It’s two fold. Evaluation and comparison. You have to have both and they are happening all the time. You constantly under estimate or misrepresent your personal evaluation, and at the same time, you are unable to make an accurate comparison between yourself and others who have attributes you are trying to emulate. You will take these comparisons down to individual components rather than approaching it as a whole. You will also forget other factors like genetics or age as contributing factors in your flawed evaluations.
For me it was working out/getting bigger/size. I wouldn’t say, “That guy is bigger than me.”. I would say, “His arms are bigger than mine.” In spite of having a nearly 19″ bicep, I still felt small. Even comparing to close friends who also worked out, I could literally take out a tape, measure us both, and it still didn’t click. Fortunately for me it wasn’t an entirely negative comparison I was trying to make. For some, it becomes a matter of life and death, the never skinny enough mentality. It all stems from those two things however. A flawed self appraisal, and a flawed comparison to others, even in the face of data. Scales and tape measures don’t matter.
The science behind body dysmorphia is still being studied, but there is evidence to suggest that it is linked to biological, psychological, and social factors. Neuroimaging studies have shown that people with body dysmorphia have increased activity in certain brain regions associated with visual processing, self-reflection, and emotional processing. This suggests that body dysmorphia may be the result of a disconnect between how one perceives themselves and how others view them.
Additionally, psychological factors such as low self-esteem, perfectionism, and fear of rejection may play a role in the development of body dysmorphia. Social factors such as exposure to images of body ideals in the media may also be a contributing factor.
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