Mirror Distortion...

...arghhhh just had sad mirror mental break down. I have a mirror that  waves a bit like a 3 but straighter and with more curves...anyway it's a thin mirror i like my body-ish close to the mirror, but i stepped 4 meteres back and was horrfied by how big i looked from further way! is that how i really look? it made me binge on 2 breakfast bars-which is infuriating! but anyway thank god i didn't eat them all! please, what shape is the real me, if its the far away me i shall just cry!

How can it be straighter and have more curves? And how would we know which is the real you without having seen either version or the real thing?

I would say look at yourself in a normal mirror, or take a picture of yourself and you will see the real you.

ok...forget the shape of the mirror. my basic question is....does a thin mirror make you look larger from further away?

This is why they call it a mad house...the house of mirrors thing in carnivals, it's really cool, but it does give a distorted reflection depending on the angle and distance.

Oh wow. And I thought I was the only one. I don't have an answer, but I just wanted to say that I've noticed this too. It seems as though the closer I am to a mirror, the thinner I look. I hope someone has an explanation.

Original Post by smwhipple:

This is why they call it a mad house...

 

 

You mean Calorie-Count, I'm assuming?

it's silly isn't it...but it's so frustrating that we never know what we really look like-different mirrors reflect us differently! and then even in pictures i never look the same! it depends on the angle etc...i just wish i could see what people see when they look at me!

Eugh! never mind...I'm just going to have to deal with never truly knowing!

your post made me smile :)

I had the contrary experience just yesterday. I have a mirror at home that is about 40 cm wide. Yesterday I saw my reflection in a big mirror wall and I thought "Hey, didn't I look a lot slimmer at home this morning?!"

If you could see yourself through the eyes of other people, the image would vary as well. I find that I judge people's beauty according to whether I like them or not. If I meet someone and think "Not really a beauty" and later get to know them better and realise that they are a really nice person, they become beautiful to me. The other way around, I can meet someone and say: wow, looks awesome and later realise they are terrible and they become super ugly to me!

That brings me to the theory: if we liked ourselves more, we would be less critical of our reflections in the mirror. Right?

on the opposite end of the spectrum from redselene's post...

1. set up camera on tripod or get someone to hold it

2. put on bathing suit or something

3. take picture of self, no angles, straight on.

That's as real as it gets.

i have the total opposite effect; the closer i am to a mirror the heavier i look, the farther away i am the skinnier i look.

Really?  I mean... really?!?!?

The scale isn't bad enough to dash our self-esteem, we have to find one more way to measure how much we're not okay?!?

Seriously, girl!  Have some confidence!  What in that reflection would make you feel better?  Not being you? 

Focus on being healthy, and understand that if you could see yourself the way other people do, there wouldn't be a focus on your curvey butt, not-so-flat stomach, or whatever it is your criticize when you stand in front of the mirror.  The attention would go to the smile on your face, the clothes you wear that flatter your shape, or the attitude in your walk :)