Body Dysmorphic Disorder Summary

Society and the media have an enormous influence on an individual’s concept of beauty and bodily perfection. Even the “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” many people allow the media’s influence into their lives, which is a dangerous thing to allow (Vogel, 2015). According to David Newman, author of Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, society is defined as the “population of people living in the same geographic area who share a culture and a common identity and whose members fall under the same political authority” (Newman, 2010, 18). The people within a society constantly create and add to the pressure already placed on individuals which can severely alter and harm one’s self-esteem. Self-esteem is

Upon reflection, I have decided to go into more research on this topic through the question of: What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder and how have print and television advertisements

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.

Body dysmorphia is a disorder that causes someone to obsess over a small or very insignificant flaw on their body that to others is not a problem. For example, a very healthy teenage girl could look in the mirror and see someone unhealthy and turn to anorexia to change her appearance when in reality she is a normal weight. This can lead to eating disorders (such as anorexia) as well as depression and anxiety. It can affect relationships and social events where eating is involved. According to Dr. David Veale of the Priory Hospital in North London, the definition of BDD is “a mental disorder characterized by preoccupation with an imagined defect in one’s appearance… there may be a minor physical abnormality, but the concern is regarded as grossly excessive” (Veale).

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), formerly known as dysmorphophobia, is characterized by a preoccupation of one or more perceived defects and or flaws in one’s physical appearance. These defects and or flaws are either not observable to others or appear slightly to other’s. This disorder is also characterized by repetitive behaviors and mental acts as a response to their beliefs on their personal appearance. These behaviors can include but are not limited to mirror checking, excessive grooming, skin picking, and comparing ones appearance to others. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), those with this disorder have concerns on their physical appearance

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.

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.

Body dysmorphic disorder is a psychological disorder in which a person thinks about their flaws and imperfections for hours a day and take extreme measures in order to “perfect their body” so it can finally appeal to them and be the way it is “suppose to be.” Those who suffer from this disorder cannot control there negative thoughts and it can prevent them from doing everyday activities such as attend school and attend work. They are more prone to miss social events than go out to show off their results and are insecure about how they tried to fix there “imperfections.” And are never satisfied with their results as they undergo more drastic measures to reach their end goal such as plastic surgery, continuous self-tanning, hours of laser surgeries

Chronic dieting, low self-esteem, depression and, high levels of body dissatisfaction were among the major issues women face when addressing their body image (Gingras, Fitzpatrick, & McCargar, 2004). The severity of body image dissatisfaction have increased to such a dangerous state that it was added to the DSM-IV as a disorder now called body dysmorphic disorder (Suissa, 2008). One of the main reasons for the prevalence of these conditions in women was due to contemporary Western media, which serve as one of the major agent in enforcing an ultra-thin figure as the ideal for female beauty (Saraceni & Russell-Mayhew, 2007). These images and models presented by the media have become the epitome of beauty, pushing women who internalized these images to dangerous extent to attain these norms. According to evidence from previous studies, contemporary Western cultures have influenced women to an acquired normative state of discontent with their bodies, which have become the source of maladaptive eating practices, negative psychological outcomes, and, chronic health conditions associated with eating disorders (Snapp, Hensley-Choate, & Ryu, 2012). The seriousness of these body image conditions among youths and women have also led to congressional actions.

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.

For example, a personal problem many women face is Body Dysmorphic Disorder. This mental illness comprises of an obsessive fixation on a perceived flaw of the body. Moreover, the fixation on the imperfect causes women to compulsively check the perceived flaws, engage in behaviors to minimize the perceived flaws, as well as, detrimentally compare their appearance to that of others. Though the disorder is hardly noticeable to the general public, it is a personal problem many women encounter. With the use of the sociological imagination, Body Dysmorphic Disorder correlates to the strong presence of media. Specifically, the exposure to certain beauty standards along with, particular ideas of womanhood. Additionally, unrealistic images through the usage of photoshop effect the mental health of women as well as, the way in which they perceive themselves. The pressure to look a certain way derived from the media is everywhere. Ultimately, the social issue of media impacts the triggers of Body Dysmorphia in women throughout the

Muscle dysmorphia's rising incidences are due partly to recent popularity of extreme idealisation of men's bodies. Very stressful and distracting, muscle dysmorphia's body related concerns encoursge absences from school, work, and socializing. Perceiving your own body as highly undesirable, may cause you to avoid dating. Versus other body dysmorphic disorder, the rates of suicide attempts may be especially high. Although like anorexia nervosa in females, muscle dysmorphia is quite unknown and hard to recognize, especially because males experiencing it typically look healthy to others. By some estimates, 10% of gym-going men experience muscle

Body dysmorphic disorder also shows up in other countries. BDD is a common disorder among individuals seeking aesthetic surgery in Iran. In Brazil, prevalence of the disorder in dermatologic patients was evaluated in a sample of 150 patients in a cosmetic group, 150 in a general dermatology group, and 50 control subjects. Prevalence in the cosmetic group was 14%, compared with 6.7% for the general group, and 2% for the control group.

We know that the patient suffering from BPD, has a constellation, an agglomeration of symptoms which could be summarized as: 1) affective instability (Emotional), 2) self-injurious behavior (Behavioral), 3) evaluation and devaluation of others (Interpersonal).

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,