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Ask Amy: Skin-deep beauty causes teen discomfort

DEAR AMY: I have a friend who is 17 years old. She is absolutely beautiful from head to toe. Everyone who knows her (and even people who don't know her) agree that she is a beautiful person and should change nothing about her appearance.

Any time anyone tells her that she is beautiful, she almost always responds with a terse, "No." Any similar compliments yield similar responses.

I feel as though I may be the only friend who is concerned about this. When I confronted her about the problem she said, "I know I'm beautiful. I just can't see it."

I know she has flirted with anorexia in the past; recently she has become more adamant about her lack of beauty, and I am becoming more worried. I understand teenage girls have some self-esteem issues, but is it normal to be this self-degrading at age 17? What should I do, if anything? -- Concerned Friend

DEAR CONCERNED: Self-effacement is one thing; self-degradation is something else.

However, you must imagine the awkwardness of being on the receiving end of comments that are essentially subjective and superficial. It's challenging to respond well, and it takes years (and maturity) to learn that a simple, "Thank you, that's nice of you" can acknowledge the comment politely while starting to shift the focus away from one's looks.

Teen girls do seem to have self-esteem challenges, partly due to the world's focus on female beauty. Take a girl at a supremely self-conscious age, add popular culture's obsession with beauty, and it can seriously mess with a person's head. Beauty seems to be everything, unless you possess it -- then it's just more evidence that nobody notices your character.

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Your friend may be depressed. She could have a distorted view of herself and is literally unable to see what others see.

As her friend, you should celebrate her character assets and qualities. She should know in her heart that her true friends like her just as she is.

Otherwise you should take your concerns to an adult who can help to guide her through this challenge; if she has flirted with eating disorders, her problem is potentially quite serious.

DEAR AMY: I have a friend recently admitted to a treatment facility after an attempted suicide.

Her son volunteered this information to me without my asking. I want to send her a card, but our other friends say not to, that I would be "invading her privacy" by doing so.

I want her to know I love her and support her. What to do? -- Worried Friend

DEAR FRIEND: You (and others) are overthinking this. Your friend is not well. She is in distress, and it's foolish to pretend that you don't know. Reach out to her by mail and say: "I've learned you aren't well, and I am so sorry to hear this. I hold our friendship close to my heart, and you are very much in my thoughts."

Then you should share a personal thought that you think might appeal to her, "Every day as spring inches closer, I look forward to the daffodils blooming -- and I hope to enjoy them with you very soon." Ask nothing of her; if she wants (and is able) to reach out to you, she will.

Sometimes people get so wound up in the particulars of what to say that they forget to merely express, simply, "I'm on your side."

DEAR AMY: Thank you for the thoughtful way you have responded to men who have been sexually abused and for sharing our information with your readers. There are so many men who struggle with sexual abuse, and they do not know where to turn.

Informed and compassionate members of the media are important partners in the healing work we do. I appreciate the space you have given to our organization in your column and the considerate way you approach those in pain. -- Ken Followell, president, malesurvivor.org

DEAR KEN: Every time I run a letter from a man who is a survivor of sexual abuse, scores of others contact me to tell their stories. Thank you for offering an important resource and support system for these men.

(Send questions via e-mail to askamytribune.com or by mail to Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. Amy Dickinson's memoir, "The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter and the Town that Raised Them" (Hyperion), is available in bookstores.)

By Amy Dickinson

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

Amy Dickinson

Amy Dickinson writes the syndicated advice column, “Ask Amy,” which is carried in over 150 newspapers and read by an estimated 22 million readers daily. Email askamy@amydickinson.com.

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