Can Low Self-Esteem Lead to Face Mask Addictions?

Face masks are said to be effective for the following:

1. Protection from virus, pollen, and dust
2. Protection and prevention from oral and nasal fluid droplets spreading
3. Keeps the skin moist and facial insecurities hidden
4. A tool to hide yourself

As COVID-19 has become a global widespread phenomenon, the understanding of 1. and 2. have also become common. As for women, the benefits of 3. allows them to stay make-up-free underneath and some people even appreciate how the mask partially protects them from harmful UV rays.

People prone to face mask addiction tend to use masks as a way to hide. Research in Asia has shown that the lower the self-esteem, the more likely a person is to wear a mask for no reason. When a person has low confidence, they feel more intimidated to communicate with others and a mask allows these types of people to feel more safe and secure.

Face Masks: A Defense and Statement

There are 2 reasons why a person would feel the need to wear a face mask in unnecessary situations.

・Mask as a Self-Defense

Masks work as a self-defense mechanism as it hides facial insecurities and helps avoid conversations. It’s a natural psychological defense to protect ourselves from external stimulations.

Smartphones and the internet have allowed us to communicate without seeing anyone face to face. Some jobs don’t require any in-person tasks, and this has led some people to believe that in-person communication is unnecessary or unfavorable. Facial masks have most likely contributed to exaggerating this consensus. It’s an introverted conscious choice to avoid showing our faces.

When our confidence is low, we become overly sensitive about how people perceive us. A mask can psychologically help us hide away from others noticing us.

・Mask to Make a Good Impression

There are people who think that masks make them look good and feel more confident. As a recent trend, masks have been incorporated into fashion with various designs and customizations.

However, studies show that deep down inside, people who wear masks are attracted to the fact that they could hide their expressions and feelings underneath, making them feel safer ​internally. For introverts, the capability to hide anxiety and nervousness makes them feel secure.

The brain is believed to have visual interpolation capabilities. This is when spatial and temporal factors are processed in a way to complete partial and illusory contours.

In real life, this is when we see something hidden but imagine it as if we could see it, using past knowledge and present information available. Some people who are insecure about how they look are hoping that visual interpolation will play into a fact where people automatically perceive their hidden face parts positively.

How to Overcome Face Mask Addiction

As you can see, masks that hide our faces can be used as self-defense and make people believe that they look better with it. Especially for people who have social anxiety, a mask alleviates their anxiety of communicating and socializing with others.

However, these psychological factors can lead to people unnecessarily depending on it to a point where it develops into a mask addiction.

Learn How To Feel Safe

Unnecessary masking or people who mentally rely on masks are dependent on it because it covers their physical flaws and makes them feel more secure.

For mask dependents, the following measures are necessary:

• ・Learn healthy ways to take feedback from others
• ・Understand that not wearing a mask won’t result in terrible outcomes
• ・Understand that masks are not determining factors that bring negative judgments

Studies conclude that gathering with a group of friends that hold similar hobbies can be effective in improving our mental wellbeing.

One-on-one relationships can be tricky at times, but being part of a “community” creates a sense of security where people feel protected in a group. Once a person feels accepted and safe in a group, they can slowly venture out into expressing their own feelings and talent where their “individuality” shines.

A community or group is also helpful for people to learn how to be helped and at the same time help others. It’s an opportunity to empathize, accept, and encourage each other as everyone aims towards a common goal together. Once all of these things are established within a community, a person will feel free from loneliness or negativity enough to graduate from a mask addiction.

Have Confidence and Don’t Care What Others Think

With the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have become dependant on masks, wearing them for long hours at a time. However, the longer we keep masks on, the more we risk psychological aspects start playing into effect. Excessive masking can increase the number of patients who fall into face mask addiction.

True safety and happiness won’t come from hiding behind a mask. A true sense of security and happiness comes from understanding ourselves, accepting, and opening the door to our hearts.

An objective self-reflection is key in understanding yourself, but objectivity is difficult when it comes to ourselves. Recently, there has been an AI (artificial intelligence) counseling app developed specifically to help a person’s mental well-being by providing objective perspectives and advice.

If the issues you face are hard to share with people in real life, an AI can hear you without any restrictions on time schedule, or location. It’s an affordable alternative counseling method with a free trial period. Give it a try!
→SELF MIND

Reference：

Shimura, K., & Tanaka, H. (2017). Pilot study on classifying behavior for wearing surgical masks – Behaviors for dealing with social anxiety and Safety Behavior -. Bulletin of Clinical Psychology, Tokyo Seitoku University, 17, 27–34. https://www.tsu.ac.jp/Portals/0/site-img/gra/2018/kiyou17/shimura,tanaka.pdf

Watanabe, N. (2018). Face Mask Addiction. Stress Science Research, 33, 15–20. https://doi.org/10.5058/stresskagakukenkyu.2018006

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The Psychology of Brand Addicts

A tiny luxury brand logo placed on a plain white t-shirt can inflate the price tag to surprising amounts. The material or design doesn’t have to particularly be special for a high-end brand product to sell. Then why are some people so fixated on brand products and can’t help to own more?

