It can cause depression, anxiety and stress symptoms.
Psychologists at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, UK, say that some people suffer from body dysmorphia phobia (BDD). Such patients strongly believe that certain body parts are unattractive and exaggerate these "flaws." But in the eyes of others, they may not be different from others in any way. Many people with BDD will put on heavy makeup or wear a lot of clothes to cover up their "flaws." At the same time, they will constantly look in the mirror to prevent "flaws" from being discovered.
To study the impact of looking in the mirror on these people, researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry recruited 25 patients with body dysmorphia phobia and 25 healthy people, half male and female, and asked them to undergo two tests. During the first test, the researchers asked them to look in the mirror for 25 seconds, and the second time for at least 10 minutes. Before and after both tests, volunteers filled out questionnaires that asked researchers to rate their satisfaction with their appearance.
Researchers previously hypothesized that looking in the mirror would make people with body dysmorphia phobia feel anxious, even for just 25 seconds. The test results confirmed this idea. However, what the researchers did not expect was that healthy volunteers began to develop symptoms of anxiety and stress after looking in the mirror for more than 10 minutes.