Matt Mercer on Body Dysmorphic Disorder (December 2017)
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- čas přidán 29. 07. 2022
- During a mental health charity stream with Holly Conrad and Patrick Rothfuss, Matt talks about his experience with body dysmorphic disorder and imposter syndrome.
For the full stream, go here: • Mental Health Stream w...
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I know this is a strong video, and the courage that Matt has shown here is nothing less than inspiring.
But I just wanna point out that this is a clip from a larger stream made for mental health awareness, and that stream has fewer likes (and therefore visibility) than this clip.
The OP for this clip has the full stream linked in the video description. Please go watch it, and even if you don't want to watch all of it, please leave a like. It will help push the stream further, and that is very important
What a powerfully vulnerable and courageous man. Speaking deep truth when your voice shakes is so hard. I've always liked Matt, but seeing this, he's my hero.
It's hard enough to say some of these things when I'm one-on-one with my therapist. The courage to say those words to the world, in a space where they will live forever... I have no words.
Hearing Matt's voice crack really breaks my heart. I love everything he's done in his career and I really do hope he wins his battle with Body Dysmorphic Disorder. I myself struggle with it as well and it ain't easy. But I believe in Matt and wish him the absolute best
I used to feel this way a lot when I was younger. I think a lot of teenagers can relate to it, but I felt like this all the way until maybe my mid-20s.
I still don't like looking at myself in the mirror much, at least not *often* or for a prolonged amount of time, but I can at least look at myself and not feel completely disgusted like I used to. I never thought I'd reach a point in my life where I could look at parts of my body and be like "yeah, I'm okay with that".
But the absolute tragedy of being someone as attractive, talented, successful and loved as Matt Mercer and not being comfortable in your own skin, that's a hell I can't even imagine. I can see how imposter syndrome plays into that, though, because I'm sure we can all relate a bit. It's not easy to acknowledge your own accomplishments when you (or others) spend so much time putting yourself down. It's like if you admit it, you're somehow egotistical and you cannot allow yourself that, which in turn means you can't appreciate it. You can't *fathom* that you've earned what you have undoubtedly earned.
I personally believe hes doing well. Ive seen him DM for CR a few times without his vests and his vest is what he would use to hide himself from people. At least thats what I heard him say. Like he also just really like vests too but he said he would use them to hide himself from people. So whenever I see him out and not wearing a vest I feel like hes making great progress.
@@Lucifronzsorry to hear that. I wish you all the best my friend. God bless you 🙏
@Lucifronz That emotional labor is astoundingly coherent. Thank you for typing it. Emotional labor gets joked about a lot, but speaking emotionally in a public space takes more strength than most physical activities.
When I read words like yours, you appear stronger than most of humanity. Do you feel that way? Probably not. Imposter syndrome is so uncool. You are amazing to me though. Live long. ❤
@@Lucifronz im 43 and still struggle with it on a day to day
As someone with body dysmprphoc disorder, to see someone as beautiful as Matt outside and inside see himself in such a negative way, it always reminds me how much of this is in my head. I can look at Matt and see how incredible he is but see him not believe that, and see myself not believing I am someone who is attractive or okay to be around sometimes even revolting, and knowing that it's something internal that I'm imagining people see me as. And knowing Matt is so loved maybe I'm loved that much too
You are. Spend time with those you love and i hope that will ease your discomfort.
@@shantyman161 I am sure it helps, but that's not enough. You have to change your *own* mind. The point is that no matter how much other people validate you, you will never feel worthy of it.
I don't have people in my life making me feel more at ease in my body. Not one person. I had to get there myself. Eventually you have to learn to take it easy on yourself and it must be *hell* to have these disorders and not knowing how to get there.
i have bdd too and god this comment made me sob. the way my brain felt relief reading the end of your comment but it was immediately taken back by the ever present mean voice saying that it couldn't apply to me though. This disorder is no joke and im happy to see someone speak out about it, esp a role model to many like Matt.
