Complex by the physical: 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 complexes by physique is long, as are the features of our physical appearance that we can worry about and obsess, complexes that despite the fact that we place them in our physique on many occasions are in the look we have on ourselves themselves.

Whether based on something real or imagined, complexes are often 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 find out what complexes are by physics, how they arise and how to manage them.

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What are complexes for the physical?

We can say that the complexes by the physical 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 how our body is that makes us see it in a way that does not have to correspond to how it is in reality.

The list of complexes by physique is practically endless, as is the list of parts of our body that we can be uncomfortable with. Among the most frequent complexes we have those related to weight, height, hair, muscles, chest size, wrinkles, scars, stretch marks, tooth color and shape, freckles, acne, nose shape, eye color and body silhouette 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. Complexes due to the physical are something that we have all experienced in our flesh and that cause us different levels of psychological discomfort and emotional, motivating us to do certain things to change them, such as dyeing our hair to hide gray hair or exercising to lose weight. weight.

In many cases, the perception of a physical trait seen as "defective" is distorted, that is, the person with the complex does not perceive in a way. Objectives that body part and, in addition, can begin to obsess over this feature, seeing it increasingly deformed and removed from how it is. Really. In other cases, the physical characteristic is not appreciated in any distorted way and there really is some kind of "defect" (p. g., congenital deformity) but the worry and anxiety associated with that part is so excessive that it greatly limits the life of 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. An example of this we have in summer, when people wear clothes that show 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 silhouette, either by being overweight or underweight, in addition to some complexes related to the skin such as stretch marks, body hair, spots on the skin...

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Causes of complexes with one's own body

The complexes by the physical 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 by taking as a reference our strengths and weaknesses as well as our way of being in the physical, psychological, social and emotional. All these aspects not only make us form an image of who we are, but also give us value as people.

If we consider that many aspects of our self-concept are "bad" they will make us see ourselves as worthless people, negatively affecting our self-esteem. Considering this, physical complexes would be nothing more than physical features to which we have attributed a negative meaning but that 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 themselves, our physical features are neither good nor bad, unless they involve some kind 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 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 this type of humiliation 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 we were told when we were little and starting to make us obsess over the part of the body that was subjected to derision.

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 marks 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.

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2. Obsessing over specific parts

Our body is not an amalgam of different disconnected 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 badly. we feel, ignoring the rest of the good things and forgetting that the body is a whole, a structure with proportions that give it beauty.

Looking at each of our body parts and understanding them as highly differentiated particularities contributes to suffering from complexes due to the physique. We give importance to each of these parts separately, especially those with which we are not comfortable at all, distorting the perception of our own body.

So that we understand: imagine a person obsessed with her hairline, afraid of going bald. Every time you go to see yourself in the mirror, instead of looking at your whole body or, at the very least, on your face, your gaze goes directly to where the hair begins. She looks at him and looks at him, ignoring that she has a beautiful nose, interesting eyes, and sensual mouth that make his face very attractive.

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3. Not feeling valued enough

As we said, the complexes for the physical and self-esteem are closely related, with the self-concept that acts as a bridge between both. People who have grown up in environments where there has been no love or affection can have a very negative self-concept, thinking that they are not worth as human beings and this causes all kinds of concern to appear about how they are both physically and psychological.

Believing that their parents did not give them love because they did not deserve it, many people start looking for all kinds of "defects" that justify this fact, even if they are exaggerated and unreal. Insecurity and lack of confidence are two very common attitudes in people whose complexes were formed this way.

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4. Obsession for canons of beauty

While canons of beauty have been evolving in recent years, progressing into ones that are not so surreal, there is still a lot of work to be done. Today many people have internalized a highly 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 that person you want to be, many frustrations arise, as well as great anguish and discomfort. Pursuing an impossible ideal of beauty will bring with it feelings of dissatisfaction and lack of acceptance of the own body, giving rise to physical complexes.

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Body dysmorphic disorder

A psychopathological condition closely related to complexes by the physical is the body dysmorphic disorder. Also called as 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 faintly visible to others, but the person feels self-conscious about them lives them with great anguish, leading to compulsive behaviors to calm anxiety associated.

In many cases, the physical complexes that make these people uncomfortable are imaginary defects, while in the cases in which there really is some physically "negative" feature, these patients give it too much importance, living 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 severe variants. There do not appear to be gender differences and it has been described worldwide with prevalences of around 2% in general population samples. Two out of three cases have their origins in the adolescence of the patient and it is believed that many of the patients who attend dermatological and plastic surgery consultations meet 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 know this disorder well. psychological, detecting it in their patients and referring them to the consultation of a psychologist or psychiatrist before intervening surgically.

Referral is very important for this type of patient since, although those who suffer 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 through the surgeon's table again. Since their problem is in how they look at themselves and not in what their body is like, no surgical operation is going to satisfy them.

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How to manage the 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 more, accepting the philosophy that we have to see ourselves in the mirror and accept ourselves as we are just because.

There are several ways to manage the complexes, although these are mainly summarized in receiving help psychological, intervene surgically when necessary and, if possible and healthy, change it for our own account.

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 in the mental health of the patient. An example of this is found in cancer survivors who have had part of their breast tissue removed, leaving them without a breast. In your specific case, reconstructive surgery can imply a notable improvement in your self-concept and self-esteem, recovering something that the cancer took away from you.

Another example we have in many people who are overweight. No one should be attacked for their physical condition, and the only real motivation there should be to exercise is be fit and healthy, however it is a sad fact that many people consider "fat" people worth less.

In case of being 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 the physical state of health but also the degree of acceptance with one's own body.

Whatever the physical complex, what caused it, its severity and if it is modifiable, psychological therapy is an avenue that should never be ruled out. The psychotherapy it can help us to relate in another way with our body and change our gaze, stopping focusing on that "Bad" that we believe we have and value everything good, both physical and psychological, which is undoubtedly part of our be.

People who have many physical complexes are used to "running away from themselves", to not accept who they are and see themselves as less valuable than the people with whom they interact every day. They try to avoid looking in the mirror or, if they do, they focus almost exclusively on what they think is obsessively wrong.

The goal 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 your physical appearance is like and, if possible, do what is necessary to remove it.