A Simple Guide to understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body Dysmorphic Disorder(BDD) is a mental illness that involves being overly concerned or obsessed about one’s looks. Also known as dysmorphophobia, this mental disorder was identified by Enrico Morselli, an Italian psychiatrist. BDD is developed by most people in their adolescent years. It causes significant distress and dysfunctional behaviour towards oneself. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychological Association, it is a preoccupation with an imagined defect in appearance.

BDD is caused by a combination of environmental, psychological and biological factors, though a specific cause has not been discovered.
Factors that predispose to BDD(factors that put you at risk of developing BDD)include:
-Personality type
-Family history of BDD
-Life experiences.

Symptoms of BDD include:
-Overly frequent checking of oneself in mirrors
-Helplessness
-Depression
-Obsessive compulsive behaviour
-Hopelessness
-Obsessively asking people how you look and unbelief even when you are told you look okay
-Anxiety, etc.
-BDD may also result in the development of eating disorders which could be due to one’s need to lose or gain weight. Or to look a certain way. These eating disorders include:
-Bulimia
-Anorexia nervosa
-Binge eating, etc.

A few steps to avoid or curb BDD:
-Appreciate your body type and please stop trying so hard to look like pictures of people you see on the internet which usually were photoshopped one way or another
-Eat well and when due, not overly or less than supposed to
-Reduce the use of filters on your photos too. Snapchat is amazing and I love that app too. But using it all the time creates a false sense of self and gives you unrealistic standards for what you should look like. Love you enough to know you’re pretty/handsome enough without them. They’re supposed to be an accessory, just something to play around with, not to distort your perception of yourself. -Be confident in your own skin

It is to be noted that BDD is clinically treated with the use of Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors(SRIs) and psychotherapy, incase it is desperately needed by anyone you know. Help a person who is in need of it because issues like this lead some people to suicide. It never takes long for a mental illness to escalate, if it is not given proper attention and treatment.