I also suffer from this condition and it does make me wonder about things like Sam's shirts which would be a fun prank to most people but I think would literally make me ill if a friend printed an obviously bad picture of me on a shirt for a stream of tons of people and then kept doing it@@xpeachypie4133
I have BDD as well. I struggle with the balance of loving myself and changing what I want. I'm slightly shorter than average for a guy, and no amount of self-love will make me feel any less unattractive to women and less of a man. I'm going to get limb lengthening surgery because it's one of the few things about my appearance I can't accept after years of trying to. If I can never feel attractive to others, at least I can be comfortable with myself alone.
Matt is among the most emotionally brave male public figures I've ever had the privilege to encounter. My respect for him is boundless.
Patrick Rothfuss does something really understated and kind here. He sees that Matt is having a very emotional reaction and he takes the time to ask him an analytical question about what he is talking about. He's not changing the subject at all, he is engaged with what Matt is saying, but he times his question to just the right length to allow Matt to recompose himself. In addition, he refocuses Matt on the more analytical side of body dysmorphia, which allows him to step back from his emotional response and focus on the facts. Beautifully done.
I know this aired a while back, but damn. This hits hard. Matt's vulnerability is an absolute display of courage. He rocks on several levels.
Couldn't have worded it better myself. I feel the same.
As someone who see's Matt as a role model, his words on Imposter Syndrome struck me on the deepest level imaginable. I hope he's doing okay, and I can't thank him enough for all his hard work. x
it’s so hard to describe to people who don’t have it just how hard it is to feel like a disgusting monster your whole life
It's difficult to fathom, because opposed to other similar disorders and phobias, in case of body dysmorphia even if your worst fears are actually real and true, that wouldn't at all affect your ability to live a full and healthy life.
I guess I don't really understand it myself, but it seems more than what you wrote, and more than what Matt described.
Why would being ugly/grotesk matter in the first place? I mean what if you're a disgusting monster? It just doesn't seem relevant, even if you're actually the monster you see yourself as. People like that should still be able to go to the beach and enjoy similar activities. To be frank, there are a lot of ugly people running out there :D Half of us are below average for sure. It's not a sin to be ugly. There are also unfortunate people whose looks got affected by health issues, I don't think they should feel bad.
So I get the irrational fear/thought that you see yourself as extremely ugly (independent of your actual looks), but the way I see it that wouldn't be a problem by itself.
@@Marqan I'm just guessing, since I've fortunately never suffered from that kind of disorder, but I think it's not just about appearance. It's more the person as a whole who is unlikeable, at least in their own eyes. Hence the imposter syndrome: "people like me because they haven't realised what an awful excuse of person I am". It must be so hard living like that, hope he can eventually get better
@@Marqan i love your positive outlook but so much of this world does care about looks and people will treat you poorly if you don't match up to a certain beauty standard. Should we live our lives by that? Absolutely not. It saddens me that we are so complex as humans but we get boiled down to just looks. If i had the choice to rewire my brain, i would.
ex. many people who used to be bigger and then lost weight have seen a difference in even the way strangers interact with them. (there might be a few studies on this, being completely honest i havent looked into them because it makes the disorder worse) When i dropped weight and looked more like the 'standard', strangers were nicer to me overall. (my demeanor or way i carried myself hadn't changed, i felt as bad about my body regardless of what weight i was at, so it wasn't like i was more bubbly because i felt better about myself and they were responding to that.) When i gained the weight back, all the random compliments and people being nicer stopped.
It sucks to realize the reality of that. I want to not care, i know logically that i am more than just my body and what i look like, because we all are. But introducing logic to something that feels so visceral and real doesn't always work, because disorders like these create a new baseline of 'logic' that you can't win against.
i never think anyone is ugly, only that they're just not my type. I don't believe me as a single human being should be able to place such a heavy label on someone else, they don't deserve that burden. But that logic never carries over into how i feel about myself. I get struggling to understand it, i'm almost happy you don't. It's insufferable most days.
@@Marqanif you think this ”wouldn’t affect your ability to live a full and healthy life” then yeah you should have ended your comment after you said you didn’t understand the disorder
Walking around with that weight hanging over your head is an awful way to live life. It’s really quite sad, especially when you know logically that it’s in your head, and that people don’t actually see you that way, but that changes nothing about how you feel.
