To a person with low self esteem, the mirror can be a really scary thing! This reflective glass has it’s uses however, it is very inaccurate at showing us who we really are or even really look like! Mainly because the images reflected onto their surfaces are generated by our often deeply flawed and corrupted ideas of ourselves, we tend to see on the outside what we think or feel about ourselves on the inside. There are many different kinds of mirrors, there is the “fat” mirror at the gym, the “skinny” mirror at TJ Max and the magnifying mirror in my bathroom…Why would I ever need 200x magnification? I can see the raging zit on my face just fine with the naked eye in the reflection of a storefront window! 200x would scare my cat away and have me Googling is it leprosy or plague! The best kinds of mirrors are the living breathing kind, usually dear friends and family however, be aware that sometimes even they can be seeing through their own damaged filter so follow your “gut” on a person to person basis on this one. Somebody who loves and respects you and empowers you with their words is a good mirror. Sometimes, it is in the eyes of a child or pet that you really see the truth of who you are. When my cat lays on my lap purring while I’m stroking her and looks up into my eyes and does a slow, sultry blink, she is telling me, Ilove you and I trust you with my whole body and life! Likewise, if I come up on her to quickly with my hand, while I’m distracted or thinking of something else, she will take her paw and push my hand away! She refuses to be an afterthought and knows when she’s being patronized! Sometimes the need for a healthy mirror becomes critical, as in the case of body dysmorphia disorder in which we obsess on a certain body part or parts convinced they are horribly wrong or deformed. I had this for many years before I read a book on it and pretty much diagnosed myself. Iwould keep trying to “fix” my outward appearance, convinced that I looked so ugly that I could never be succeed at my dream of acting! I did cosmetic surgery to try and “fix” stuff but it never helped for long because I felt dirty and bad on the inside due to years of childhood sexual abuse starting when I was only 3 years old. I still blamed myself and bore the shame of it all, resulting in an image of myself that was bad and wrong. I needed to get help with this by a professional and eventually even medication. Even suspecting that I had this disorder didn’t make it go away till I got help. I needed an accurate mirror to help me get my bearings before I could actually start to challenge the negative voices and heal. Sometimes, we just can’t do it alone, there is no shame in it!
Menu