Being told I had let myself go, for years, by a doctor

I liked how I looked before as well. That is a complicated thing to say in most places and it is straightforwardly true.

Orsolya, answering your question directly rather than going round the houses.

The mirror thing comes and goes. Some months I barely notice and some months it is the first thing I think about, and I have stopped trying to control which.

I had assumed this would resolve itself and it did not. It needed actual attention, and in my case some therapy, and I resisted both for a year.

What I would say is that this is harder than the physical side and gets a fraction of the discussion. I am glad this circle exists for it.

Photographs are difficult for me and I have stopped apologising for stepping out of them.

Clothes were the practical version of this for me. Nothing fitting the way it used to, and the daily reminder of that was wearing.

The comparison habit was the hardest to break and I broke it mostly by removing the things I was comparing against.

Nothing here is medical advice and nothing here is therapy. If this is taking up most of your attention, please do speak to somebody qualified.