I sincerely hope that Matt Mercer can come to see himself not simply the way we his fans see him (because there is a degree to which we only see what he shows us) but to see himself as Marisha sees him, and as how the others of his friends see him. They know deeply the things we don’t: or rather can see him as he is rather than how he want to be seen, and the love him deeply, he as he is! I hope he can come to a place where he know that he is truly magnificent and wonderful as he is.
I also greatly appreciate his honesty and authenticity here… and I hope it can speak to other as it has spoken to me.
"I'm just waiting for people to realize I've just faked my way to this point."
He has not faked how hard he worked and still works, and he has not faked how much so many thousands of people adore him for him, and more importantly, how much the people close to him adore him for all that he is. It hurts to hear him break like this when most often he has a happy and funny façade and mask on. As a person who struggles with body dysmorphia and slight imposter syndrome, it's nice to see it talked about in a not at all judgmental but instead understanding space.
Imposter syndrome is really interesting. You're so good at pretending you're doing something well, that you do it well.... but you can't convince yourself that you're just plain good at it. I taught a 10 year old girl who was in the top 10 gymnasts in the entire world for her age group. She quit because she felt she wasn't good at it when she placed 6th in a competition. I had a parent who was a major league baseballer but he was dropped after 5 games. He would tell his 5 year old son that he wasn't a good baseballer, it was that he tricked people into thinking he was good. Never mind he was accepted into a team over hundreds of thousands of other baseballers. He still thought he was bad. I only found out about this because his son would refuse to throw a ball and say, "My dad is terrible at baseballer. So am I."
Cue Brennan screaming about how Taldorei "not being done". That kind of explosive and aggressive support is sometimes what you need to get through to imposter syndrome. It's from somewhere deep of 'never being good enough' and working harder is never going to fix that. It's an emotional issue that you can't be logic'ed out of but genuine heartfelt support from genuine people you trust, respect, and appreciate does a lot to counteract that inner voice telling you how you're never going to be good enough.
@@MrZoomah i didnt accept a full ride academic scholarship because i was scared they would find out im not as smart as people think i am and I would be so embarassed
This is simultaneously interesting and heartbreaking. You would never guess what he’s going through because of the onscreen personality and energy that Matt has, and yet that only contributes to the Imposter Syndrome feelings. It is nice to see that he has succeeded after an early life of struggle. And it’s good that Critical Role is taking routine breaks and letting other DMs take the wheel. Definitely a very impactful video
I don't know how much of it appears in Campaign 1 or 2 (I haven't completed them) but I definitely noticed a few times when he described his hair cuts in Campaign 1.
Matt is one of the kindest humans, that I haven't had the pleasure in meeting...He seems like such a real honest person. One can't help but love this guy for he's talent, passion, and kindness he shares for everyone he meets. Thankfully he is surrounded by those who also love him for who he is. He has the best group of friends!! Love the entire cast and family of Critical Role.
I've dealt with body dysmorphia my whole life. I'm 34 now and it wasn't until I was in my mid to late twenties that I even found out this was a defined disorder. It's terrible. It manifested itself in my teens and twenties by a need to always be active, always playing sports, always lifting, always doing something active. The last few years, I've more or less given up and become completely sedentary because no matter how much I worked out I never could see past the flaws I saw in my body even though I was obviously much fitter and healthier than I am today. This disorder breaks you down, and then to have anxiety and depression on top of this....I feel for Matt. I really do. I know what his struggles are like intimately.
Have you tried to get help/treatment?
I hope you find some happy medium between trying to fix what cannot be fixed and might not need to, and giving up and not even trying.
What helped me a lot in life is when I started to accept that my attempts were good enough. I was able to bring my ambitions in line with by abilities.
I never thought I could live and respect this man more. Thank you Matt for your openness, vulnerability, and genuinely kind heart.
parentified as a child & full of self-doubt as an adult & absolutely an icon and an inspiration
This hits hard.
Matt seems like such a smart dude like he has it all together.
Hearing him open up about this really makes me come to terms with my own problems.
