Snow White Syndrome: "Mirror, mirror, mirror...".

Reaching a certain age, it is not uncommon for some people to find themselves ugly.

We live in a society where one of the most valued attributes is physical appearance. physical appearance. Many women (and also some men) are not able to accept the appearance of the first wrinkles, and try to disguise their age.

With the passage of time, age leaves its mark.As time goes by, age leaves its mark, and unhappiness becomes more and more for them, as they cannot bear to see how their physical appearance is changing. After 40, they leave behind the beauty characteristic of their youth and frustration and anxiety appear.

The Blancanienves Syndrome: what is it?

In our article "The Peter Pan and Wendy Syndrome: Trapped in Neverland" we talked about two disorders that have the origin of their name in two characters from Disney. In this article, we are going to expose the characteristics of the Snow White Syndrome.

Snow White Syndrome refers to the distortion of a person's self-image of youth, beauty or qualities characteristic of this stage of life, and the envy the person feels towards younger people whom he/she considers more attractive.

Betsy Cohen, an American psychotherapist, coined the term in one of her books. Although this disorder is not part of the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Diagnostic and Statistical Disorders of Mental Disorders).Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), psychologists are paying increasing attention to its symptoms, which tend to appear in many women over the age of 40.

Although this syndrome is more common in women, some cases have also been reported in men.

Snow White Syndrome: insecurity and envy

The name of this syndrome is inspired by the Queen GrimhildeGrimhilde, Snow White's wicked stepmother. She cannot bear that there is another person prettier than her, and feels a great envy for the young and beautiful Snow White. The wicked and vain stepmother asks Humbert, a huntsman, to kill her stepdaughter and bring her Heart to her.

Since Humbert refuses to kill her, Queen Grimhilde disguises herself as an old woman and goes in search of Snow White, to kill her herself with a poisoned apple. The envy that Queen Grimhilde feels, makes her not only want to kill an enemy, but her goal is to end the life of a family member.

The person who suffers from this disorder, just like the Disney character, feels insecure about his own image, feels insecurity about his own image and is afraid of old age, of not being looked like before, and does not accept the physical consequences of the passing of the years. This insecurity causes her to feel envy towards young and attractive people and she may even emotionally assault (in some cases physically), with constant humiliation, the person she envies.

Many of these cases occur between mother and daughterbut it can also occur between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, between sisters, between friends and at work. The great frustration felt by the person affected by Snow White Syndrome negatively affects his or her well-being and causes depression and anxiety.

Some consequences of the low tolerance to aging, turn him/her into a person obsessed with his/her physical image, being able to go as far as cosmetic surgery to keep looking young. Despite her age, she wants to remain a "20-something" and dresses as if she were still in her early 20s.. In addition, she tries to have many relationships with men to feel young, beautiful and desired.

Symptoms of Snow White Syndrome

The following are the most common symptoms manifested by a person suffering from Snow White Syndrome:

• Anxiety and depression for not accepting the fear of aging.
• Envy and competitive eagerness towards younger and more beautiful women.
• Obsession with health and physical beauty.
• Frequent flirtations with men (mostly younger) due to the constant search for approval of their physical appearance.
• Fear of being single and search for a new partner after a breakup.
• Envy towards women who lead a satisfactory life as a couple.
• Distortion of self-concept and low self-esteem.
• Obsession to maintain the appearance of youth, reaching the point of cosmetic surgery in many cases.
• Sadness when remembering the lost youth and for the qualities of that age that are believed to be already lost.

How to overcome the Snow White Syndrome?

The irrational beliefs due to the social pressure felt by these people may cause these women (and some men) to need psychological help. To get out of this situation, it is necessary to work on self-knowledge, self-acceptance and self-concept improvement in order to reduce anxious symptoms.. Changing dysfunctional beliefs is necessary to recover well-being and reduce frustration.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness or Emotional Intelligence can be effective forms of therapy for the treatment of this syndrome.