Body Dysmorphia – Understanding and Overcoming Introduction Imagine looking in the mirror and seeing exactly what you think you looked like. A large nose, acne-prone skin, single eyelids, and the list goes on. We all wish we could change that one imperfection we have. However, some of us can accept it and carry on with our lives; not for sufferers of body dysmorphic disorder. Learning about this really has hit me close to home; as according to the National Health Service (NHS), having body dysmorphic disorder does not mean you are vain or self-obsessed, as it can be upsetting and have a big impact on your life. Therefore, I would like to share with you my findings on what body dysmorphic disorder is, how social media plays an important role, and how it can help alleviate the issue. BODY - what The International OCD Foundation discovered that about 1 in 50 of the general population suffers from body dysmorphic disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder, or body dysmorphia, is a mental health condition where a person spends too much time worrying the imperfections in their appearance. Anyone can have body dysmorphia, but it is most common in teenagers and young adults. It is not known specifically what causes body dysmorphia; but like many other mental illnesses, they may be a result from a combination of causes such as, abnormalities …show more content…
An analysis done by the National Institute of Health revealed, that plenty of Pro-Anorexia or "Thinspiration" websites and blogs support extreme weight loss and eating disorders, masquerade as fitness inspiration websites. This caused plenty of body dysmorphia sufferers to restrict their diets, which is potentially hazardous as the content should supposedly be devoted to healthy pursuits. Social media is also an outlet where a person can be exposed to body shaming, which serves as a trigger for those already suffering from the
Body image disturbance syndrome is a disorder where one is “unable to see themselves as anything but fat, no matter how thin they become”(Bordo). This leads to one starving themselves or forcing themselves to vomit, known as bulimia. She says that the idea of a beautiful body has come from models and fashion designers, who claim that clothing doesn’t “hang right” on bustier people.
Only 1 percent of Americans are estimated to have body dysmorphia, yet it is present in 15 percent of those undergoing plastic surgery (Nowak 20). This disorder greatly interferes with daily life, as it often results in solitude, excessive grooming, social inadequacies, and hours of obsession. For instance, 25 percent of those with body dysmorphia have been housebound for over a week (Metules 32ac4). Just like those with breast augmentation surgery, the rates of suicide among these patients are alarmingly high. People with body dysmorphia are 45 times more likely to commit suicide than the average person: 2 times more than those with major depression, and 3 times more than those with bipolar disorder. (Nowak 20) Evidently, candidates for aesthetic plastic surgery are facing problems far deeper than physical
Also known as bigorexia, muscle dysmorphic disorder functions through the mind of those who have it and “wrongs the brain’s ability to map body boundaries” (“Muscle dysmorphic disorder (bigorexia),” 2016). Despite attempts at building their muscles by weightlifting or eating plans, bigorexic people are never satisfied with their bodies because they mind is incapable of doing so. Simply put, the mind is unable to see the progress or already existing muscle on those who suffer from this condition, therefore they are led to continuously work towards building their muscles out of a constant worry that they are too small. This disorder is more prevalent in males than females, possibly because “the culturally defined ideal male is big and strong while the ideal female is small and thin” (“Muscle dysmorphic disorder (bigorexia),” 2016). Despite the higher number of males that suffer with this disorder, there is a presence of females who believe they are too thin and Levine explains that media outlets contribute to society’s “obsession” with physical appearances. Levine (2009), also asserts that disorders and obsessions regarding body image spans across all “economic and sociocultural line,” which is a factor that can contribute to the number of those who suffer from
Body dysmorphic disorder or BDD is a type pf mental illness in which you can’t stop thinking about a flaw in your appearance. You intensely obsess over your appearance and body image, often for many hours a day. Your perceived flaw causes you significant distress, and your obsession impacts your ability to function in your daily life. You may seek out numerous cosmetic procedures or excessively exercise to try to "fix" your perceived flaw, but you're never satisfied. Body dysmorphic disorder is also known as dysmorphophobia, the fear of having a deformity.
In a generation filled with entertainment and technology, there are many advertisements that exist. Advertisements, such as clothing advertisements, involve lots of touch ups on the model, making what the world sees, a fake reality of what human body look like. For some of the North American population, these advertisements do not affect them; they will look at the body of the model and not think much of it. But for those who suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder, this will affect them in a completely different way. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is “a body image disorder characterized by persistent and intrusive preoccupations with an imagined or slight defect in one’s appearance” (ADAA, 2014). The impact that advertisements can have on those suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder, can be crucial to their mental health. These individuals will begin to obsess over changing something about themselves that may not even be an imperfection about them. But since a model or someone else looks a certain way and they do not, they will do anything they can to change it, which can be very unhealthy. Those with Body Dysmorphic Disorder will perform different behaviours to attempt at hiding or improving their flaws (ADAA, 2014). Some of those who are suffering may even develop an eating disorder.