Similar to Matt.
I wish you well Jose, in all your battles
It is so freaking wild to se someone who is a "public person" (Matt Mercer) who you se on Critical role being this happy cheerful always pumped up person being hyped about the battle or the nat 20 role and just of a sudden you se him cry and talking about something very deep and hard for him so openly and sharing so detailed/specific things. IT really makes you appreciate him as an human-being even more!
When you grow up adulting for people who should have been adults it's very hard. No child should have to do it--but when your parents are emotionally/financially immature and you're not what else is a kid to do? You don't realize their problems are their own. You just want to help.
I don't have body dysmorphia but I do have very extreme self esteem issues from my own childhood and severe financial PTSD. It's hard to feel comfortable and put yourself first when you were trained from birth to always put other people first... a trick I've found is to try to think of myself as "some other person" occasionally. Did "that person" make a good choice? Yes? Then YOU made a good choice. You have to be objective about yourself instead of getting stamped down in fear all the time.
There are so many of us out there with this experience. Parentified by our parents
The number one most helpful attitude shift you can make to treat body dysmorphia, is to accept that no matter how grotesque and ugly you are, you deserve the same respect and opportunities as everyone else.
It doesn't cure it, it's impossible to cure it as recent research suggests its caused by a difference in how the brain takes in visual information, but that's why it's so important to learn how to accept it. Starting with other people is often easier, it means you need to stop thinking negative things about the bodies of other people and about certain types of bodies (eg. fat bodies), and then you need to stop saying cruel things to yourself. It's okay to call yourself ugly as long as it comes with a recognition that being ugly doesn't mean you are worth any less and that ugly people still deserve love and respect from others. That is much, much easier than trying to love yourself or see yourself as attractive when you have body dysmorphia.
You also need to teach yourself to accept when other people see you in a positive light, if they're attracted to you it's not because they don't know what you look like, it's because they don't care and it's okay, maybe they even like it, attraction isn't always guided by the standard of beauty.
These are good points. Even though I'm unable to see it about my own body and appearance and probably never will be able to see it, changing my mindset about appearances and bodies has made me a more empathetic person, and also just more appreciative of people who're genuinely attractive, just not in the conventional way. There are seriously so many hot people in the world who don't know it because they don't look like some extremely narrow ideal commonly used in advertising, or they have some "flaw" that is at worst a non-issue and at best kind of charming but they're so self-conscious about it that it affects their whole self-perception.
We're essentially taught that beauty = morally good(thanks Wart Didney), and by that definition ugly people must be bad people. Same logic with "fat people are lazy". It's always about seeing the morality about a person's appearance that we've been conditioned to think about instead of realizing that they're *an actual living person* with thoughts and feelings and self-awareness, and absolutely the perception and reasoning skills to notice that extra second you took glaring at them.
Thank you. That’s how I cured the negative voice in my head. I don’t have body-dysmorphia, but it is the best method I’ve found for ingrained negativity. A scoop of acceptance, without drowning into it.
I appreciate you getting the word out there. I hope it reaches everyone
I wish we could say to him "You're not a fake" or "There's nothing wrong with how you look" but... Disorders aren't something you just *snap* get over. Matt is an amazingly strong person for admitting the issue and working on it. The fact he recognises what makes it worse is proof he's a strong, wonderful man!
Oh wow. A lot of what Matt talks about sounds... eerily familiar. I wanna give him a hug 🥺
Body Dysmorphic Disorder is rough. I was loud and hyperactive as a child. I would fidget. Play the drums on the table top with my hands. Tap my foot. I got a lot of negative attention from that. Somewhere along the way I unconsciously discovered that eating was one thing I could do that didn't get me yelled at. That lead to a lifetime of bad eating choices which made me severely overweight. A few years ago I finally took control of that part of my life. Yet, even when I was half the weight I'd been, I still felt I was disgusting. Still kept the shirt on at the pool, etc. It didn't matter what anyone told me. Then, I was at a party and I saw two ladies looking at me. I heard one of them ask the other "Who is that gorgeous man over there?" I actually turned around to see if there was someone behind me. Now, anyone I know could have told me that I was handsome, and I would have brushed it off. My wife tells me all the time, but I rationalize that as love blinding her to the truth. Yet, somehow, overhearing a stranger talking about me allowed that statement to slip past my defenses. I never spoke to the woman, but I would like to thank her for helping me see past my own self hatred.
