Do I Need Therapy?

[idontevenknow666]

Hi so i am an 18 year old senior at highschool and i have struggled with confidence issues my whole life. I’m like 90% sure i used to have body dysmorphia but i never got diagnosed so i don’t know. I just have extremely low confidence. I always thing people are judging me anytime they look at me. And anytime anyone compliments me I just think they are faking it. Even my parents when they tell my i’m pretty i just assume they are biased. I just don’t find myself beautiful in anyway. Like at prom I thought i looked ugly and i didn’t feel beautiful and anytime i see a picture of myself i start to pick tiny little details that make me look ugly. I honestly think this has overtaken my mental health and i find myself overthinking a lot as well as obsessing over little things that don’t matter to me. I probably feel beautiful at very rare moments in my life and I just have never thought of myself as pretty and don’t believe it when other people tell me. I don’t know how to get more confidence or fix this because I just refuse to accept the idea that I am beautiful and idk why. I’ve always been like this but with college coming up I feel like it may help to get ahold of this because it’s very draining. Please does this sound like something therapy can help?

[andy-hughes]

Maybe.

Have a word with your doctor about possible referral for some counselling.

[calmck]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You will never see yourself as others do. Beauty also comes from the inside of a person, not physical beauty but how you live your life and react to others. There is too much emphasis on how a person looks rather than what a person does. Counselling might help with self confidence but not with how you look. You could go to a stores makeup section and ask for advice on what would suit you and also to a hairdresser for a new style.

[Buenchico]

The terminology in your post tells us that you're in the USA. (This website is UK-based). However this advice, from our National Health Service website, might still be a useful starting point:
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/raise-low-self-esteem/