Is it normal that i think i look different from what i see in mirror?

It's like in my mind, the way I look is different from the way my body and face look in reality. My "inner self-image" isn't more beautiful than real me, or thinner, or whatever. In short, it's not an improved version of real me. It's different. Another kind of facial structure, a different height, a body type unlike my own. The hair color is also different, though not by much. There are some similarities, too, but still.

It's been like this since childhood. I always avoided having my pictures taken or even looking in the mirror, because each time I see my real actual face I get a sort of unpleasant jolt, a reminder of "this is how I really look like", which feels odd, disconnected. As if my real looks are somehow wrong, not my own. Like I'm in someone else's body. "This isn't me", I can't help thinking, though at the same I of course realize this is my physical body.
In the course of my job, I had to take some glamorous studio photos, lots of makeup and photoshop, I looked very pretty, but it didn't help. It still felt wrong, "not me".

It's like... imagine you are dressed in some clothes different from what you normally wear, and you forget about it and then catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and feel suddenly uncomfortable, unlike yourself. Only I feel like this about my actual looks.

Voting Results
68% Normal
Based on 62 votes (42 yes)
Help us keep this site organized and clean. Thanks!
[ Report Post ]
Comments ( 8 )
  • SUPERKAMEGURUJUNGLE

    "A mirror reflects of what is on the outside,it captures the face that everyone else sees,yet it doesn't catch the real you,only you can see your own true beauty,and if you let others come close enough they will see it as well!" I wrote that for my poetry assignment in 3rd grade.I'm kind of short (I always have been) so I couldn't really see what I looked like so I always assumed what I looked like and in 3rd grade I was finally tall enough to see myself in the mirror,and honestly....It didn't feel like it was me!My hair was lighter,I had a lot more freckles,and my face looked totally different.And I guess that's what I had to write about.
    And my poem was the best out of all of my class!!! :D

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • icecubenation

    I'm exactly the same. I think have some character in our heads which is different. Sometimes I have looked in the mirror for about an hour. It was like I was looking at somebody else, I wasn't really summing myself up but I feel disconnected with the way I look. I'm not unattractive or anything and its nothing physical but I have gone to look in the mirror and been like, "Oh. That's what I look like."

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • Ms.Caffinated

    I know what you mean, but i have trouble with remembering what i look like, I imagine myself like a cartoon character lol if someone told me to draw myself I'd pull a blank.. I'm getting better with it though, i have better self esteem and Mirror EVERYWHERE so I am starting to imagine myself as a real human, and i know my facial expressions now.... Maybe Thats what you look like in a PAST life!!!!! You should look up people that died before you were born and see if you find your self! lol that could be entertaining -or horrifying lmao-

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • RedAlice

    I'm not sure if I'm supposed to answer in comments but no, neither anorexic, nor overweight. My "inner" body isn't thinner than my actual body, it's just built a bit differently - wider shoulders, smaller chest.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • xino00

    anorexic?

    Comment Hidden ( show )
  • dappled

    When you look in a mirror, you can only look at yourself from one angle. Your self-image is based on this limited information. It's why we tend to not think photographs of us actually do look like us. The sad truth is that they do. Very few people are as attractive as they think they are.

    Comment Hidden ( show )
      -
    • Penguin_pie

      Thats not true. Sometimes in pictures because of lighting/baq quality/flash, features can look different or exagerated because of shadows. Ive seen girls who look like they have big noses in pics but in real life they didnt...shadows can do a lot.

      Comment Hidden ( show )
  • serialpostser

    I totally get you but I tend to think that the mirror Im looking myself in is just not made right ,like it has some reflection defects that dont make me look like I am supposed to ( plz excuse any spelling mistakes I might have made english is not my first language )

    Comment Hidden ( show )