Friday, September 13, 2019

Social Media triggered Quasimodo syndrome

If you had heard about Quasimodo syndrome before raise your hands please ???

It is named after the Quasimodo character in Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," Quasimodo syndrome, or body dysphoric disorder, means people with Quasimodo syndrome always examine themselves in a mirror and find a new flaw every time.

I had a roomate who spend hours infront of mirror to check her nose ( but nothing is wrong with it )This syndrome generally emerges during puberty. Along with genetic predisposition, social norms and the beauty perceptions spread across social media are the triggering factors of the syndrome.

Too much time worrying

The basic sign of this syndrome is that the individual examines himself/herself too much and finds flaws in his/her image. These examinations that take so much time are especially focused on facial region. These people often knock on the door of plastic surgeons and dermatologists and get larger or smaller operations.

Being overly hesitant

People with the Quasimodo syndrome are always hesitant in subjects such as hair and clothing style and think that their imaginary flaws are recognised by everyone and they are ugly.  People with this syndrome say things like, "I am so ugly or my eyes, my nose, are ugly."

In the points when they have to make a decision about their lives, their self-perception as ugly creates low self-esteem and discourages them in many subjects. Besides, their obsession with beauty blocks their interest and perception in other areas of life.

Obsessive behaviours

Patients see their imaginary flaws which cannot be recognized by others as a serious handicap and deal with them continuously. Because of this perception, they show repetitive behaviours. For example, looking at a mirror, try to hide something or correct something, seeking approval for confidence and beauty are some of them.

While comparing their features with others in social media , their life quality gets spoiled in time. They become introverted and do not want to go out. The only thing that they do becomes to correct their flaws. In the advanced cases, they can have a desire to end their lives.




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