Appearance

Karin

Does appearance affect your mood or does mood drive appearance?

AliEm14

Both!

when I am doing something I love, when I feel good about my work in the world, I tend to feel more positively about my appearance because I feel better about myself in general. I also know when I'm having a rough day, spending time on my hair and makeup and putting together an outfit makes me feel better.

I used to care a lot about my hair, and that was a huge thing for me, which I'm slowly beginning to unravel that thought pattern and where it comes from. A lot of beauty standards I find myself asking who benefits from me believing this (usually the answer is companies who can make money off of me feeling bad about myself and therefore buying the product they are selling me to fix said flaw). A lot of our beauty standards are also very euro-centric, and are influenced by things like privilege and status, which I find interesting.

I love a good glam day, and there are days when not feeling confident in how I look definitely relates to my mood, but ultimately the thing I keep coming back to is if something makes me feel good because it feels authentic to me or if its because its what I've been told to subscribe to. That's the question that makes all the difference for me.

Berriosa1234

this is a great question, i think similar to the above comment, i think if im feeling good with what im doing in my community my appearance seems to not matter. alot of times when i get a nice haircut and good shave i def feel good. but when i struggle with my mood my appearance starts to let go. but i guess its to be expected at times.

Dom

For me personally my apperance affects my mood. I have the luxary of working from home so I don't have to dress nice and if I wanted to I can spend the entire day in my pjs! However, I feel more productive and in the mind set to do work when I get dressed and ready for the day. Sometimes when I am feeling really down and can't seem to get things done or focus, I will clean the house and then get dressed up as if I was going into the office. There is something about dressing the part that helps me "get in the zone" and get motivated.

On the other hand, I have days where I am just not feeling it and I want to be comfortable/cozy in sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt and I still get work done. So I guess it depends on the day for me and just how bad my mood is, haha.

Ldybug97

I would have to say bot. It is as simple as going to the hair salon. Even if I am not feeling well, if my hair is done it gives me a boost in confidence. When my mood is good, I am motivated to come out of my sweatpants and be an active participant in society

TServold

I say all the time "Look good, feel good".

Karin

I really think they are related and it is only when you are truly feeling bad emotionally or mentally that you lose interest in your appearance- even in the hospital I noticed it made a difference in my recovery if I had a nice outfit vs wearing the hospital gowns…

TServold

I agree they are related. I felt like a million bucks once I could take a shower after transplant. I knew I was feeling "good" but it had been days since a proper shower, and as soon as that central line came out I was practically running for the shower.

I also think on days when I wake up just not "feeling it" when I get dressed in nice clothes, do my hair and makeup I feel much better and have a better day.