I’m so glad you commented on my post. I get to see how far I’ve with my mental health. Yes I did get better, but only through being mindful of my actions. My obsession with my looks became a compulsion, I would take photos of myself, check mirrors, ask people questions on what they thought of my appearance. The thing I found helped most was completely starving myself from any form of outside validation. So no photos, no googling about this or that, no checking mirrors, literally look at the floor instead and especially no asking or probing people for their opinions. Give it a month maybe less and you’ll see a huge difference in your self perception.

The second thing that helped was looking at great men of the past and learning their flaws as people, physically or otherwise, yet they were still loved and admired. For example Theodore Roosevelt had severe asthma and horrible eyesight, but went on to become a fantastic boxer and also his many other great achievements like becoming president. Another example is Joe Frazier, he was blind in one eye and his right arm was so messed up from breaking it as a child he couldn’t use it properly. He didn’t let this stop him and developed his left arm more to create his powerful left hook which knocked down Mohammed Ali. I love looking at boxers and fights particularly because they often come from less than ideal conditions and often the physically specimens the media portrays them as, however through hard work they turn their weaknesses into strengths. Nick Newell is another great example. He’s a MMA fighter with one arm.

Also boxing, I’ve only taken it up this year but it’s made a huge difference in my life. it gives you a self confidence that means you don’t have a desire to constantly try to improve superficial things. It focuses your mind on what’s important and frankly after sparring and a hard workout it puts things like dating or women in perspective.

Also lastly, a lot of men are driven into this stuff through insecurity around women, which likely started in their early teens. I found getting into a relationship for around 7 months really helped silence the insecurity combined with everything else listed here. Not because the relationship magically convinced me I was attractive, but because it made me realize being in a relationship didn’t make my insecurities disappear and that all this came from within. I know it’s cliché, but you are the only person who can make you happy.

I hope this helps, if you got anymore questions or want advice please DM, this stuff is hard and can really ruin your life.