Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder

While you may be familiar with the self-image mental illnesses such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, you may not know about body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD. People who suffer from BDD have an obsessive belief that a certain aspect of their body is horribly misshapen or disproportionate, and they can worry about the self-perceived flaw to the point of it affecting their ability to function.

Dysmorphia can come in several different variations. Most commonly, people focus on facial or upper body features, but some people can have an overall obsession. One example is muscle dysmorphic disorder, or MDD. MDD is a subset of BDD where a person thinks that he or she does not have enough body muscle. There is a difference between healthy workouts to build and tone muscle and MDD workouts.

People with MDD may have a love/hate relationship with going to the gym because they love to go and work out to build muscles, but they also can grow to hate their perceived lack of muscle tissue due to comparing themselves with other, more muscular people at the gym.

However, the areas that people tend to obsess over due to BDD are usually hair, skin, nose size/shape, and ear size/shape. Someone with BDD may become fixated on ways to help cover up or fix their perceived flaw, such as with hair extensions or plastic surgery.

Symptoms of BDD

If you believe that someone you know is suffering from BDD, you may want to look for the following symptoms:

• Low self-confidence
• Love/hate relationship with mirrors
• Need for reassurance about appearance
• Excessively touching or picking at “flaw”
• Utilizing methods to hide the “flaw”
• Avoidance of pictures or social situations



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Someone who is suffering from BDD should seek professional help in aiding them to get past their perceived flaw. For more information on health and body issues, check out the Health Directory today.