‘Mirror fasting’, the latest trend to hit a generation of image-conscious and – dare I say – rather insecure women, has become one of the most talked about new fads in the media  this week. Models and staff at Models Direct have been excitedly discussing stories about it since Monday. Could this be the magic self-confidence solution we’ve all been looking for, and what’s it all about anyway?

Well, the idea is very simple. You just give up looking in mirrors for a set period of time and the break from your guilty narcissistic habit will help to eliminate any unhealthy obsession you may have with your appearance – leading to a happier, healthier you!

Mirror fasting ‘pioneer’ Autumn Whitefield-Madrano told reporters at the Guardian that this therapy for the vain and/or insecure has not only resulted in her feeling more “calm and serene”, it has also helped her to give up her “mirror face”. Well, that all sounds positive doesn’t it?

But for some of us the concept of ‘mirror fasting’ is nothing new and may signify something more sinister than a relatively simple and effective confidence booster. I can’t help thinking – are these ladies just kidding themselves?

I was a regular mirror faster throughout my school days and for me the experience was not one of empowerment, re-claiming my life and shedding the chains of vanity that bound me. For me it was a simple case of insecurity and denial in full swing. I would go as far as to suggest that a more appropriate name for this, recently much publicised, phenomenon would be ‘reality dodging’.

While it’s a lovely rather Zen idea that avoiding mirrors for a week or two could change a lifetime of over-prioritising one’s appearance in what is undeniably a looks-obsessed society, I’m afraid I don’t buy it. I went through my reality dodging phase as a painfully insecure teen with a crippling lack of self confidence, in what I can only assume to have been a severe reaction to some unrealistic idea about what I should see in the mirror as opposed to what I actually did.

I’m delighted to say that I got over my need to avoid mirrors and began accepting my appearance – certainly to the extent that I could bare to look at it – before my college years. Since then the only reality dodging episode I can recall falling fowl of was on a DJing job in Ibiza. It led to my playing an entire three hour set, at trendy superclub Eden, with practically half a lettuce stuck between my teeth.

Yes, there are pictures. No, your friends do not always tell you how ridiculous you look – it’s far more fun to take advantage of your vulnerability when you are reality dodging than to watch your back.

So, for those tempted by this rather dubious new fad, consider these two questions before you try it: Firstly, do you really trust your friends to save you from the embarrassment of a stray eye bogey when you’ve rushed into work having shunned all reflective surfaces on the way? And secondly, what the hell are you trying to avoid anyway?