Yuku free message boards

Hi Mirrormirroronthewall:

Mirrormirroronthewall asks: "How does someone overcome being preoccupied with their appearence? Thinking parts of their body appear ugly? Obsessively checking themselves out in the mirror?"

Mirrormirroronthewall preoccupations with appearence can be overcome in a number of ways:

*Work with the preoccupation as you would any compulsive activity. Find the anxiety, overwhelm, or others emotions the preoccupation is covering over and either integrate or desensitize it. For example if you are preoccupied with a wart on your eyebrow, notice what feelings this preoccupation is distracting you from experiencing. These are your targets. Soon the unconscious defense evaporates as your emotional target loses it's intensity and duration.

*A preoccupation can also be viewed as a behavior. Example going to a mirror and eyeing a blemish are behaviors. This preoccupation can be addressed by doing any of our repatterning exercises such as the Pattern Tree, the Habit Cracker, or the Neural Repatterner. These processes address intentions, beliefs, awareness of the behavior, and emotional responses in altering a behavior's pattern.

*Targeting beliefs that lead up to the preoccupation with appearence. If the beliefs fit the descriptions of distorted beliefs in "Tips on Distorted Thinking" these beliefs can be challenged and changed or they can be belief processed. Often with preoccupations with body areas persons will be focusing on an area and negatively magnifying it. Couple belief change with integrator or exposure-desensitization methods. The emotional targets will be emotions that the preoccupation distracts us from.

Take care, Steve