Matt Mercer is such a good dude. Extremely talented and his Charisma is uncanny. As someone who enjoys story telling and talking about history, books, movies and video games. Matt Mercer is the pinnacle, story telling and entertaining. I hope this comment finds him and I hope he and Marisha are doing well.
OMG!!! I want to give Matt the biggest hug. Nothing to say. Just hugs for Matt!
It’s really helpful for me to hear him to speak about this. Watching how crazy talented he is I tend to forget he struggles with as much shit as I do. I don’t think there will ever be a day where I’ll feel comfortable in my bathing suit with other people around.
fuck, the "not being able to make eye contact with yourself in the mirror" hit home so hard for me
It's hurts so much to hear Matt talk about his body dysmorphic disorder, you can hear how hard it is for him to talk about it and I wish I could just hug him and reassure him for hours, I'm legit tearing up typing this oh god, I hope Matt beats his disorder and becomes comfortable looking at himself, he deserves so much, it's not fair that Matt has to deal with that
I really appreciate him being so open about this, and the other hosts for letting him talk and being supportive. I don't have body dysmorphia, but I definitely do have imposter syndrome. For the past two years or so every day I'm just kind of waiting for my boss to call me to tell me I'm fired for some reason. It adds an anxiety to my daily life I don't need.
God… my respect for this man has increased more than it ever has. I love matt so much and it takes a lot to talk about something like this. Because of him and his braveness I have even come to start creating my own dnd world and a community of friends to do so and seeing this side is just heartwarming and heartbreaking to see that he is able to do these things and speak about how he feels even in his own body as not the internet persona Matthew Mercer DM of critical role but as Matthew Miller (mercer).
This randomly popped up on my recommendations today, and it was exactly what I needed to see. Matt Mercer's public face always seems so effortlessly charismatic and charming. He's not only a super successful voice actor, but he's also part of the insane success that is Critical Role. But even with all that he struggles with his mental health and he acknowledges that it gets harder when you are super busy which so few people talk about. Just reminds me I'm not the only one.
I just want to hug Matt, and give him a good meal. That voice crack... made me cry. He is truly an amazing person...
Holy shit. I hope the universe is sending Matt the love that millions of people have for him, myself included.
Matt Mercer is a role model not only because of his incredible voice acting, his legendary GMing and his outstanding world building, but also because of his self-awareness and vulnerability to talk about this. I can definitely relate when he talks about body dysmorphia and Imposter Syndrome, sometimes it's just hard to realize you deserve everything good that happens to you and seeing him face his struggles while being this awesome makes me want to follow him to war if he'd ask
It blows my mind that a living legend like Matt can feel impostor feelings. Just shows how difficult and irrational anxiety can be.
I actually had no idea about this, but it makes me appreciate him even more. I hope he comes to accept that people love him _with_ his flaws, and that these insecurities only make him more admirable for everything he's accomplished. I've got lots of anxiety myself and it's hard to go through all of it as a perfectionist, but we all deserve to take a break.
Crazy to see in the title how many years back this was. Hope this lad and everyone around him is doing fine. Mercer among the original Critter cast and its splendorous fanbase has always been a unending source of light for me in many valleys of shadows.
Let’s hope these past years have been kind to him and he’s doing better these days
Powerful to see someone so many of us look up to be so vulnerable here, as many others have said. But I also want to shout out to Pat, for recognising the moment, and giving Matt a prompt to focus on and talk through the vulnerability.
