Makeup influencer Mikayla Nogueira reveals body dysmorphia has stopped her from trying on wedding dresses

A makeup influencer has posted a series of candid videos showing her harrowing battle with body dysmorphia and how her mental health condition has kept her from trying wedding dresses.

Mikayla Nogueira, 24, from Massachusetts, who has more than 14 million followers on her TikTok account where she posts glamorous tricks and tips, describes in a clip how she developed the disease as a child and how it still plagues it them to this day.

Sitting in front of the camera without makeup and fighting back tears, she explains: “Today I’m going to choose my wedding dress and these are not happy days.

“There is absolutely a reason why I put this off. I’m not looking forward to this day. I wasn’t, and that’s an odd thing to say. I feel like little girls looking forward to a day like this, right? But I feel like it’s different when you have body dysmorphia and an eating disorder and you’re really insecure.

Makeup influencer Mikayla Nogueira revealed her devastating battle with body dysmorphia and how mental health conditions kept her from trying wedding dresses

Mikayla says she can trace the roots of her body dysmorphia back to her childhood

Body dysmorphia is a mental illness in which a person obsessively worries about flaws in their physical appearance.

Sufferers develop compulsive behaviors and routines, such as overusing mirrors or avoiding them altogether.

These obsessions and behaviors cause emotional distress and have a significant impact on people’s ability to go about their daily lives.

In this way, the condition is closely related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Experts estimate that body dysmorphic disorder affects approximately 2.4 percent of adults in the United States, and the condition usually develops around the age of 12 or 13.

Mikayla says she can trace the roots of her body dysmorphia back to her childhood.

In another clip, she reveals how at school she hated getting changed in front of the other girls for gym class and resorted to a private cubicle instead.

Despite her struggles, Mikayla eventually went to a bridal shop to find her perfect wedding dress. She revealed those who didn’t make it

She said she didn’t find the experience as bad as she thought as the staff member helped her calm down

While applying the bronzer, she added, “I’ve always felt like there was something wrong with me.

“All the girls would just change in front of each other and I would have to go to a private, separate room because I couldn’t.”

The beauty pro says that while she’s built a career on social media, she still doesn’t feel like being labeled an “influencer” because of her looks.

“I wish I could be like all those fucking TikTok influencer baddies. Still, to this day, I still feel like I don’t belong as an influencer in general,” she said.

“I’m in no way like the damn beauty standard. I hate taking selfies for Instagram because I can’t even stand to look at myself. I don’t want to be negative, that’s the reality I live in. I’m working on that.”

Despite her struggles, Mikayla eventually went to a bridal shop to find her perfect wedding dress.

Mikayla got engaged to her partner Cody in November 2021. The couple is pictured

The couple (pictured again) will be tying the knot in less than six months

She said she didn’t find the experience as bad as she thought as the staff member helped her calm down.

The bride praised the store associate, saying, “She made me feel so comfortable, she was so friendly, we had very similar personalities.

“I felt like a princess, I don’t want to lie. I felt pretty good.”

Mikayla uploaded a clip showing her friends and family waiting as she tries on a number of dresses before landing on the perfect one, which she doesn’t reveal.

Thousands of viewers left comments for Mikayla, finding words of encouragement after she revealed her struggles.

“Body dysmorphia is so difficult. I feel like the only way I can deal with it is to detach from my body and pretend what I see in the mirror isn’t me,” one person said.

Another added: “I totally understand where you are from girl.

“Clothing shopping is always so difficult for me in general. I suffer from body dysmorphia and an eating disorder.

“So I totally understand where you’re from. But you are beautiful!’

Mikayla, who got engaged to partner Cody in November 2021, will be tying the knot in less than six months.