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
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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://www.facebook.com/GroClinics
https://www.instagram.com/groclinics
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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
