When we look into the mirror do we see ourselves or do we see ourselves as we want to see us?

Answer 1

It depends on what we are most comfortable in knowing, and how aware we are of ourselves.

When you say mirror, I assume you are talking about the physical reflecting mirror. I would then say we see all of ourselves, as we truly are. the eye does not lie (except in optical illusions ;)). However, we can choose to focus and ignore the parts of ourselves which we do not like or are afraid of confronting.
So, let's say someone who has a love handle does not see anything wrong with having one will not notice it at all.
If a person places great importance in their imperfections, for example a large nose, then that is all they see. How ugly their nose is.

so what it takes is the focus. we may see all of ourselves, but our true focus is what we bank on, and it becomes larger than life.

sometimes, perceptions gets skewed and becomes a disorder. anorexia and bulimia may be a result of skewed perceptions.
The best is for self-awareness. It helps one see more clearly.

Answer 2

We have selective perception, which means we see what we are looking for. If we are beautiful but have a blemish on our chin. We may see the blemish and render ourselves ugly. It all depends how confident we, how much value we place on looks and what we think of ourselves. You can have ten people look at another person and ask them if the person is good looking or not and you will get ten different answers based on all the above factors. It's not a matter of what you "want to see", it's a matter of what you "expect to see". Anorexics look in mirror and see "fat" because they expect to see that, no matter how thin they are. Body dsymorphia is when this process goes to the extreme.

Answer 3

Actually we see in the mirror to check ourselves as are we looking as we want

Answer 4

I think we don't see certain things about ourselves because we are so used to them. It seems to me that I have way more acne and look worse in pictures than in the mirror, but I'm just used to looking at myself at certain angles.

Answer 5

That is an intangible. How can anyone know this for sure, maybe when you look at your pictures you only see what you want to, too. And maybe your lover is horrid but you only see him as georgeous and perhaps the world is really flat but we've been brainwashed to believe it is round? Come on, this an an exercise in objectivity! Or maybe futility. If a tree falls in the woods...............