Snow White syndrome: "mirror, mirror..."

We live in a society in which one of the attributes that is most valued is the physical appearance. Many women (and also some men) are not able to accept the appearance of the first wrinkles, and try to hide their age.

With the passage of time age leaves its mark, and the unhappiness becomes greater and greater for them, since they cannot bear to see how their physical appearance is changing. After 40, they leave behind that characteristic beauty of their youth and frustration and anxiety appear.

Snow White Syndrome: what is it?

In our article “Peter Pan and Wendy Syndrome: Stuck in Neverland"We are talking about two disorders that have the origin of their name in two characters from Disney. In this article, we are going to expose the characteristics of the Snow White Syndrome.

The Snow White Syndrome refers to the distortion of the image that a person has of himself with respect to youth, her beauty or characteristic qualities of this stage of life, and the envy that the person feels towards younger people and that she considers to be more attractive of her.

Betsy Cohen, an American psychotherapist, coined the term in one of her books. Although this disorder is not part of the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), psychologists pay more and more attention to its symptoms, which usually appear in many women when they are over 40 years of age.

Although this syndrome is more common in women, some cases have also been reported in men.

The Snow White Syndrome: insecurity and envy

The name of this syndrome is inspired by the Queen Grimhilde, Snow White's evil stepmother. She can't stand that there is another person prettier than her, and she feels great envy for the young and beautiful Snow White. The wicked and vain stepmother asks Humbert, a hunter, to end the life of her stepdaughter and bring him her heart.

Since Humbert refuses to kill her, Queen Grimhilde disguises herself as an old woman and goes in search of Snow White, only to kill her herself with a poisoned apple. The envy that Queen Grimahalde feels makes her not only want to kill an enemy, but her goal is to end the life of a relative.

The person suffering from this disorder, like the Disney character, feel insecure about their own image and has fear of old age, unless it is looked at as before, and does not accept the physical consequences of the passing of the years. This insecurity causes him to feel envy towards young and attractive people and may even attack emotionally (in some cases it can be physically), with constant humiliation, to the person who is the object of his envy.

Many of these cases occur between mother and daughter, but it can also occur between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, between sisters, between friends and at work. The great frustration felt by the person affected by the Snow White Syndrome negatively affects her well-being and causes depression and anxiety.

Some consequences of the low tolerance to aging make him a person obsessed with his physical image, being able to undergo cosmetic surgery to continue looking young. Despite his age, wants to remain a “20-something” and dresses as if she is still in her early 20s. In addition, she tries to have many relationships with men to feel young, beautiful and desired.

Symptoms of Snow White Syndrome

Below we expose the symptoms that a person suffering from Snow White Syndrome manifests:

• Anxiety and depression for do not accept the fear of aging.
• Envy and competitive eagerness before younger and more beautiful women.
• Obsession with health and physical beauty.
• Frequent flirtations with men (mostly younger) due to the constant search for approval of their physical appearance.
• fear of being single and search for a new partner after the sentimental breakup.
• Envy towards women who lead a satisfactory life as a couple.
• distortion of selfconcept and low self-esteem.
• Obsession to maintain the appearance of youth, reaching cosmetic surgery in many cases.
• Sadness when remembering the lost youth and for the qualities of that age that are believed already lost.

How to overcome the Snow White Syndrome?

The irrational beliefs due to the social pressure these people feel can cause these women (and some men) to need psychological help. To get out of this situation, it is necessary to work on self-knowledge, self-acceptance and self-concept improvement to reduce anxiety symptoms. Changing dysfunctional beliefs is necessary to regain well-being and reduce frustration.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, mindfulness wave emotional intelligence, may be effective forms of therapy for the treatment of this syndrome.