Can Taking Too Many Selfies Make You Mentally Ill?

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has confirmed that taking 'selfies' is a mental disorder.  Personally, I know that MY addiction to trying to take a perfect 'selfie' has become a daily practice.  Read on to see if you've gone overboard too.

According to demyx.com, the classification was made during a recent APA board of directors meeting. The disorder is called selfitis.

Selfitis is defined as 'the obsessive compulsive desire to take photos of one’s self  and post them on social media as a way to make up for the lack of self-esteem and to fill a gap in intimacy'.

APA said there are three levels of the disorder:

• Borderline selfitis : taking photos of one’s self at least three times a day but not posting them on social media
• Acute selfitis: taking photos of one’s self at least three times a day and posting each of the photos on social media
• Chronic selfitis: Uncontrollable urge to take photos of one’s self  round the clock and posting the photos on social media more than six times a day

According to the APA, while there is currently no cure for the disorder, temporary treatment is available through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The other good news is that CBT is covered under Obamacare.