Dr. Shereene Idris

And I don't think it has ever been truly defined.

So I'm going to give you my subjective perspective.

Unhealthy vanity, let's start with a negative, is when it is constantly consuming your mental thoughts, almost like an addiction.

Right.

where no matter what you do or no matter what you try for yourself, you're constantly speaking about it in a negative way and it's not good enough.

And so you are chasing a never-ending nothingness because it's just not something that's achievable, right?

Whereas a healthy dose of vanity is like caring enough to show up

and wear an iron shirt instead of a wrinkled shirt.

You know, caring enough to brush your hair, caring enough to show up in a way where it's still a positive reflection of who you are, but it's not consuming who you are.

Your confidence is not dependent on how you look, but it's the cherry on top and it allows you to feel more confident.

And so that I think is the difference between unhealthy vanity and healthy vanity.

I mean, newsflash, you've always looked like you.

So if you're always pursuing other people's approval of how you look, you're pursuing something that doesn't exist.

And I've been in practice for over 10 years.

I see nearly 100 patients a week.

And more often than not, it's a much deeper rooted issue that you're trying to get to.

And that's where it's such a vulnerable state where you have to find someone that you know you trust, who's not going to feed off these insecurities or vulnerabilities or take advantage of.

And I've seen it through every angle.

And cosmetics is not just skin deep.

It's deeper.