[Redefine]

I tend to have this negative thought that people think I'm weird or inferior to them and they look down on me. So, I decided to make a video of myself on my imac. Videos are much different than looking in the mirror, which you only get one perspective of yourself. It was nothing special, just me just sitting there doing random stuff. I wanted to see if I indeed looked like I was weird or inferior just to challenge my own thoughts. The results were astounding. I realized my thoughts were way off basis. I looked absolutely normal even though I was feeling uncomfortable doing the video. I even thought I looked attractive, lol. After I watched my video an unusual sense of calm came over me. It was liked I was just relieved that my thoughts were wrong all along

The lesson is that a lot of our thoughts about ourselves are off basis. If you challenge them, you'll see that a majority of them are wrong.

 

[figure8]

What program did you use to shoot the video? I have a mac. I thinki should try it. I want to record myself talking too.

 

[Lisa]

I was going to make a thread about this yesterday!

I have started to record myself on my webcam for the same reasons. I kept waiting to see that what makes me so terrible. I didnt see that at all. I quite liked myself. :yes

Your comment about you thinking you were quite attracktive made me smile. When I watched myself I realised that I am quite cute really lol

 

[organicwildroot]

I tried that with my webcam and I looked ridiculous. All I could do was laugh because my expressions were always a second behind so it looked funny to see myself blinking. It's much like when I record my voice, it just sounds weird.

 

[Lisa]

I would like to see what I look like on video but I don't have the means to do it. I don't think it would yield great results for me. It would most likely make me even more self-conscious and self-critical after seeing what an utter mess I am. But I am curious about how exactly I come across to other people.

I do have one video of myself from when I was seven, and it is excrutiatingly painful to watch. I have a lisp and I look awful and I was such an annoying child I don't know how my mother didn't smother me in my sleep. But that was back before I had the gift of self-awareness, so maybe I would come off a little bit better these days.

I just bought a webcam on ebay.

 

[organicwildroot]

Do you ever try to look in the mirror long enough and try to see yourself as other people do? Like you try really really hard to see yourself as a stranger. I'll try to pretend like I'm somebody and the person in the mirror is somebody else and that they are talking to me but I can't see myself as a stranger. It's impossible.

 

[Atticus]

This makes sense to me. Years ago I was convinced that my voice was monotonous and emotionally flat. I lived with that for several years until I started recording (audio only) meetings I ran at work so I could get accurate minutes. While I wasn't exactly a dynamo, I felt like my voice was pleasant enough and capable of a full range of emotions. It helped me feel more comfortable immediately.

 

[PlayerOffGames]

congrats on doing this...you should make another video and post it here

 

[Redefine]

What program did you use to shoot the video? I have a mac. I thinki should try it. I want to record myself talking too.

I used the Imac's photo-booth feature. The Imac's camera and audio playback is really good. I would recommend using a good quality camera. The camera on my laptop is pretty bad and really doesn't look good at all when I make videos.

 

[Tнᶓ ᶂuturε Iѕ ɳош »]

Glad that worked for you. Certainly doesn't work for me. I'm much more awkward on video than I feel I am in real time. My voice is even worse recorded. I like myself more in real time which is not saying much.

 

[Judi]

I have a webcam but I don't know what kind of program to use to make videos...
personally I think I look better in the mirror than in photos, and in videos I sound terrible too. But I think recording oneself can help me improve certain things like posture and expression right?

 

[PickleNose]

This might work if your feelings about yourself are delusional or something. But what if the way you think you look is pretty well on target?

I have to say that I'm not as bad looking as I always thought before I did exactly what you did. Well, not exactly. But I was curious what I look like so I videotaped myself a number of times. My perception of myself was worse than what the video showed in some aspects but in others, the video just confirmed some of the things I already knew about how I look.

I think this kind of thing can help people better understand themselves and maybe help things like SA but it's going to depend a lot on whether the ideas you have about yourself are accurate or not and what you define as "normal looking". I can tell you I don't look like Brad Pitt if he's "normal". I don't even look like David Spade or some random normal looking person.

I have to ask myself what I would think if I saw myself somewhere. On that, I have no idea. I'm too used to what I look like to try and imagine I've never seen myself.

Interesting thread, though.

 

[PickleNose]

I should also point out that some cheap video cameras can (and often do) introduce a lot of lens distortion into anything they record. So, for example, if your face is close to the camera when you make the video, your nose might look much longer than it really is or your face might have a strange shape that isn't anything like it really is.

Sometimes these cameras (webcams) make everything look like you're looking at the world through a peephole. My guess is that's not going to be the most flattering way to see yourself. Anyone who wants to see yourself as you really are (or close) should try to buy (or borrow) a video camera with a good lens. You may not have access to such a thing because good lenses are extremely expensive. An ordinary consumer camcorder might have a decent lens in it if it's made by Sony or one of the big players but it still might have a lot of distortion.

 

[Redefine]

The whole process wasn't really to disprove thoughts about my looks. It's more about my mannerisms. It's about the way I look when I'm nervous or feeling uncomfortable. I realized that I almost couldn't even tell I was nervous in the video. I always thought that I stuck out like a sore thumb when I was feeling anxious. Also I thought maybe I do things that make me seem weird or different than everyone else. I realized my thoughts really weren't even close and were blown way out of proportion.

 

[mrfixit]

i've recorded myself while driving, cooking, and working on my car. all the time while being anxious but in the video i look normal. i want to record myself at work to see if i really look anxious or just feel it. i don't know how to go about doing that though.