Cosmetic Surgery and Self Identity

Why do people get cosmetic surgery? Is the trend increasing? How does this inform, enhance or distort our self-identity? With a special appearance by Dr Gemma Sharp (body image expert from Monash University), we delve into the world of Body Dysmorphic Disorder and explore exactly why Matt (and millions of others) went ‘under the knife’. In this conversation we slammed together two worlds: the founder Australia’s largest hair restoration surgery clinic – Mikko Myllymaki, and Dr Ben Buchanan – a clinical psychologist and academic who specialises in Body Dysmorphic Disorder. With mental health experts warning against the surging popularity of cosmetic surgery, and surgeons fighting to give the people what they demand, are these two worlds at war? Or do they rely on each other in the long run? Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/cTwzuGsfqRw ---------------------------------- MATT’S SURGERY https://www.instagram.com/gro.diary.matt DR BEN BUCHANAN https://foundationpsychology.com.au https://www.benbuchanan.com.au https://twitter.com/ben_buchanan DR GEMMA SHARP https://research.monash.edu/en/persons/gemma-sharp https://butterfly.org.au/chattokit GRO CLINICS https://groclinics.com.au https://www.facebook.com/GroClinics https://www.instagram.com/groclinics ---------------------------------- 00:39 Introduction of Dr Ben Buchanan and Mikko Myllymaki 01:05 Dr Gemma Sharp’s message from Monash University 01:37 Is cosmetic surgery ‘medically unnecessary’? 03:40 Psychological benefits from cosmetic surgery 05:03 Restorative surgery vs surgical enhancement 05:58 Denying the natural process of ageing 07:15 Cosmetic procedures don’t save lives but change lives 10:00 Diversify the sources of your identity and value 11:38 Surgery clinics incentivised to perform more surgery 17:12 Psychologists and cosmetic surgeons – enemies or colleagues? 17:52 Body Dysmorphic Disorder 19:50 Surgery will not solve BDD 23:10 Perverse incentives to enable BDD 25:20 Getting surgery for someone else 29:10 Psychological assessment for surgery 31:47 Braces and orthodontics are pervasive. Why not surgery? 34:05 The cost of hair transplants 35:52 Society’s shifting standards for the ideal look 38:09 The evolution of cosmetic surgery 39:10 Is our self-identity evolving to prioritise image and projections? 41:50 Social media is a tool to fulfil a human need 46:40 How much is your self-identity based on appearance? 48:00 Victoria Beckham 48:30 Good looks matter – and confer advantages 50:40 Introverts, extroverts and their way to be socially excepted 53:45 Attractive people earn more money 56:00 Relationships with ourselves – punitive or kind? 57:59 Is “Beauty At Any Size” a destructive movement? 1:02:40 Fancy cars an extension of our value 1:03:25 Symbolic Self Completion Theory 1:05:25 Human brains are hopelessly biased 1:07:35 Shame before a cosmetic procedure, shame after the cosmetic procedure 1:09:38 Therapeutic value of transparency 1:11:04 Mikko’s message: losing hair is normal and living with it is just as ok as having restoration surgery 1:14:00 Dr Buchanan’s message: you are a person of value independent of what you look like