The Need to Feel Superior

When a person wears luxury items out or posts an expensive bag that they bought, they get a reaction whether it’s the like button or a direct compliment. This empowers them to feel superior and this alone is a good enough motive for some people to purchase these products.

Studies show that people who have the need to feel superior usually have an Inferiority complex. This is why they are unconsciously attracted to things that signify power.

The Satisfaction of Owning Certain Name Brands

The satisfaction that comes from owning brands is enough for someone to become a shopaholic. It is healthy to work towards a goal to own what you want, but excessive desires can put us under financial strain.

The Collectors Mentality

Some people have a collectors mentality where they just want it because it’s a new product even when they don’t have an immediate use for it. This can lead to excessive buying. In this case, the ‘purchasing’ of the brand becomes the goal. These types of people tend to spend on several brands to collect, but oftentimes lose sight of their spending habits.

There are also people who lose interest once they ‘own’ the item with most collected items being unused and stored at home.

How to Not Overinvest Into Brand Addiction

If you’re wealthy enough, it may be no issue to keep spending on luxury items, but some people want to stop this habit. Conscious and deliberate actions are necessary to prevent the habit of spending.

1. Find A Hobby

People who depend on brand names for value oftentimes find joy in collecting luxury items. If they find something else they can feel passionate to focus on, it could change their priority and beliefs in what’s important besides shopping. Therefore, we recommend finding a hobby first.

It can be an outdoor or indoor activity. We recommend something as casual as running or karaoke where participation is fairly easy. Participation in hobbies will distance a shopaholic from the desire to shop and fulfill the loneliness that they might have been trying to fill in.

Study shows that a portion of people who fall into becoming a shopaholic tend to have very thin relationships and don’t have the opportunity to self-express. If there is void and loneliness that creates the need to suppress their feelings, it’s only natural that they resort to shopping to fill it in.

Hobbies and fun activities are effective in feeling less lonely.

2. Learn How to Manage Finances

Many people who overspend on luxury items don’t have accurate ideas on how much they’re actually spending. They use their credit card for the purchase and feel surprised by the total bill later. It can feel like a never-ending cycle of payments that keep accumulating.

Money habits need to be addressed daily for responsible financial decisions.

Nowadays there are tons of apps that can help keep track of our expenditure. The most important thing is to understand how much you are actually using. Once there’s a clear understanding, it’s easier to pull back from spending habits.

3. Seek Professional Help

If the shopaholic tendencies and brand addiction is serious, you can seek professional help for these problems. Trained and licensed professionals can help anyone progress in the right direction and is better than trying to fix it on your own.

Some professionals offer group therapy specifically for people with a shopping addiction. Group therapy can be helpful because it makes people realize that they are not alone, and they can meet like-minded people making the same progress.

Can an AI app provide support? Try the SELF MIND app for a FREE trial.

What Brings Real Prosperity?

Luxury brand items signify prosperity. Many purchase and own it for status and empowerment, but some people get stuck on the idea of purchasing these things.
If you’re finding yourself stuck with shopaholic tendencies, let’s once again rethink what prosperity really means to you at a deeper level.

References:

Satomura, T. (2007). Understanding brand purchase behavior using negative multinomial model. Mita Business Review, 50(2), 35–48. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/56673918.pdf

Hayashi, K., Hashizume, M., Kuroki, R., Hashi, K., Asami, K., Fujii, Y., Sunagawa, H., Tsuboi, K., Katsuragawa, S., & Kuroki, N. (2013). Eating Disorder and Female Lifecycle − A case report with financial ruin due to binge eating and shopaholic. Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology, 17(3), 304–310. https://doi.org/10.18977/jspog.17.3_304

Fujito, K., & Iwabuchi, C. (2017, September). Study on Relationship between inferiority feelings and assumed competence. The 81st Annual Convention of The Japanese Psychological Association, Fukuoka, Japan. https://doi.org/10.4992/pacjpa.81.0_1C-005

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How to Use an Intervention Bracelet

The “intervention bracelet” method was devised at the University of Texas. According to their research, students with high tendencies of anxiety found this method to reduce stress and improve self-esteem.

The intervention bracelet method is extremely easy in practice.