Wow this was wonderful to hear him talk about. It's a very vulnerable moment and it took a lot for him to say that. ❤
As someone with different life details but coming to terms with acceptance of the same feelings, i appreciate Matt opening up like this and wording it so well. Beautiful vulnerability and inner strength in display here ❤️
I have dealt with my own dysmorphia for a long time, likely due to childhood trauma and relentless bullying. It wasn’t until this past June that I felt comfortable enough to stop growing my goatee out because it hid my double chin, and that was about 21 months after having Weight Loss surgery. I still have days where I look in the mirror at my body and feel ugly because of OTHER parts of my body that haven’t changed. Looking at pictures and videos prior to surgery, I don’t like what I see but I also don’t recognize them as much. It’s why I made a conscious decision to not look at the scale or mirror to track my progress after surgery, but what my body could DO.
I love that man so much, outside of any parasocial situation, because he’s me.
When people say, "Be gentle with people because you don't know what they're going through," THIS is what they mean. One of the most handsome, clever, charismatic, popular people in the world can't look himself in the eye because his brain is stuck on Bad.
Matt Mercer is the reason that I know I have Body Dysmorphia Disorder, after hearing him talking about it before I realised that I was feeling heard and seen. You can see how difficult it is for him to talk about but I will be grateful for the rest of my life that he found the courage to do so.
Matt can really be incredibly proud of himself achieving as much as he did while facing these struggles. It's also very hard to talk about this stuff, and even more so doing it in public.
Great guy.
I had no idea that these things can happen even with conventionally attractive people. My first instinct was to think “what? he’s good looking so that doesn’t effect him” but him explaining regardless of others perception that’s how he viewed himself helped me understand. I hope he’s taken all the mental and emotional steps needed to heal and is doing better now. Regarding imposter syndrome I hear SOOOO many celebrities/athletes mention they feel the same way which is interesting, it seems like they feel everyone else has it figured out and they are the fakers when in reality as I grow older (and I hope they see this too) everyone is just faking their way through it all and acting like they have it all figured out 😅 when in reality 99% of people are just trying to make it in this random unpredictable life.
Thank you for your bravery. I hope that one day you will come to see the beautiful, richly talented and amazing mind that is so very evident to us all. Thank you for you, Mr. Mercer.❤
Love you, Matt. Your struggles are those of real people, and we love you even more for them. I have been so happy to see you blowing everyone away dming The Ravening War on D20, because you were outside your usual sphere and you did SO GOOD. As a Critter first, it was so cool to see how much the D20 fans have got behind you, and they did because you're fab and you rocked it. Xxx
Every time I see Matt credited in voice acting I have to go back and listen because I cN'T F"#K!NG find him the first time around because he's just that good at slightly changing his pitch, his tone, his accent. He just stops existing and becomes that character it is legitimately insane. When he does it live with DnD actual plays it's like I'm watching a magic show where I don't know what's happening and I don't care because I'm just in awe and taken away to whatever world he's DMing.
My entire adult life ive had body dysmorphia, At 18 i was around 280lbs and felt hideous and no matter how i changed my body that never really changed, I dropped down to 170lbs and could still only see flaws, I worked out a ton and gained alot of muscle and fat that came with it is all i can see. At 30 im slowly starting to feel more comfortable in my own skin but i still hate seeing myself in a mirror or even the reflection of a window.
And what a sweet and brave man Matt Mercer is, To show such vulnerability to so many people, I wish i could be so emotionally open.
I'm sorry to hear that you felt ugly - regardless of your weight. The negative stigma around bodies that don't fit the "ideal" can follow us now matter how much closer to the "ideal" we get. I'm a 32 year old man with body dysmorphia around being "too short", and it's gotten to the point where I feel like the only way I can be at peace is to give up on romantic/sexual relationships for life lol. I'm really glad you're handling your condition better! ERP might help with your mirror struggles.
As someone that suffers from BDD and hearing Matt explaining certain things like the pool and mirrors as well as the Imposter syndrome. Relate so much to those feelings. It’s just I don’t wanna say nice but it’s just comforting to know that you are not alone and hearing Matt’s voice break broke me a little bit because you know it tough it’s something that doesn’t really go away even if you are the top of your game and feeling good it can change but having a good support system and friends that can be there and lean on is important as well
Idk where I’m going with this it’s just all word thoughts
I genuinely had no idea about this side of Matt. I’m grateful he was open enough to share this because it’s something I deeply relate to and kind of needed to hear. I know this is a few years old now so I hope he’s doing better these days
I almost teared up watching this. I love Matt so much. I look up to him as a person and as a DM. It hurts me to see that he goes through these things, but i completely understand.
