Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Do you find yourself spending a significant portion of your time focusing on a particular aspect of your appearance? Do you see parts of your appearance as flawed in some way? Do you have trouble accepting comments from others when they say you look fine? Do you spend considerable time and effort trying to improve or hide the area of concern in some way? Maslow Therapies could help…

What is Body Dysmorphic Disorder?

Many people struggle with their body image or see their general physical appearance in a negative light (i.e., I hate the way I look). However, body dysmorphic disorder is used to describe a more specific type of body image problem.

Characteristically, body dysmorphic disorder involves an intense preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one’s physical appearance. As such, people with body dysmorphic disorder often spend large periods worrying about and analysing a particular aspect of their appearance. Likewise, people with body dysmorphic disorder may spend a lot of time checking their appearance in the mirror, comparing self with others, and participate in avoidant behaviours designed to hide or conceal perceived area of concern.

Whilst preoccupation could be with any body part, and may change temporally, the most common areas people with body dysmorphic disorder highlight as being problematic include:

  • Skin including acne, wrinkles or complexion

  • Nose size or shape

  • Lips, smile, teeth or mouth

  • Ears

  • Legs, thighs or calves

  • Breasts

  • Stomach

  • Neck

  • Height

  • Thinning or excessive hair on the head or body

  • Eyes or eyebrows

  • Cheeks, chin or jaw

  • Overall face shape

  • Genitals

  • Buttocks

  • Arms

  • Scars

  • Muscles / build