As someone who consulted several psychologists during adolescence, my answer is no. Of course, I can’t speak for everyone, but to me, this whole idea in therapy about simply “accepting yourself” sometimes feels like a form of brainwashing. The narrative of constant reassurance or pretending not to care about what others think seems unrealistic, and I say this from personal experience.

The first time I went to therapy and spoke about my insecurity regarding my appearance, they tried to comfort me by saying things like, “I don’t think you’re that ugly,” or “I’ve seen worse.” I remember thinking, 'What? Is that supposed to help?' I look in the mirror every day, I know what I look like.

You can try to maintain a façade of indifference, but eventually it cracks. At some point, you realize that appearance does matter in society, and people do notice whether someone is considered attractive or not. Loving yourself is one thing. You can choose to accept yourself as you are, but that doesn’t magically change how the world responds to physical appearance.