We love you Matt, we will never disappear 🥺
What an incredible, vulnerable interview with Matt, a man of such heart and talent. Heartbreaking to hear him talk about his struggles, but also so genuinely mind-blowing the level of honesty about what he has had to overcome, and yet be the quintessential role model for generosity and nurturing. I can only wish, Matt, that you keep getting better, and thank you for putting so much light into the world
I'm a 5'9.5" guy with pretty extreme height dysphoria/body dysmorphia. I'm in a constant state of self-disgust. It makes me feel like I'm not a man, like it's impossible for women to be physically attracted to men my height and shorter, like I'm a freak of nature and a genetic dead-end. I can't enjoy anything anymore and trying to distract myself from it feels futile. No amount of therapy or medication has helped at all. Thank you for bringing attention to this disorder, Matt!
Wow, the only other time I've heard him get this sort of choked up, was at the end of the mighty nien campaign. And while that was a very bitter sweet sort of emotional, this seems to be just being truly vulnerable. Which is really commendable.
i just want to give him a hug
So much respect and love for this man.
BD is a terrible and dangerous ailment. This is a huge thing to be wrestling with and not one you can or should manage without help. Wishing all the love and support in the world to you and anyone else out there struggling with this illness.
WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH MATT
Give this man a hug!
This was really powerful; I greatly appreciate him sharing this
Being self aware and honest with ourself and others is so very difficult, but necessary for healing. This is so pure and beautiful that he can share his feelings.
Bless this brilliant and passionate man.
Hearing Matt talk openly about this helped me. Thank you, Matt.
Gosh I remember this when it aired. Thank you for making it available for folks to watch.
This just makes me love this dude even more.
I love you Matt, thank you for sharing this, you are so amazing for being so willingly vulnerable, you have no idea how much it meant to hear someone as amazing as you sharing this
wow. hearing matthew talk about this really seems to resonate with me. and to know i’m not alone in this makes it feel not as hopeless. thank you matt for being so open.
I mean this without any sexual connotation whatsoever. I don’t want it to come across as creepy or perverted. But, I consistently notice how handsome Matthew Mercer is when watching Critical Role. I am not saying that to be nice, its just true. Also, literally one of the most impressive creators, voice actors, and masters of improvisation ever. Has probably inspired more people to become creative, whether for work or for play than he can count. Love ya bud!
… making my way! 😊
Thank you for sharing this. Made me more comfortable about sharing my own mental health issues. The fact you have the fear of it all just slipping away from you make me so sad becsuse deep down when you think about it we all have this fear that its all for nothing and once you loss it its always gone. Matt we all love you stay strong and never loss sight of the amazing man you are. I know you will never read this matt but thank you from the bottom of my heart.
This is so relatable and brave of him to explain it like that. I feel all his symptoms in such a deep level, and I look up to him so much
this man has so much in his heart and head. he is so understandingnof others struggles but rarely gets to relief from his own.
Amazing courage, thank you for sharing! You are awesome in so many ways Matt!
His clothing choices actually make far more sense, now. I always thought it had to be more than a fashion choice to always wear a shirt over a shirt.
I did the same thing growing up with the same disorder. I would NEVER leave the house without an exact fashion choice that Matt wears every time. I'd always have a button up shirt (unbuttoned) over a t shirt, in order to hide my body. I was so self conscious and saw myself as a disgusting human being, and I still struggle with it. Even though I've gone onto multiple 'rate' boards and have been assured I'm very attractive, I just can't see anything else in the mirror besides an ugly fat person because of my upbringing.
I feel for Matt. I'm 31 years old and I still struggle with it. But instead of fixing how I see myself, I've gone the route of just not caring what I look like anymore.
Matt, you're a hero and a comfort to others by sharing this experience with others and you're perfect!
Amazingly honest and revealing conversation. Truly thankful for his words.
Matt hit the spot for so many people in life. Love this.
