PERFECTLY IMPERFECT: Celebrities who struggle with body dysmorphia

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We may think they are gorgeous, but many celebrities actually suffer from body dysmorphia. They don’t love what everyone else seems to love about them.

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Body dysmorphia is a mental health disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation with one’s perceived flaws and a distorted body image.

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In today’s digital age, social media platforms have become sources where societal norms are shaped and perceptions of beauty are influenced.

But it’s understandable in the world of Hollywood, where appearances are everything, that body dysmorphia would run rampant.

These are the celebrities who have bravely and frankly spoke about the condition.

Megan Fox

The actress posed for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, in which she admitted to having body dysmorphia.

“I don’t ever see myself really the way other people see me,” Fox admitted.

“There is never a point in my life where I loved my body. Never, ever.”

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The Transformers star noted that accepting herself as beautiful is something she has always struggled with.

“The journey of loving myself is going to be never-ending, I think.”

Billie Eilish

The singer has been open about her body image issues and what it was like for her when younger, when she used to be a dancer.

“At dance, you wear really tiny clothes. And I’ve never felt comfortable in really tiny clothes,” she told Rolling Stone.

“I was always worried about my appearance,” Eilish continued. “That was the peak of my body dysmorphia. I couldn’t look in the mirror at all.”

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Jameela Jamil

Similarly, the Good Place actress also doesn’t like looking in a mirror and she claims she only looks in one to put on and remove her eyeliner.

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“I suffer from body dysmorphia, so it can be very distracting for me,” she admitted.

Jamil revealed that at the age of 14, she was weighed in front of her classmates – which would arguably be traumatic for anyone – and has dealt with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia for years.

“I was really unhappy, and I think it contributed to my ability to have an eating disorder for so long, because there was no one kind of monitoring me,” she told People.

“I had no one to turn to with my sadness and bad feelings, so I just had a really rough time as a teenager.”

Sebastian Stan

While preparing to transform into rocker Tommy Lee for the series Pam & Tommy, the Marvel star struggled most with the physical aspect.

“It was always difficult because I just wasn’t the same frame as him,” the actor said, revealing how long he fasted to drop the significant amount of weight.

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“I was trying to lose weight and I still felt I didn’t lose enough weight,” he said. “And people were telling me I was crazy and going, ‘You have body dysmorphia now’ — which I always did anyway.”

Lili Reinhart

The Riverdale star has always been open about her body dysmorphia, and while on stage speaking at Glamour’s 2018 Women of the Year event, she spoke about how she would examine her body “constantly” in the mirror, and see a different version of herself every time.

“How can my body look so different over the course of one day, and why do I feel like I need to apologize to the world for my ever-changing self?” Lili asked.

She said she wanted to make sure people were aware of these learned behaviours and insecurities, and that the way to change a person’s conditioning is to show “what’s real with no filter, and certainly with no shame.”

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