Dear Katie:

You wrote: “I am not trying to be superficial”- I don’t have a problem with you being superficial and I don’t think wanting to be pretty is any less or more superficial than decorating one’s home so that it is  pretty or creating a pretty work of art. The problem I see is that this quest to be pretty as you described it here will bring you lots of misery as well as spreading that misery to others. This is why I think good psychotherapy  will help you feel better and  live better long term.

anita