder that describes how a person’s functioning is impaired by his or her negative thoughts or feelings about the ageing process, the characteristics of body dysmorphic disorder is probably the closest to the phenomenon that we are describing here.”
