Through social and personal experiment Kerstin Cruijsen year has not looked in the mirror

Kerstin Cruijsen, 29-year-old graduate student in sociology, decided to take an unusual experience: for a whole year she avoided self-reflection in order to increase self-esteem and inspire others to ensure that does not pay much attention to their appearance.

Most women can not do without a mirror for half an hour. They are constantly checked in order whether their clothing and makeup, but ambitious student decided not to look at myself in the course of the year. Kerstin said she avoided mirrors was very difficult: in the streets and then met mirrored surface. At home, she closed the bathroom mirror so she could brush your teeth and wash without breaking the conditions of the experiment. She even learned to use a mirror of the car so as not to see yourself in them.

Makeup Kerstin gets to the touch. Initially, it caused a lot of difficulties endeavor, but then she adapted and recognized that the experiment made her realize that in fact is not so important what he thinks most of her friends.

As a teenager, Kerstin struggled with insecurities about their appearance and suffered from anorexia. She was obsessed with their appearance and weight. It limits your food and fluid intake, leading to serious health problems. Kerstin suffering from kidney stones, moreover, due to the absence of fat it has decreased bone density. Also, the girl has normal for patients with anorexia eating disorders.

Kerstin via long-term therapy overcame anorexia and began to voluntarily cooperate with the About-Face, which is trying to help women who have problems with appearance.

His antizerkalny project she began in 2010, when preparing for the wedding with her fiance, Michael Ackerman. She always wanted to go shopping in POSCO's wedding dress. But life turned out to be fitting that became a source of continuous stress. Kerstin beginning to think critically about their appearance, and work to reduce weight before the wedding, feeling hypocritical special. One day, while reading the book "The Birth of Venus", she stumbled upon a description of the life of nuns in the Italian Renaissance. It mentioned restrictions against vanity: "They do not use a mirror. They are forbidden to see each other when they undress. Also, they are forbidden to look at themselves when they undress. " Kerstin realized that it was a way to live your life that inspired her to get rid of the mirrors.

In the first month, she says, half the time she left the house with mascara stains on the face. She learned how to evaluate when purchasing clothing on the advice of friends and husband rather than to look at yourself in the mirror. Even on her wedding day Kerstin never looked at herself. "For me, the day has a special meaning, no matter how I look" - she says. I wonder what she and Michael were dancing at her wedding to the song "I'll be your mirror».

Kerstin experiment ended on March 12th. On this day it is the first time in 12 months, he looked at his reflection, surrounded by family members and friends. "I was a bit ambivalent about, but I was happy with what I saw," - says Kerstin.

via factroom.ru