How do you feel about mirrors?

[NeilM]

@Juliettaa
Since the term transgender has become too vague I refer to my gender identification as gender gifted or another term is gender fluid. Iow, if I have a tree that needs cutting I grab my chainsaw and take care of it. On the other hand, if I need curtains I sit down at the sewing machine and make them. If my tractor needs repair, I take care of it; and if I want a homemade apple pie, I prepare it. I have done all of these things. In dress, I usually wear unisex styles around the house (sweats or shorts and t-shirt). When I go out it is generally in male mode since that is what I am used to but sometimes I will go out in female mode.

Just because I was assigned male at birth (amab) does not mean anything is beyond or beneath me. I consider my gender to be somewhere between male and female altho I don't feel it is fixed. It can vary as the situation warrants.

 

[Aspychata]

Mirror means to me , nope you can not wear that to the gym, or you can not wear that out without causing unwanted attention. l like to dress with some curves. But l also can go straight to slob in a matter of seconds so the mirror has me working on my inner dialogue of l need to present somewhat of a together look at least for today, maybe not tomorrow!

 

[unperson]

No problemo Neil, wasn't offended nor nuffink anyway.

 

[Juliettaa]

Thank you @NeilM for your explanation. I have not heard the term you used re: gender gifted, so it's useful information for me.

 

[Pondering]

Sounds like depersonalisation to me.

I have no idea. All I know is that, for being innanimate objects, mirrors are disturbingly mysterious.

 

[Gracey]

I'd be curious about that too and knowing me re: impulse control, I'd have asked why she was doing it

My question was work related,
I had no desire to find out more about her psyche.
besides,
It was amusing in a freaky sort of way
I hadn't noticed anyone do that,
until that day

 

[Alexej]

I am neutral about mirrors. They are functional objects that I used when needed and that's it.

 

[leehart]

I despise mirrors and very rarely look in them.

 

[onlything]

I have no idea. All I know is that, for being innanimate objects, mirrors are disturbingly mysterious.

Fair enough.

Depersonalisation and derealisation belong to dissociative disorders. For me, the symptoms come and go similar to depression, especially in times of high stress.

For depersonalisation it can be, for example:
- feeling like you're only observing your thoughts or feelings, sometimes feeling like your body or some parts of the body are alien and don't belong to you, kind of like numb autopilot, things happen but you're just an observer; the body can feel strange or like something you're cut off from;
- you can loose or partially loose senses of touch or smell and need to pinch or poke yourself to ascertain it's real;
- as you said, you may be feeling profoundly detached from the person you see in the mirror and since it's quite unsettling you may try to avoid mirrors altogether;
- parts of your body may feel strange or distorted, or the head may feel heavy or like it's underwater;
- you may feel emotionally or physically numb and/or unable to respond to what is happening around you;
- your memories may feel like they hold no emotion or like they don't belong to you;
- something feels wrong.

In essence, you don't feel like yourself, your body, voice etc. are strange and you just go through motions at times.

For derealisation it can be, for example:
- feeling like nothing around you is real, like you're in a dream, in a movie, a bubble or behind a glass wall;
- things can [feel like they] have strange colours, either dulled or too bright like in a painting;
- you look at places or things that should be familiar but they only feel alien and wrong;
- things can be fuzzy or flat and two-dimensional, or artificial - or on the contrary, everything is disturbingly clear and bright;
- you may have emotional disconnection;
- you may have distorted feelings of time or memories - minutes can feel like hours and recent events like they happened years in the past;
- you may also have distorted awareness of distance, size, shape, for example, you hit yourself on the arm while passing doors despite being sure you were far from them, although the pain can be muted or nonexistent.

In essence, everything around you feels alien and wrong.

It's common for people to dissociate from time to time and normally should pass quickly. Sometimes it's doesn't and that's when it becomes a disorder.

An episode can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few months.

 

[WildCat]

I don't feel much of anything about them. It's a mirror.

 

[OrdinaryCitizen]

I feel good about mirrors, however when it comes to taking pictures i hate that, every camera i ever had i look so ugly, when i look in the mirror i look just fine.

I could be me lying to myself about how i look in the mirror, because there's days esp at the end of the day when i kind of hate how i look in the mirror too, but in the morning i usually look fine again.

 

[RtWalton]

I must “hop on the bandwagon“ and express my disliking of mirrors as well. The main issue I have with them though is more that they never provide an accurate depiction of reality, even the cleanest of them is distorted in one or more subtle but noticeable ways. It can often be frightening when I look into the mirror and expect to see myself, but instead see something that at first seems like me but soon clearly shows itself to be only something closely seeming like myself. I frankly hate that mirrors are so omnipresent in society despite all of the lies they tell.

 

[unperson]

It's the doppelganger effect.

 

[Aspychata]

What is disorienting is that different mirrors make you look different. My mirror at home is distorted because l will snap a shot to see if l am being honest about my food intake. But then l go to exercise class and look different in their mirror. Kinda of confusing.

 

[Vindicator Phoenix]

I like them.
They let me practice emotional expression.
I can see how I'll come across, when communicating.

 

[Ezra]

The guy in the mirror is always staring at me and copies what I do, so I don't like them. Although I must say he's incredibly good looking.

 

[Raggamuffin]

I have psoriasis - so a mirror can be a friend or enemy. On the weeks when I'm in between flare ups I enjoy using a mirror. When my face looks like a sunburnt coconut macaroon then I'm not such a fan of mirrors.

Ed

 

[PastelPetals]

I tend to like mirrors if there is only one big one in a room. Small mirrors make me uncomfortable they magnify too much. But a big mirror is good for seeing how outfits look. When I was younger I would practice facial expressions in mirrors so I guess that was useful as I know what muscle connects to what and it helps in conversations and having timely expressions. I have one full length mirror that is attached to a closet door so I can close it when I want and I like that.

 

[christopher.k]

my relationship to these creatures has changed I committed to my desire for glorious long hair over lockdown and now need them to make sure I've given it a good combing every day
but my self-esteem has dropped a bit and I hate looking at my face because it looks perpetually irritated
do its a love-hate relationship now I guess

 

[Moonhart44]

i am a anxious perosn so when there are a lot of mirrors i tend to pick at myself or stare obsessively