1. Prepare a bracelet that’s easy to put on and remove. (Rings, wristwatches or elastic bands are also acceptable)
   
2. Go about your day as usual with the bracelet on one of your wrists.
   
3. Whenever you feel any negative emotions arise, remove the bracelet, and put it on the opposite hand.

Repeat step #3 every time you feel any kind of stress. The importance is in the predetermined action we take whenever negative emotions arise. This helps us acknowledge our stress in a rational manner. According to the study, subjects who practiced this method for three weeks developed awareness towards stress, and also successfully reduced their chronic discomfort.

The Importance of Noticing Stress

Whether it’s going on vacation, enjoying hobbies, or exercise, different people have different ways of getting rid of their stress. Of course, we should be practicing self-care methods suitable to our needs, but in order for that to work, we need to first ‘notice’ when we feel stress. When stress impacts, it’s only natural to get caught in the emotional reaction of irritation or exhaustion. Moreso than our reaction, we need to acknowledge and focus on the fact that we’re feeling ‘stress’.

Noticing stress is a crucial step in treating it. Of course, you could deal with the vague feelings of stress by, let’s say, dancing it out. But the later you precisely acknowledge your stress, the harder it becomes to accurately determine the level and cause. At this point, it would be difficult to feel completely refreshed no matter what we do, and unexplained stress will continue to accumulate.

In order to efficiently and appropriately relieve stress, we need to notice it the moment it happens. This process helps us figure the intensity and causes of our stress. The intervention bracelet is a technique that creates an opportunity for us to recognize this stress moment.

Throw Away the Negative, Turn to the Positive

The intervention bracelet effectively increases our awareness of stress. It’s also a great stress relief practice in itself. It’s recommended for people who feel unexplained, vague sources of stress.

Having a coping mechanism on hand, such as the intervention bracelet method, keeps our mental health in check. This is just one of the many easy stress-care techniques you can try. Figure out what works for you and get into the habit of practicing. One of the keys to living a healthy and happy life is to properly cope with stress.

Image：Unsplash
Reference：
Elke Smeets, Kristin Neff, Hugo Alberts, and Madelon Peters
MeetingSuffering WithKindness: Effectsofa BriefSelf-Compassion Intervention for FemaleCollegeStudents（JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Vol. xx(x), 1–15 , 2014)

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How we interact with and wear our clothes can say a lot about us. For instance, how do you choose what you wear? Are you a minimalist who owns a micro-wardrobe? Or do you own many of the same outfits to avoid decision fatigue like Steve Jobs did? Perhaps you’re a fashionista that follows the latest trends; a bold person who loves to express through colors and decorative patterns; a type that just doesn’t care at all for what you wear. Before you go ahead and disregard fashion as an unimportant choice, you may want to reevaluate a wardrobe that will help you become the person you want to be. The power of fashion may have bigger effects than you expect.

Whether we like it or not, every morning, we wake up and put our clothes on. Every item of clothing, from work uniforms, suits, dresses, traditional outfits, casual outfits, gym wears, to pajamas, all make social statements for the occasions we participate in. It’s easy to associate social status with textile materials and brands, but there is more to fashion and its effects than we understand at a superficial level. Above all, it can change our psychological behavior and how we feel.

The Transformative Power of Fashion

We’ve all heard the saying, “dress for the job you want, not the job you have”. In fact, the truth of this phrase is actually backed by science. Furthermore, there are studies dedicated to this idea. In scientific terms, it’s called “Enclothed Cognition”. In simple terms, it is the field of study in how symbolic fashion effects can impact our behavior and moods.

For example, a 2012 study showed that wearing a white lab coat where people associated the coat to scientific or medical professions, increased their performance in detailed oriented tasks. In another 2016 study, people who wore a tunic and associated it with a nursing scrub, showed more empathy and volunteered more hours. Formal clothing has repeatedly demonstrated positive benefits through studies, resulting in increased abstract thinking, feeling of power, and profits in negotiations. Therefore, our personal interpretation of the symbolism in each of these fashion items is what changes our processing and behaviors.

All of these studies point that wearing fashion items associated with certain symbolic meanings have measurable effects on our mental state. So yes, dress not only to impress others, but yourself! For instance, you could wear a sharp suit to work to perform better in business, casual clothes to be more friendly, and sporty gym wears to stay active. Who do you want to be? The person you aspire to be could become just a step closer through the power of fashion effects. To start, you can begin putting your wardrobe together in the direction of your goals.

Color Symbolism in Fashion Effects

The influence of color goes beyond its effects in fashion. Have you heard of color psychology? It’s the idea that different colors hold different meanings, emotions, and power over how we behave. We see this applied everywhere nowadays as a powerful communication tool, especially in marketing, art, and design.

