Posted by whiterabbit on April 21, 2003, at 10:32:40
In reply to Re: Age/appearance (long self-involved) » fayeroe, posted by leeran on April 19, 2003, at 16:27:37
I don't regret being my age (43) because I was just so damned miserable when I was younger. I've had bipolar symptoms and problems with self-esteem since my preteens that really started to snowball in my late 20s, avalanche by my late 30s,
crash and burn around 40. I look at pictures of myself when I was younger and am always surprised to see that I was outwardly attractive, because I didn't feel that way at all.Once you get to the mental ward, they pretty much strip away the need and all the tools to make yourself more attractive than others. Everybody was dressed alike in scrubs and slippers. They take away your makeup and your hair goo and anything else that you might try to swallow, which leaves you with toothpaste and deoderant and a bottle of I suppose non-toxic
soap/shampoo. This sort of brought all of us patients down to the same level and suddenly, you find yourself surrounded by people like yourself,
people in trouble, and you don't feel so much like the outsider.Here's an interesting note. I have high blood pressure that is barely kept under the lethal limit (140/90) most days, and frequently goes over despite HBP medication. Because of this, my blood pressure was monitered a couple of times a day while I was an in-patient. Each day, my BP
continued to fall until it reached a completely healthy range. I was astounded, but the nurse told me that actually this is not uncommon. Much of the external stressors have been removed from your life - job, kids, housework, even what to wear and what to eat.All this taught me a lesson. We as a society place way too much value on appearance. Owning designer sunglasses is just not the answer to happiness. Also, I decided to stop worrying so much about my weight and age and nice clothes and such, because it was my mind that so desperately needed the overhaul. I knew I had to work on that first.
Of course it's important to take care of your body and do the things that make you feel better about yourself, like makeup or whatever, but I no longer feel the need to obsess. I've come to realize that looking like one of the Miller Lite Catfight Girls is not a worthy goal - what you do with your LIFE is. You know that appearance can't mean much when you compare the late Princess Diana with Camilla Parker Bowels. And look at whatsherface, Wallace Warfield Simpson. These two unattractive women won the heart of kings (or almost-kings).
Beauty fades, that's a given. Your accomplishments do not.
-Gracie
poster:whiterabbit
thread:220364
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030421/msgs/221130.html