Looking at the Mirror Every Time

[DylanRowan]

Before doing anything at the restroom, I look at the mirror. I pass through my house's bathroom, I look at the mirror. I am at my mother's room, I look at the mirror. I don't know why I feel like I have to do this every time. Maybe I have some particular thoughts about it. It's hard to describe. I look at the mirro and start to feel a little weird. So, has anyone felt the necessity to look at the mirror everytime? Do you think it is an anxiety problem?

 

[Alexa]

Do you just look? Some people constantly check their makeup or criticize themselves. My mother would obsessively pluck her eyebrows every time she passed by a mirror.

 

[kgord]

I am a big mirror looker too. I even will look in people's side mirrors on their cars if no one is around. I don't know if it is an obession, but it is probably excessive self interest. We all are interested in how we look but some of us can not pass a mirror without staring at our image. I think it is just excessive self focus. Maybe I should force myself to pass them buy sometimes. I don't look any different than I did 5 minutes ago!

 

[DylanRowan]

Do you just look? Some people constantly check their makeup or criticize themselves. My mother would obsessively pluck her eyebrows every time she passed by a mirror.

Well, I am mostly start looking at my face and checking if its clean or anything. I also sometimes just putting my hands on my hair and start shaking it or something. If I have to think of something, I look at the mirror. Not sure exactly what am I thinking when doing it, but I just do it. I feel the need to do it.

 

[Sue]

I am too. I have to look at the mirror everytime that I go by it. In the morning before I go to work it is really bad. I looked in the mirror 10-12 times just to make sure that I look okay, that my hair is okay, that my face looks today. I will look before I am ready to head out the door and then I will get to the door turn around and go back and look at the mirror one last time.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I used to do this a lot before but I think that I have overcome it... And I'm not even sure how I made it. But I think that one of the main things that you should ask to yourself is, what do you stare at when you are looking to yourself at the mirror? It's a quick check to your hair, or maybe something else? You should start from there to see what's really going on with that aspect, I guess. 

 

[explorerX7]

I would say that this habit is an addiction problem. Most people will only resort to this behaviour if a mirror is available but you wont find them walking around with a mirror.This is a habit that has been prevalent for many years ago. I have noticed that many of those movies involving teenagers in the late fifties had these teens frequently looking in the mirror to fix the hair and appearance.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

There was a time when I totally forgot to look into the mirror for a whole month. When I finally had a good look, I was appalled. I looked like I have just come out of the jungle. So now I look closely at my face in the mirror at least once a day. That's the way I make sure that I don't have nose hairs sticking out and that I have shaved cleanly.

 

[Ania]

I think looking yourself in the mirror is completely normal   Most people do it, sometimes they don't even mean to.  There is  not a problem unless you find yourself looking yourself in the mirror and always finding something to criticize about you: the harsher the worst.  Unless that is your case... I'd say what you do now is completely normal

 

[Panic57]

Nope, I avoid mirrors and my reflection like the plague unless I'm in the bathroom.  I grew up being teased by my mom and sister that I was vain becasue I was born the year of the snake.  So I made it a practice to never look in the mirror unless I needed to. As I hit puberty, I got fat and looked even less becasue it would depress me.  Even now, I know I don't like what I'll see in the mirror so I don't make it a habit to look except when I'm getting ready.

 

[sidney]

I think that's pretty normal. My friend and I do that all the time. I think people just mostly want to ensure that they look good especially if they're gay, metrosexual, or female, so I don't think you're weird for doing that.

 

[hades_leae]

You don't have to see that as negative, if you want to look at yourself then look. It can get obsessive if you're just obsessed with looking at yourself. Looking into a ,mirror that is next to you wen you enter a bathroom is just not unlikely. 


I think you should see it as okay because there is nothing wrong with that. Now there are people who carry small mirrors with them who are always looking in it, now that's excessive.

 

[WorkAtHomeGal]

I find that when I am in a public place or even visiting family that I will stop and make sure I look okay. I guess now it is just habit really. I am starting to care less what others think of me and how I should look though. But I get weird if I see my hair misplaced or other strange things and will fix them while in front of a mirror.

 

[Choochoo]

I used to do this when I was a kid and it was irritate the adults a lot because I turned on the light each time to check the mirror. I do think it was part of an anxiety problem for me even back then. I think looking regularly provided me for some comfort for something that I'm sure was bothering me in my subconscious. Nowadays I hardly look at all but I think it may just be a phase and I may start looking regularly again.

 

[Jasmin Cottontail]

I do look at the mirror oftentimes, whenever I go to the bathroom or the bedroom. Perhaps because I always want to look good that I tend to check on how I look each time I pass a mirror. I think this is just common for most people. I even know some guys that does the same and their reasons is either it is just a hobby or they also like to look good at all times.

 

[Aree Wongwanlee]

Do you have a mirror where you can look at yourself when you talk to someone on the phone? This is a techniques use by some telemarketing companies. Apparently, it helps a person to sound more friendly when he is looking at a mirror when he is on the phone. It's like he can see himself talking and smiling. That, somehow, is passed through the call to the other end.

 

[DDNatureLover]

Do you have a mirror where you can look at yourself when you talk to someone on the phone? This is a techniques use by some telemarketing companies. Apparently, it helps a person to sound more friendly when he is looking at a mirror when he is on the phone. It's like he can see himself talking and smiling. That, somehow, is passed through the call to the other end.

I was going to post that I no longer look in the mirror that often, but then I read Aree's post, and realized I'm sitting here with a mirror just next to me on the desktop, and I look in it quite a bit. I don't always use it to look at myself, but I have used that trick when I've been doing tasks online and interacting with others. I do sometimes need the reminder to lighten up and smile, and having the mirror handy definitely helps.


Back when I was working and socializing a lot more, I would check my appearance quite a bit. It wasn't that I was vain, but more that I was concerned about having a stain, my collar turned up instead of down, my hair being messed up, being covered with cat hair, etc.


These days, I sometimes forget to even check my appearance before I leave the house, and will have to remind myself to do so when I get in the car. I think in some cases, this type of behavior is just a habit that can be minimized through awareness, but of course in other cases, it could be a compulsion that needs to be addressed in therapy. 


The reason I keep the mirror on the desk is so that I can do tasks online while watching television, because the TV is behind me. 

 

[oportosanto]

I don't look at the mirror that often and that is fortunate because many times my hair is a mess haha. So basically I look at the mirror in the morning before leaving the house, I comb my hair and that's it, no more of me until I return home basically.

 

[tomorrow]

I am a big mirror looker too and seen many people doing that quite often.  So I think it is not quite unusual if you do it sometimes.  It may turn an issue if it is out of your control and do this without any reasons.  May be you are overly self conscious and want to ensure that you look perfect every time.


 I think as in the other cases you can keep a diary of your interaction with mirror.  Take a note of it and write whatever you feel about it, try to find out why you look at mirror each time.  Then review it to find out why you are doing this.  But I must say that in most of the cases it is not an issue but human nature to take care of our appearance.  It can greatly increase your confidence level.