For many of us, checking out our reflection in the mirror is a regular daily occurrence.
Still, for some people, mirrors have become troublesome to the point of causing stress.
TheDaily Mailreported that staring in the mirror can eventually induceanxietyin even seemingly happy individuals.
So what can we do to prevent our looks from stressing us out?
Likewise, the write-up added that people tend to focus on what they don’t like about themselves.
According toWebMD, you could be influencing yourself with damaging feedback without even realizing it.
The Guardianreported that bloggers experimenting with mirror fasts found themselves becoming less critical.
She has now made mirror fasting an annual ritual.
Elizabeth Kiefer, who wrote about her own mirror fasting experiment viaMarie Claire, had an equally positive experience.
But as the experiment progressed, the writer eventually had an epiphany duringyoga class.
This realization came while she was creating a video diary for “The Today Show.”
According to the outlet, broadcasting media wasn’t too thrilled by the idea.
Likewise, psychologist Andrew Hill suggested that extended periods of gazing at your reflection might not be beneficial.
Finally, the outlet said that it’s important to understand what triggers an unfavorable reaction.
According toresearch by Marquette University, women are much more likely to be overly self-critical than men.
So what can we do to stop ourselves from being our own worst critics?
According to Lauren Martin viaElite Daily, not looking in the mirror could lead to more happiness.
Eventually, she stopped looking in the mirror and made it a point to avoid catching glimpses of herself.
The writer stated that this extreme reaction ultimately helped her, stopping her fears instead of fueling them.
However, others might view the concept as a relaxing break.
According toOprah.com, Valerie Monroe decided to conduct the experiment over a long weekend.
“It gave me a lot of serenity,” said the aforementioned blogger Autumn Whitefield-Madrano.
This self-recognition plays a role in cognitive development.
Reflections can also help when it comes to perspective.
For a week, Parker experimented with not looking in a mirror, avoiding accidental glimpses of her reflection.
During the experiment, Parker experienced a heightened sense of insecurity and purposely avoided seeing other people.
After that, Parker found herself checking out her reflection a few more times.
As the experiment continued, she realized that she had started to miss seeing herself.
