Body Dysmorphic Disorder 101
“See, this is what I used to look like (he says pulling a photo out of his wallet). I was fat. I lost a lot of weight. I am sixty pounds lighter than I was in this picture. I don’t ever want to be that big again. Every day I struggle to keep the weight off. From the time I wake up to the time I go to bed all I think about is food. What I can or cannot eat. I exercise three hours a day just to maintain this weight just so I can eat. When I save enough money I am going to get a tummy tuck and ab implants. I just can’t seem to get a pack no matter how many sit-ups I do.”
Body Dysmorphic Disorder or BDD is a mental health condition where the person obsesses over their looks, or the perceived flaws of their looks. They’re never satisfied with the way they look so they are always working on something, changing something or dressing something up. You may be thinking, “this sounds like the average teen,” but if you look closer you’ll see that it is the obsession with flaws, which is really nothing, a crisis they must compulsively do something about. Without changing the flaw, there is extreme anxiety.
BDD is a coping mechanism to avoid other things that the teen doesn’t want to deal with. It can start with something that is fairly reasonable maybe a legitimate flaw, or relative abnormality that is fixed either by a procedure or surgery, but then it just escalates until 40 surgeries later they are walking around unrecognizable to themselves and others. This disorder can be associated with eating disorders like anorexia nervosa (teens restrict their eating to almost nothing or nothing), or bulimia nervosa (teens binge on food and then do something to compensate for the overeating like vomit, exercise or use laxatives).
BDD can be very disabling causing extreme anxiety about socializing, leaving the house or initiating friendships. Can you imagine asking friends repeatedly for reassurance about your appearance? These characteristics create a certain level of stress for them that can be disabling. This is especially hard when they understand that what they are doing is extreme, but have no control to stop it.
BDD can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy where the goal is to counter these negative thoughts with the reality of the situation slowly and with hard work decreasing anxiety about their flaws. BDD may not seem like a big deal, but it is debilitating not only for those with the disease, but those who associate with and love them. So if you know someone that you think might suffer from BDD it is always best to have them seek help early before the patterns of obsession and compulsion set in about their body and change their lives forever.
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