Keywords; Body dysmorphic disorder

Key points:

What is body dysmorphia?

Why body dysmorphia is produced?

Different techniques to figure out Dysmorphia.

 

What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Teen years are greatly challenging for young ones. The growth does not merely involve physical development. It includes emotional, social, and personal development. Adolescents have a lot of personal issues. They lack self-confidence, and they need more external validation. Personal trust is at a point of collapse.

They feel anxious and overwhelmed all the time. People with Body Dysmorphic Disorder have a definite preoccupation with body defects or morbidly excessive concern about a minor unwanted feature.

Dissatisfaction with one’s body is common but it does not affect a person’s life.

One study found that almost 75% of college students show some degree of concern about their bodies and appearance. However, a minority of them reached the level of preoccupation (Bohne,2002). Another study found that when adolescents with this disorder, consulted mental health professionals they mostly emphasize feelings of anxiety or depression, phobias, and other psychological stresses. They did not mention their concern about bodily preoccupation. (Veal,1996). This seems to result from strong feelings of embarrassment. They believe that other people will not understand them. They have a strong need to be accepted as perfect.

Common Signs and Symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder

The insecurities about body shape, size structure, weight, and height are almost universal among adolescents. They cope with it after a time, however, a proportion of young males and females do not get out of their insecure thinking patterns, and they are concerned with their bodies, some will be worrying about the shape of their nose, and some are concerned for having a lean body, a young boy will be catastrophizing about not having so muscular body. Girls think that they are not gaining the height they should have ideally. If the thinking is so excessive that it is consuming extra time, social or daily functioning is disturbed. The person is trying to avoid social situations. They feel to stay away from people around them. They drop social gatherings. They want to conceal themselves. It is the sign of initiation of a disorder, i.e. Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

How to Identify in Behaviour

BDD can cause distress, excessive self-consciousness, and avoidance of social situations and intimacy, leading to depression, isolation, and potentially suicidality (KenNY, Knott, & Cox, 2012), or excessive compensatory behaviours to compensate for the perceived flaw- e.g., narcissism regarding other personal qualities.

People with BDD will undergo unneeded cosmetic surgery, dental procedures, or dermatological procedures to correct the perceived flaw (Kenny, Knott, and Cox, 2012), but are typically not satisfied with the results, as this is an internal perceptual problem.

Some clinicians and researchers believe BDD is a type of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) but this is uncertain if BDD is a part of the OCD spectrum (Kenny, Knott, & Cox, 2012). The DSM-5 currently classifies BDD as a discrete disorder.https://www.theravive.com/therapedia/body-dysmorphic-disorder-dsm–5-300.7-(f45.22).

 

Research on body image shows that there is a discrepancy between the bodies people want and the bodies they do have. In one study, it was shown that men wanted to have a much leaner and more muscular body than the body they had or perceived themselves to have(Pope,2000).

They also believed that women want men to have more muscular bodies. The interesting point in this regard came forward when women showed that they do not prefer the muscular bodies of men. The wide discrepancy between men’s actual muscularity and their ideal body type plays a role in a pathological preoccupation called ” muscle dysmorphia”.

What it is Not 

BDD falls toward the end of a continuum of behaviour that focuses on bodily appearance.

Rosenberg said.

It’s not considered abnormal for some women to change outfits several times before going out, or for a man to spend time on a comb-over to hide a bald spot. Likewise, up to a point, the decision to get plastic surgery is not necessarily a pathological one all the time.

We need a more clear picture to identify whether a person is facing some disorder or just a normal reaction to some problem.

To suffer from BDD, someone must perceive some aspect of his or her body as significantly “defective” (even though the “defect” is minor if it exists at all). In addition, that perception must cause significant distress and impair his or her ability to function.https://www.huffpost.com/entry/body-dysmorphic-disorder-dsm-5-appearance_n_3346391.

 

Cultural Aspect

In certain cultures such as South Korea, the parents finance their children after school for major plastic surgery procedures. The beauty standards are so high that many young Koreans go through the knives. They believe that they can not obtain good jobs if they are not having good bodies. The idea of well-being, prosperity, success, and happiness is linked with the perfect body type.

The influence of the Cosmetic Industry 

Our cosmetic industry has been an essential pillar of body dysmorphia. The commercials playing on TVs all-day show women with perfect, bodies, weight, noses, and lips. Young girls are captive to them and inspire to be like the models. The emphasis for a perfect girl is on looking good.

The dissatisfaction with the body leads to body dysmorphic disorder. The absence of any physical anomaly does not guarantee

that the person is satisfied with his s image of the body. It is a subjective idea.

The Stigma of having an Ideal Body Type

The ideal body type is the main trigger. One should ask, these questions.

        • What is normal for you? ( about the body part person holds a dysmorphia).
        • What is malfunctioning for you?
        • What is realistic?
        • What is admired?
        • What is despised?

these types of questions will reveal, the body image of the person.

Treatment Approaches

Therapy will begin by providing basic information on the pathology and psychology of physical appearance. The concept of body image, and the development of body dysmorphic disorder.

Cognitive Restructuring

Challenging the maladaptive thoughts, that hold no evidence or poor evidence.

by challenging them. Make a list of thoughts of the dysmorphic person. Ask him/her to rewrite the thoughts more affirmatively and positively. read them aloud to yourself.

Re assurance from loved ones

Adolescents are more sensitive to criticism. The comments from a fellow, a neighbour, a teacher, or even a stranger can make them more prone to feel low about themselves. Through counselling and reassurance from loved ones, mothers, or someone they value to make them feel high about themselves. Reassurance is an important key to such an issue. for example, a teenager, fighting acne or acne marks, needs assurance that this condition is short-lived and the pimples will finally go away.

we are all born with differences, Our differences make us unique. The bodies that we have are all different. There is nothing external idealism, through which we can compare ourselves.

We are uniquely unequal.

Body Dysmorphia is all about accepting this unequal uniqueness. There is no yardstick to which we can compare our height weight and body type. Our noses, lips, and eyes are good the way they are. Multiple things can make us stand out from the crowd. We can make ourselves more accepting of ourselves before we ask others to accept us.

Citation

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. (5th Edition). Washington, DC.

 

Bohne. Prevalence of symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder and its correlates: a cross-cultural comparison – PubMed (nih.gov)

Porter, D. (2022). Body Dysmorphic Disorder DSM-5 300.7 (F45.22) – Therapedia (theravive.com)

Wynne Parry, LiveScience Contributor
Published: 05/26/2013 09:14 AM EDT on LiveScience. DSM-5: Body Dysmorphic Disorder Or Obsessed With Appearances? | HuffPost Life

Korean Joong Ang Daily: More teens having plastic surgery (joins.com)Feb,17*2011(.

 https://youtu.be/iByzHz6qrfI