Sanremo 2023 – Marco Mengoni prepares for the last evening of the festival after having grabbed the first place in the ranking of cover performances. Sensitive and eclectic Mengoni today in the press conference defined himself as a very emotional person. “Sorry, I’m very happy but also very emotional,” he said bursting into tears a few hours before the final which sees him as the favorite at the top of all the provisional rankings. «It’s also the few hours of sleep. Luckily everything went very well, much beyond expectations» she declared in a sobbing voice.
Mengoni opened up and some time ago told of a disorder that afflicts him: dysmorphia. The singer confessed to suffering from this pathology in a recent interview with the weekly Sette. It’s a family problem, other close relatives of Mengoni also suffered from it: his mother, his aunt and perhaps even his grandmother. But what is it about? What is body dysmorphia?
Marco Mengoni and body dysmorphia
The disturbance from body dysmorphia it is part of the DSM-5 obsessive-compulsive disorder. The disorder is characterized by excessive preoccupation with one or more bodily defects.
These defects may be minimal or totally absent but they are still perceived as deeply disturbing. Who suffers from this ailment he often defines himself as ugly, abnormal or deformed and the perception of these defects is a source of deep shame and unease. The guidelines for the treatment of body dysmorphic disorder suggest the use of antidepressant drugs (SSRIs) and cognitive behavioral intervention strategies such as psychoeducation, cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation and mirror exposure.
In simple words, a person who has dysmorphia suffers because they see themselves as ugly. The person fixates on some details, on simple characteristics of the face or of one’s body, considering them a source of discomfort. It is an excessive, persistent and problematic preoccupation with some minimal or even absent bodily defects. Despite this, the discomfort associated with the alleged physical defects is very high. It usually appears during adolescence, the average age of onset is 17 years, and in many cases it is not even diagnosed. Dysmorphophobia is present in both sexes with a slightly higher prevalence in women. People with this disorder try in every way to mitigate the sense of discomfort and anguish that they try. They tend to look in the mirror all the time or they do the opposite, they want to avoid mirrors completely. They try to use strategies to camouflage alleged physical defects such as excessive use of cosmetics or covering them up with clothing or accessories. At worst, they avoid social situations and isolate themselves at home. They tend to ask for constant reassurance about their physical defects.
Sanremo 2023, Mengoni wins the cover night: the photos of the semifinal
The mother who said «How ugly I am»
Marco Mengoni he recounted this very intimate aspect of his life in an interview with Andrea Laffranchi. He stated that he has tried to work a lot on himself to stem the anxiety related to his physical appearance. It seems incredible but that’s exactly how it is. Mengoni is a beautiful boy, yet he doesn’t perceive himself as such. When he was younger he weighed 106 kilos, he had long hair that covered his face and that he hid behind. He didn’t have a good relationship with his body. «I struggled to understand the line between objective and subjective beauty» said Mengoni. What you see, what you perceive and therefore what you irrevocably judge to be beautiful, or not. It is a border that tears many people apart. Mengoni was among them. He has been in psychotherapy and is also enrolled in the faculty of psychology. He talked about it, maybe it’s because he now looks at things with more detachment.
And he said dysmorphia runs in the family. A matriarchal family. The grandmother, who was widowed early, is a woman who literally had to bend over backwards: the mother, the grandmother and the manager of the Ronciglionethe small town in the province of Viterbo where Mengoni was born and raised. He cared very much about his appearance, said Marco. She always had her hair in order, she was always made up, very accurate. «Almost caricatured», Marco underlines, admitting that there was perhaps something a little obsessive about that routine.
Then she spoke of her mother and aunt who never felt beautiful. “Mom and aunt are beautiful women but they have always seen themselves full of defects,” she said. «They threw themselves down, how many times have I heard them say “How ugly I am”», added the singer who recalls another detail: «Mom has beautiful legs but she never wore a skirt out of shame».
«It was difficult to accept that others saw me as beautiful», he said in the same interview. And then she added: «In the end, it’s nice to hear it said, but I think that beauty is that extra seasoning in a dish that must already be good».
Sanremo, cover evening ranking: Marco Mengoni wins again with “Let it Be”
Burt Bacharach, sophisticated but pop: why his music became the soundtrack of the transition from boomer to generation X
Read the full article
on The Messenger
. What is physical appearance disorder?){kind=link}