Since body image is generated inside your mind, and that image is affected by so many subjective factors, it is very likely to be inaccurate. The judgments you make about whether or not you like or approve of your own appearance can impact your well being. When you view your body in a positive light, you'll tend to feel better about yourself. When you don't like what you see, you'll tend to feel bad about yourself.
As is dramatically illustrated by the case of individuals with eating disorders, we tend to superimpose our own perceptions onto physical reality. A person with anorexia may appear emaciated, and yet continue to starve herself because she believes she is too fat, and therefore unattractive. Sometimes individuals, with or without physical impairments, become obsessed with a particular body part which they think ruins their appearance, such as belly or hip size. In a similar way, self-concept may be distorted in some persons with limb loss, especially if their amputation is recent.
With social emphasis on ridiculous standards such as being skeletally thin and always looking youthful (no matter what your chronological age) it is no wonder that having a body which does not meet social standards may prove a cause of distress for those with amputation. It is harder to camouflage loss of an upper-limb than loss of a lower one, since arms cannot be as effectively covered up by clothing as can legs. This may prove harder for females than males because of societal images of perfection.
As you have no doubt discovered, being physically different has social consequences. One of the most "handicapping" aspects of physical difference is the attitude of people who consider physically different individuals to be somehow "special" set apart from so-called "normal" people. This can impact your body-image and self-concept.
Very young children may not be concerned about how they appear to others, but as they age, they tend to become more self-conscious. This is greatly heightened in their teen-age years as adolescents become more aware of their changing bodies and those of the opposite sex. Adults can be just as self-conscious. When you don't match up to social or personal standards, it may be hard to accept yourself or to be accepted by others.
“To love yourself as you are is a miracle, and to seek yourself is to have found yourself, for now. And now is all we have, and love is who we are.”
— Anne Lamott