It's tempting to want to get plastic surgery. It makes those with Body Dysmorphic Disorder feel better about themselves. Plastic Surgery has exploded the last couple decades being a popular trend from people being unsatisfied with their body, with a goal towards perfection. No wonder these modern day popular procedures are being used as a self improver to achieve perfection of one's looks for those with BDD. It may question many, why do people of BDD have the urge of aiming for perfection? The disorder causes them to have obsession with their appearance. They may thrive on a boost to their confidence in their workplace or school. It usually will help them with confidence for a while causing even better outcomes. The issue is it won't be long term confidence assuming surgery goes accordingly, and assuming surgery goes wrong it can cause major disappointment emotionally.
People now a days have a problem with the way they appear. For hundreds of years, people, especially females, have been concerned with their weight, the way they look, and the way people perceive them. In the article, Do You Have a Body Image Problem? author Dr. Katharine A. Phillips discusses the concerns with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Dr. Phillips uses her knowledge or ethics to discuss the effects that BDD has on people today. She also uses emotion to show the reader how people are seriously affected by this disorder. In Dr. Phillips article, she discusses how people are emotionally and socially affected by the body dysmorphic disorder, and how society is also affected by it.
The superficial quality of physical appearance has been held to a high regard for most of human history. Unfortunately, this focus on external perfection has been the root of many mental illnesses, including Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is characterized by the obsessive fixation upon a person’s perceived, often nonexistent, physical deformity (“Studies” 1).
Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a non-communicable disease that gets little attention because of how uncommon/unoticed it is. Because of the lack of knowledge people have about this disorder, some get offended when people afflicted with this disease avoid social situations/are negative etc. As someone that lives with Body Dysmorphia, I know from personal experience it is much more of a struggle that it physically appears to be.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), classified as a type of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a mental disorder
Thought there is no doubt in my mind that all body image disorders certainly have an influence from culture, however with Psychology, there is never a singular cause for any disorder. Culture, traumatic events, brain chemistry, and genetics are all aspects of what causes these disorders. All eating disorders and body dysmorphia/body image disorders ultimately have a link to depression and social anxieties. These types of disorders are the most misunderstood of any kind. Most feel that depression is “being sad”, but that is not the case. Often times depression has no cause and occurs because of a lack of adequate brain chemistry, leaving the sufferer with an emptiness that they seek to avoid through escapist behaviors, like drinking or drug
Societies mental grip is overwhelming and unyielding. It is incredibly easy to become seduced by society's ideals. People all over the world are constantly oppressed by society's views on what is right and what is wrong. The negative effects of this are endless and in the novel The Bluest Eye, Pecola becomes a first hand victim to a disease known as Body Dysmorphia. Body Dysmorphia is a anxiety disorder that causes people to become obsessed with how they look. People who suffer from this disorder analyze themselves constantly and the smallest flaws can cause them to lose their sense of self. Body Dysmorphia can be caused by traumatic events and emotional conflict throughout childhood.
According to WebMD, "body dysmorphic disorder is a distinct mental diorder in which a person is preoccupied with an imagined physical defect or a minor defect that others often cannot see." These people tend to call themselves ugly avoid being social with others, they also may hide behind plastic surgey to improve their image.
What is actually the Body dysmorphic disorder meant for? You may not be familiar with this term. Then let’s have a quick view over it. The term Body dysmorphic disorder refers to a specific type of mental illness which involves belief that the appearance of a specific person is unusually defective in reality, the perceived flaw might be non-existent or if it exists then it is totally negligible, unnoticeable or its significance is highly over exaggerated. This disease is also known as dysmorphic syndrome or body dysmorphia. Sometime the thoughts of negative body images is intrusive for some people who are acutely affected by this disorder though how many times the thought will be come is
Some individuals have “delusions of ugliness or misshapenness” (Bradbury, 301). This is called body dysmorphic disorder. They hold the belief that something is wrong with them despite them not being ugly at all. The patients` lives gets taken over by the need to find the “cure,” to rid them of their self-thought strange looks. Most patients with this disorder find themselves dejected and felt great shame in how they looked. Patients saw how they looked to be “socially unacceptable and as arousing strong adverse reactions in others, which led to social avoidance.” (Bradbury,