Body dysmorphic disorder is a type of chronic mental illness in which you cannot stop thinking about a flaw in your appearance. A flaw can be minor or imagined. With this disorder you intensely obsess over your appearance and body image frequently for many hours a day. This obsession impacts your ability to function properly in your daily life. It is also called as dysmorphohobia, the fear of having a deformity.
Symptoms:
€Preoccupation with physical appearance with extreme self-consciousness
€Strong feeling that you have an abnormality or defect in your appearance that makes you ugly
€Often examination of yourself in the mirror
€Or the avoidance of mirrors
€Avoidance of social situations
€Feeling that others take a special notice of your appearance in a negative manner
€Collation of your appearance with that of others
€Reluctance to appear in pictures
€Excessive grooming
Concerning over and thinking about the perceived flaw can dominate your life and this may lead to absence from work, social situations or schools due to extreme self-consciousness.
Causes:
The exact cause of this mental disorder is not known. It may result from a combination of causes such as:
€Brain distinctions: Irregularities in brain structure may lead to this disorder.
€Genes: The studies show that it is common in people whose biological family members also have the condition which may indicate that there is at least one gene associated with this disorder.
€Environment: The environment, life experiences and culture may contribute to this disorder.
Risk factors:
It usually starts in adolescence and affects males and females. There are certain factors that seem to increase the risk of developing or triggering the condition and they embrace:
€Having biological relatives with this disorders
€Negative life experiences
€Personality traits
€Societal pressure
€Have any other psychiatric disorder
Complications:
€Unnecessary cosmetic surgery
€Social phobia
€Difficulty attending school or work
€Depression
€Other mood disorders
€Thoughts of suicide
€Anxiety disorder
€Obsessive-compulsive disorder
€Eating disorders
Treatment:
Treatment is considered to be difficult particularly if you are not a willing and active participant. There are two main types of treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy and medication.
€Cognitive behavioral therapy:
It helps in focusing you to learn about your condition and your feeling, moods, thoughts and behavior. Also helps in using the knowledge and insights that are gained in psychotherapy to stop negative thoughts.
€Medications:
There are no specific medications prescribed for this disorder but the other psychiatric medications used to treat other conditions such as depression can be helpful.
Symptoms:
€Preoccupation with physical appearance with extreme self-consciousness
€Strong feeling that you have an abnormality or defect in your appearance that makes you ugly
€Often examination of yourself in the mirror
€Or the avoidance of mirrors
€Avoidance of social situations
€Feeling that others take a special notice of your appearance in a negative manner
€Collation of your appearance with that of others
€Reluctance to appear in pictures
€Excessive grooming
Concerning over and thinking about the perceived flaw can dominate your life and this may lead to absence from work, social situations or schools due to extreme self-consciousness.
Causes:
The exact cause of this mental disorder is not known. It may result from a combination of causes such as:
€Brain distinctions: Irregularities in brain structure may lead to this disorder.
€Genes: The studies show that it is common in people whose biological family members also have the condition which may indicate that there is at least one gene associated with this disorder.
€Environment: The environment, life experiences and culture may contribute to this disorder.
Risk factors:
It usually starts in adolescence and affects males and females. There are certain factors that seem to increase the risk of developing or triggering the condition and they embrace:
€Having biological relatives with this disorders
€Negative life experiences
€Personality traits
€Societal pressure
€Have any other psychiatric disorder
Complications:
€Unnecessary cosmetic surgery
€Social phobia
€Difficulty attending school or work
€Depression
€Other mood disorders
€Thoughts of suicide
€Anxiety disorder
€Obsessive-compulsive disorder
€Eating disorders
Treatment:
Treatment is considered to be difficult particularly if you are not a willing and active participant. There are two main types of treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy and medication.
€Cognitive behavioral therapy:
It helps in focusing you to learn about your condition and your feeling, moods, thoughts and behavior. Also helps in using the knowledge and insights that are gained in psychotherapy to stop negative thoughts.
€Medications:
There are no specific medications prescribed for this disorder but the other psychiatric medications used to treat other conditions such as depression can be helpful.