However, some people may want to have more operations, feeling that they are not perfect enough, no matter how many operations they have had. We can mention that the most distinctive features of these people are to constantly consult different doctors, to think that they can always be better as they are, and to desire the feeling of positive change that comes after the operation. In such cases, it is possible to talk about plastic surgery addiction.
It is understood that the person is dependent on plastic surgery, with the feeling of psychological pressure as if he has to constantly change his external appearance. So why does a person become addicted to plastic surgery? Let’s look at the psychological and sociological reasons for this together.
Do not condemn people who are addicted to plastic surgery because one cause of addiction is body dysmorphic disorder.
Body dysmorphic disorder is considered a behavioral disorder in the fifth (DSM-5) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which defines various psychological disorders. Persons suffering from this condition; They may perceive themselves as inadequate, formless, weak, disgusting and very ugly. Although this is a very rare psychiatric condition seen in 1% and 2% of the general population, it has been revealed as a result of researches that it is seen 15 times more frequently in those who apply to plastic surgery. In short, this behavior disorder can be seen in people who frequently demand plastic surgery.
People with body dysmorphic disorder experience emotional difficulties because they see themselves as flawed even if there is no problem in their body in daily life. The reason for the incessant plastic surgeries that people have done is this psychology they are in. Of course, some people who experience this situation may have a congenital or acquired defect in their bodies.
These people are obsessed with a part of their body and think that that place is so ugly that these negative thoughts drive them to do something. These people constantly have to look in the mirror, compare their own personal characteristics, peel skin and seek security. Sometimes people even have crazy attempts to operate on themselves. In fact, these behaviors are a kind of obsessive-compulsive (repetitive thought and obsessive behavior shown accordingly) behavior type.
People who are dissatisfied with their bodies may not only be trying to fix their bodies by constantly having plastic surgery, but may also be trying to correct a negative perception about themselves.
According to psychologists; People who are dissatisfied with their bodies may actually be trying to correct their negative self-perceptions by changing their images with a surgical operation. In other words, since these people do not solve their psychological problems even if they have a surgical operation, we can say that their desire to have surgery and their actions towards this request will continue.
However, no matter how much they go under the knife, they may have a worse appearance than before and lose a lot of money in this way, as their continuous aesthetic demands and unrealistic expectations will not end. In this context, we can cite names such as Valeria Lukyanova, Nanette Hammond, Blondie Bennett, Heidi Montag, Dakota Rose, who had plastic surgery to look like Barbie.
In fact, Valeria Lukyanova participated in the White Show in 2013 and asked everyone during the show, “Is he from the world?” He looked confused, as if asking a question. Nanette Hammond, on the other hand, spent 2 million 368 thousand liras to look like Barbie, and she had her last surgery through her vagina, making her wonder if that’s enough.
Of course, our examples are not limited to women only. Rodrigo Alves, who went under the knife to look like Barbie’s girlfriend Ken, is a very popular example.
Another reason for his addiction is opioids (chemicals such as morphine).
It may sound interesting, but sometimes the abuse of chemical substances such as opioids can be encountered in people who have plastic surgery frequently. Since operations performed for cosmetic purposes are generally sluggish and painful, doctors may prescribe various addictive drugs to heal wounds and stop pain. Since the wounds take months to heal, these drugs can create a long-term use in the person. Thus, people who have both physical problems and emotionally weak people may be interested in plastic surgery in order to use these feel-good drugs more. As you can see, the situation is not encouraging at all.
Continuous plastic surgery is a great threat to health.
Having too many surgical operations; It can cause too many wounds in the body, blood clots, infections, and muscle deformation. Even the heart may stop during the operation due to too much anesthesia. Many doctors do not want to operate on people who have had multiple plastic surgeries because they know these risks.
Maybe all the operations and all the pain is because in today’s world just looking good is valued.
We live in a modern social structure and we can see that the body of the modern person is shaped around the ideal body perception. Today, image can mean ‘the only capital owned’ for a person. The body has turned into a consumer commodity within capitalism. If you ask how to explain this, discourses such as “size 0, thin waist, full chest, muscular body” aimed at aestheticizing the body; It can push people to more plastic surgeries in order to put their bodies into these molds. In other words, people get into the body molds liked by the society as plastic surgery and thus gain a reputation and respect.
But as with everything, there is an ever-changing understanding of what the body should look like. What we like today, we are in danger of not liking tomorrow. Because tastes and likes can always turn into new consumption habits. Changes in body likes and pleasures can cause people to be dissatisfied with their bodies.
In fact, this seems like a difficult cycle to get out of. Because what is popular today will be outdated tomorrow, people will constantly feel the pressure and need to consume more plastic surgery and change their bodies to catch up with the trend. More precisely, you can think of it as if the social meanings attributed to the body necessarily create this pressure for change in people who have a body that does not correspond to those meanings.
You may even have seen the Iranian Sahar Tabar on the news. She underwent multiple surgeries to look like Angelina Jolie, an actress that people admire and love. Do you think he really got the result he wanted? Also, was it worth the pain he inflicted on himself, what are your thoughts on this?
Editor’s Note: Plastic surgery is not only applied to beautify. There are types of this surgery, for example, reconstructive surgery works to correct all congenital or acquired deformities and dysfunctions. What I’m dealing with here is the cosmetic surgeries performed for purely cosmetic purposes and the problem of addiction to these surgeries.
Sources: Verywellmind, The Recovery Village, Addiction Center
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