I love you, dude. Thanks for sharing, it has helped me a lot.
That last sentence is something I have worked myself out of with the realization that nobody truly knows what they are doing. I'm friends with some successful people and seeing how much they are equally as much as a clown as I am with adult life really helped.
But that not wanting to get off the hamster wheel for fear of never getting back up again is hallmark C-PTSD right there. I definitely have that too and it doesn't help that I get complimented all the time for always having it all together. I hope he reminds himself regularly that he's not alone in feeling this way cause that's so easy to forget.
Man...I love Matt Mercer. He's such an incredible guy and an inspiration to so many. Truly one of the reasons I can find the strength to carry on.
I want to give this beautiful amazing funny clever talented man the biggest hug ever. Hearing his voice crack brought me to tears. It's so powerful to hear a guy talk about this as well. It's so important.
I adore him, marisha, the whole CR crew. Together they have gotten me through so hard times. I didn't know about his parents until I saw this. I can relate a my mother was and still is an alcoholic. That alone messes with your head and growing up in that situation is hard AF. Here's the truth to Matt and anyone else feeling this way - none of us really know what we're doing. We're all just *sings* making our way * through life the best we can. One foot after the other, stumble after stumble.
This man is such an inspiration ❤ i only wish him the bestest.
We love you Matt Mercer!
you have no idea how many people will benefit and feel free to talk about these issues after hearing you open your heart to the world. Much respect to you Matt. I see and hear you.
What an amazing human to be willing to be honest and vulnerable. I hope he has found some healing with some of this over the past 6 years. CR has been such a hugely positive experience for me, so I can't help but want good things to come to him.
Oh Matt... 😢
I have looked up to you for a very long time and my respect for you just skyrocketed even more. Thank you for being so vulnerable. You are a wonderful human being, inside and out. Thank you for being here ❤️
How can anyone see this and not want to hug this man.
Interesting how these two disorders are related, as he feels like he is hiding his 'true self', both physically (body dysmorphism) and intellectually (imposter syndrome) in order to be accepted.
Despite the fact that no one in their right mind would criticize him for either.
Stumbled across this video and it just makes me love Matt Mercer even more. I hope he continues to find success and some peace amongst his friends and family.
Thank you Matt for opening up about that. So many of us struggle with similar issues
Man, I love Matt mercer. Class act dude.
Wow... woww... this makes me respect and love Matt that much more... wow... what a brave and courageous man to talk about this.... I love him
Just made me love Matt Mercer more.
The first time I heard him talk about his body dysmorphia, I realized what issue I had. He has helped me so much. I might not be able to look in a mirror but at least I know that I do not suffer alone. Thank you for posting this and shining a light on something that exist for a lot of people.
I love that he did this so much. Terrible that he has to experience that, of course, but very helpful to others that he shared. A lot more of us experience this than we realize and normalizing talking about it is a fantastic and brave thing to do.
Oh Matt! You are a treasure!
God bless this man, he's truly a good person and he continues to push forward.
It now makes perfect sense as to why he is so good at voices. He lived through his characters and npcs to live a life that was not him in hopes to feel hood about himself. I very much understand that.
Mathew Mercer is such a wonderful soul and person in general. Brother I hope you know you inspired me to push through my darkest moments and made me feel a part of your group when I felt loneliest in the world. Through your stories and wonderful personality and interaction with your friends and through critical role you showed me how beautiful such relationships can be. I have deep and paralyzing scars too, but I am learning to overcome and embrace them as a part of me and try to use them as a shield to protect me on my journey through this life. Thank you for sharing your light on this world and continue being you Matt, as well as you Holly and Patrick. Love you all :)
I struggle with this daily and I even struggle to film myself for youtube videos because of this. Hearing Matt talk about this is just harrowing. Love him.
I've respected and adored Matt for at least eight years now, and he never ceases to blow me away with his kindness, and genuineness, and passion, and intellect. I really hope he knows how much he is loved.
This is insane bravery right here. Just by letting this be here, makes the world a better place.
And what a stellar support move at 02:09 to ask to specify something, so there's time to breathe again. All around a nice experience.