Tag: body image

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is preoccupation with the belief that your body or appearance are unattractive, ugly, abnormal or deformed. You feel embarrassed, ashamed, anxious, and depressed about your “flaws”.  You may seek multiple plastic surgeries but still feel dissatisfied to the point that you may even try to hide your appearance or avoid social interactions. Sounds familiar? About 1 in every 50 people may suffer from BDD. Some celebrities may suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder. The questions is, do I have body dysmorphic disorder?

Signs of Body Dysmorphic Disorder

• Excessively concerned or distressed by appearance flaws that others such as friends, family, or doctors tell you are minor or nonexistent;
• Strongly believe that you have a defect in your appearance that makes you ugly or deformed;
• Appearance concerns interfere with your work, study, social life, or daily functioning;
• Believe that others take special notice of your appearance in a negative way or mock you;
• Have had multiple plastic surgeries or procedures but still feel unsatisfied with your appearance;
• Believe that having cosmetic procedures will transform your life or fix all of your problems;
• Avoid social situations。

The most common features and areas people tend to fixate about include:

• Face, such as nose, eyes, lips, wrinkles, freckles, acne and other blemishes
• Hair, such as appearance, thinning and baldness
• Breast size
• Buttock size
• Skin and vein appearance
• Muscle size and tone, or muscle dysmorphia
• Genitalia

Causes of Body Dysmorphic Disorder

It’s unknown what causes body dysmorphic disorder. Like many other mental health conditions, body dysmorphic disorder may result from a combination of issues. Recent research has suggested that these factors could include

• genetics or family history of the disorder
• abnormalities in the brain
• abuse or bullying
• low self-esteem
• perfectionism or competing with others
• depression, anxiety or OCD
• personality type
• life experience with negative evaluations or experiences about your body or self-image. 

Body Dysmorphic Disorder Treatment

How to treat body dysmorphic disorder? Treatment depends on your symptoms, age, general health, and severity of the condition. Treatment for BDD may include psychotherapy or medications. The best treatment is a combination of the two. Research shows that the sooner treatment begins, the better the chance for controlling symptoms and recovering.

CBT for body dysmorphic disorder

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the most effective talk therapy. CBT is to learn how to replace negative thoughts and cognitive distortions with rational thoughts.

ACT for Body Dysmorphic Disorder

ACT, or Acceptance Commitment Therapy, focuses on tolerating thoughts and symptoms, rather than trying to change, dispute, and generate alternative interpretations to problems. Acceptance based exposure therapy has shown clinically significant improvement in symptoms reductions. ACT also increased distress tolerance and self-acceptance 

Mindfulness-Based therapy for Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Mindfulness involves the awareness of being in the present moment, acceptance without judgment, and self-compassion.