Color can be so influential, that swallowing the same pill with different colors show significantly different placebo effects on a patient. Particularly, red has been a high-interest color for scientific studies. For example, in the 2004 Olympics, some scientists noticed that winning combat fighters often wore red more than blue. This led to research in 2013, where 28 athletes were matched with similar age and size opponents, each wearing red and blue jerseys. They then competed against each other while measuring strength and heart rates. Although wearing red did not result in more wins, participants wearing red showed significantly higher heart rates and pre-contest strengths. In other words, we are subconsciously influenced by the color we choose. In this way, color also plays a significant role in the fashion effects that impact our mood.

Different Colors have Different Effects

Although color perceptions are highly subjective, there are some universal and general understandings. For example, warm colors such as red, orange, and yellow tend to side with a range of emotions from warmth and comfort to anger and passion. Cool colors, such as green, blue, and purple, often associates with a range of cold and sad feelings to tranquility and calmness. On the other hand, bright colors are a great choice in giving a boost to your energy and mood. I recommend you look into the effects of each color and use it to your best benefit in fashion. To find out more about the psychological effects of colors, check out the article below.

Be Unique!

It’s pretty common for us to want to wear clothes that best conforms to our societal beliefs, values, and ideals. If a style is not aligned with what we feel emotionally comfortable in, the uneasiness reverts us back to what we feel most familiar with. This is especially true if you are not the type to take risks in fashion. However, it pays off to intentionally risk showing your own unique style that’s different from others.

Researchers at Harvard examined the effects of non-conforming behaviors through fashion. In this study, the status and competence of a professor increased when the professor showed his uniqueness by wearing red Converse sneakers during a lecture. The experiment concluded that unique non-conforming styles that stand out positively influenced us when perceived as styled in a deliberate manner. This interesting phenomenon in fashion effects is called “The Red Sneaker Effect”. In real life, we see this when high-status individuals or successful entrepreneurs choose to dress casually in jeans in formal business settings. Higher status and performance correlates with stronger tendencies to deviate from conforming dress codes. Vice versa, research also suggests that people judge these deviations from the norm as positive because we perceive the individual as powerful enough to risk social costs as a nonconformist.

Use the Power of Fashion to Your Advantage

It can be a simple bright tie, a shoe, a sock, a piece of statement jewelry. You can start with anything small. Show your originality through unique styles! It will not only give you the liberating opportunity to express yourself, but elicits positive impressions from others. If you haven’t tried expressing yourself through using fashion effects to your benefit, now is the time to start experimenting!

Looking to improve your mental wellbeing?

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If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

References:

Adam, H., & Galinsky, A. D. (2012). Enclothed cognition. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(4), 918–925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.02.008

Bellezza, S., Gino, F., & Keinan, A. (2014). The Red Sneakers Effect: Inferring Status and Competence from Signals of Nonconformity. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(1), 35–54. https://doi.org/10.1086/674870

de Craen, A. J. M., Roos, P. J., de Vries, A. L., & Kleijnen, J. (1996). Effect of colour of drugs: systematic review of perceived effect of drugs and of their effectiveness. BMJ, 313(7072), 1624–1626. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.313.7072.1624

Dittrich, A. (2019, September 24). Fashion’s impact on mental wellbeing. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.dw.com/en/how-fashion-impacts-our-mental-wellbeing/a-50562794

Dreiskaemper, D., Strauss, B., Hagemann, N., & Büsch, D. (2013). Influence of Red Jersey Color on Physical Parameters in Combat Sports. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 35(1), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.35.1.44

Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2014). Color Psychology: Effects of Perceiving Color on Psychological Functioning in Humans. Annual Review of Psychology, 65(1), 95–120. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115035

Hutson, M., & Rodriguez, T. (2016, January 1). Dress for Success: How Clothes Influence Our Performance. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dress-for-success-how-clothes-influence-our-performance

Karl, K. A., Hall, L. M., & Peluchette, J. V. (2013). City Employee Perceptions of the Impact of Dress and Appearance. Public Personnel Management, 42(3), 452–470. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026013495772

Kraus, M. W., & Mendes, W. B. (2014). Sartorial symbols of social class elicit class-consistent behavioral and physiological responses: A dyadic approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(6), 2330–2340. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000023

López-Pérez, B., Ambrona, T., Wilson, E. L., & Khalil, M. (2016). The Effect of Enclothed Cognition on Empathic Responses and Helping Behavior. Social Psychology, 47(4), 223–231. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000273

Sarda-Joshi, G. (2016, June 17). 7 ways your clothes change the way you think. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://brainfodder.org/psychology-clothes-enclothed-cognition/

Slepian, M. L., Ferber, S. N., Gold, J. M., & Rutchick, A. M. (2015). The Cognitive Consequences of Formal Clothing. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(6), 661–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615579462

Thrive Global, & Carlos, V. (2019, May 30). Why So Many Successful People Wear the Same Outfit Every Day. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://thriveglobal.com/stories/why-successful-people-often-wear-the-same-outfit-every-day/

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