What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder?

One of my very good friends suffers from a disorder known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder. This is not a common disorder that is usually heard of in society. We are usually familiar with other psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety and bi-polar disorder. However, Body Dysmorphic Disorder is not as recognized as other illnesses.

What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder? It’s a psychological condition in which the person who has the disorder, is obsessed with their appearance. The person thinks that they are ugly and usually hides the part of their face or body that they find flawed. Other people will usually look at this person and think that they look normal or that they are actually a very attractive person.

In fact, it seems that some of the people with this disorder are attractive or at least average looking. I did some research on Youtube.com. There were some very pretty girls on there claiming how they felt so ugly that it interfered with their lives.The people claiming that they are ugly are usually not ugly and do not have the flaws that they think they do. It is almost like a hallucination.

Basically, the person sees a distorted image of themselves. The person may hide and isolate themselves from people. This creates problems with holding jobs, going to school, making friends and even doing normal everyday things, such as going to a supermarket.

When the Body Dysmorphic Disorder, also known by it’s abbreviation, BDD, is really severe, the person may also suffer from depression. The person may withdrawal and be lonely due to not wanting anyone to see their appearance.

I read a book called, The Broken Mirror, by Dr. Katharine Phillips. It is a book about Body Dysmorphic Disorder and people’s personal experiences with the disorder. This helped me to get to know more about my friend’s disorder.

In the book, it stated that suicide rates were very high for this disorder. Also, that the person with this disorder suffers greatly. The person with this disorder is not being vain, rather it is an illness, just like any other psychological condition.

I would compare it somewhat to anorexia, although it is different. It is a average looking or above average looking person seeing themselves as ugly, while other people can not see it. Just like an anorexic person sees themselves as being overweight, while they are clearly very thin and underweight looking to other people.

My friend said that it’s hard for people to understand Body Dysmorphic Disorder because not many people know enough about it. There are not as many treatments available for this disorder as there are other disorders. People just don’t know enough about it to be able to understand or comprehend it.

My friend receives compliments on his appearance often. He doesn’t believe any of the comments that people say. He thinks that they are just being nice. He is an attractive young man who hides himself from the world and it affects every aspect of his life.

He suffers greatly. He has not been able to hold a full time job. There are days when he can not leave the house. He falls into deep depressions and it’s due to the Body Dysmorphic Disorder. He has tried medications, cognitive therapy and even natural remedies. However, he is still suffering from this terrible disorder and does not know what to do at this point. There is not enough help out there.

I wanted to spread the word about this disorder because I see how greatly my friend suffers. If you know of anyone who is having a problem socializing, leaving the house or is checking the mirror all day for perceived flaws, then they may have Body Dysmorphic Disorder. It might help to talk to a professional who has at least some experience with this disorder.

The treatments my friend has tried have not helped him enough, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t help someone else. Everyone’s body and brain chemistry is different. It’s worth a try if something out there can alleviate some of the horrible symptoms of this disorder. Hopefully psychologists and other mental health therapists will have a better understanding and be able do more research for this disorder. This way, people like my friend could possibly get the help that they need.

I’m hoping that one day my friend will find the right treatment to get his life back and start enjoying life. Until then, I continue to offer my time to help by listening and being there for him. I’m sure it helps somewhat to have a good support system.