Scrolling into DYSMORPHIA

We're living in the most comfortable era in human history. We have longer life expectancy, more freedom, better technology and ready access to soya, oat, almond, rice and coconut milk. But are we happier? Not really.

- By Eleanor le Riche

Global surveys show that levels of anxiety and dissatisfaction are on the rise, especially among women in their 30s and 40s — the demographic most likely to juggle work, relationships, family and the never-ending quest for self-optimisation.

‘I always say that as human beings, we're like doughnuts,’ says psychologist Dr Jeanie Cavé. (I’m not really sure where she’s going with this, but as always, I trust that in the end it’ll all make sense.) ‘There’s a hole in the middle: an emptiness that’s part of the human condition.’

It’s a comforting thought, if you think about a doughnut: The hole isn’t a flaw; it’s a feature. It’s what makes a doughnut a doughnut.

‘The problem,’ Dr Cavé says, ‘is that we think this emptiness is unique to us. We believe everyone else feels whole, because we cannot access their internal world.’

SHRUNKEN PERSPECTIVE

You've probably come across the term ‘life dysmorphia’ while doomscrolling TikTok at 1am, when you really should’ve been asleep. And although it isn’t necessarily a new ‘feeling’, it is something that seems to be felt by more and more women of late. It’s the obsessive, almost compulsive focus on perceived flaws in our own lives.

‘Think of someone with body dysmorphia who believes their nose is too big. They spend hours examining it, trying to “fix” it, but never feel any relief,’ Dr Cavé says.

‘When this same process applies to life itself, it’s life dysmorphia. You start fixating on particular aspects of your life (your job, your relationship, your success), and the more you focus on correcting them, the more distorted they appear. The cycle tightens and perspective shrinks.’