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Contents 1 This article is pathetic 2 Alternative Causes or Criticisms 3 = 3.1 Cutting 3.2 Just wondering if someone would... ugh, offer opinions 3.3 Writing a Play 3.4 Real disfigurement

[edit] This article is pathetic

It mixes anorexia and bulemia which are completely unrelated with bdd, muscle dysmorphia which is also a distinct disorder, there is hardly any relevevant explanation of it's effect, cause and not even a correct definition. I will begin rewriting this. Editor18

[edit] Alternative Causes or Criticisms

I'm not entirely sure where to put this, but I was just wondering if anyone has taken a look at this from a perspective that's not thoroughly psychological/biological/etc (though I understand they're merging a great deal). Is it possible that people who are constantly inundated with images of "perfection" might start to compare themselves and come up with a deficit? Maybe the people who do develop this "disorder" lack the necessary social ties or some other contributing factor that separates them from the rest of the relatively unaffected population. We're constantly looking inside for a neurological answer rather than looking outside. There have got to be studies undertaken from another perspective (sociological, perhaps?) that ought to be included here. 85.74.63.124 (talk) 03:41, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] =

people who experience body dysmorphic order (also known as dysmorphophobia) become preoccupied with some imagined or exaggerated defect in their appearance.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.215.116.168 (talk • contribs) 06:05, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

Way to simplify a serious and crippling psychological disorder into something as neat and simple as superficiality. Jeff Silvers 05:34, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, and what a profound comment - by somebody not even signing it. So play elsewhere and come back when you have grown up. -- AlexR 08:06, 6 September 2005 (UTC)

Is it body dysmorphic disorder if the obsession is with a non imagined physical defect?

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Is this the disorder that leads to people becoming transsexuals? If it is, that probably should be mentioned in the article. xxxyyyzzz 23:05, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

No. It isn't. The article clearly states that it isn't. Dysprosia 23:07, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

I wouldn't say it clearly states it. I found this sentence: "Body dysmorphic disorder is also considered to be different from gender identity disorder and transsexualism, even though the desire to modify one's body is also reflected in people who are judged to have these disorders." buried inside a paragraph of text -- I missed it when I read the article the first time. IMO, the difference between BDD and Gender Identity Disorder should be made more clear.

BTW, the only reason I brought this up at all was because I just saw a TV show (I forgot what it was, sorry) where they explicitely said that Transsexuals suffer from Body dysmorphic disorder. xxxyyyzzz 23:13, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

The diagnostic criteria and characteristics of BDD doesn't quite fit with transsexualism, especially when you consider that some trans people don't go through with any form of "body modification". Also note that "a BDD diagnosis cannot be made if another disorder accounts for the preoccupation with a perceived defect". Perhaps you would be better off reading the transsexualism article for further information. Dysprosia 23:21, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

The 'Common locations of imagined defects' section seems pretty pointless - it lists nearly every external feature of the human body.--Soban 19:01, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Generally speaking, bdd is not indicative of narcissm-almost all sufferers do not love themselves or wish to create this impression, hence the high concordance rate with depression and social anxiety. most bdd suffferers are also incredibly forgiving of others' physical defects so it cannot convincingly be written off as mere superficiality. i am educated in this field and resent those who quite clearly are not making comments such as these which further the existing stigma.

There has been a link shown between delusional perception of one's appearance and Narcissm, BUT these sufferers have an overly inflated perception of their physical appearance. Their distorted thinking will put them in a positive light eg. a Cerebral Narcissist may believe his head is very large, but feel this is evidence of his vast intellectual capacities- in his eyes a positive attribute . this is not BDD as it does not impair functioning and there must be dissatisfaction with appearance for a diagnosis of BDD to be made.

i think the fact that some BDD sufferers do not consider themselves physically repulsive should also be mentioned in the article.Although rarer, some sufferers can accept that their appearance is normal in the eyes of others, but are so chronically perfectionistic that they believe anything below their conception of "beautiful" to be totally unworthy. This variant is harder to cure because the sufferer often has a realistic appraisal of their physical self- it is the value they apply to appearance in general which needs to be radically altered. This is in contrast to the more common variant whereby one views theselves as physically repulsive and wishs to be just 'normal.'

BDD is most commonly associated with a perceived facial deformity. i wouldn't say BDD and eating disorders are totally unrelated.There clearly are parallels eg. low self esteem, a preoccupation with aesthetics, the desire to alter something which need not be altered,a strong delusional component etc.

i think the author of this article has done a pretty good job at putting the main points down succinctly.After all, idea of wikipedia is to give you a good gist really.You can't expect anything ridiculously indepth. 84.68.44.24 13:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC)Zoe

edit: person above, please sign your comments. I'm a studying psychologist, spcializing in "abnormal psychology" and take interest in bdd for reasons I won't disclose here so I will say BDD and eating disorders as far as diagnosis are concerned are unrelated. BDD can only be diagnosed if the patient has a physical preoccupation UNACCOUNTED for by an eating disorder. If there is an eating disorder present than that will be diagnosed as what it is (anorexia, etc), though someone CAN have both BDD and a co-diagnoses of anorexia however those remain as seperate diagnosis.

Logically, yes, there are connections between ED's and BDD as far as low self esteem, however there are more differences than similarities. But since this is encyclopedic I think the refferences should only contain links to disorders that are directly linked with bdd which ED's are not.

BDD can focus on body as well, such as stomach, thighs, etc, and be BDD as long as it isn't accounted for by an eating disorder, I hope that makes sence. I.e someone may hate his or her stomach, find whatever flaw they do with it but not engage in dieting and thus be diangosed with bd not anorexia.

And yes you're right, some people with BDD can consider themselves average (the minority) but want to be above, gorgeous and thus feel distressed. I wrote the whole article in basically a night because it was technically empty beforehand so there are many things that can be added. I'll add a paragraph about what you mentioned the minority considering themselves average and being perfectionistic (which is a general trait)Editor18 04:45, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

i think there was a misunderstanding there.I wasn't referring to the criteria as stated in the DSM-IV-TR.You're right that a total distinction between BDD and eating disorders is specifically made there.However, there are links in terms of the personality attributes both sets of sufferers tend to possess, e.g sufferers of Body Dysorphic Disorder and Anorexia both tend to have a heightened preoccupation with aesthetics and they are more likely to be perfectionistic in general.Both disorders tend to have a delusional component,implying that both sets of sufferers have real trouble with accurate perception . I wasn't suggesting this be added to the article. What i was saying was that there is quite clearly common ground of some kind there- shown by the high co-morbidity rate between the disorders. I recall it as 34% or something similar, but don't have a citation at hand.You can google it and see if you want.This high percentage strongly implies that there may be links between the temperaments of both sufferers and causation of both disorders.

The formal distinction between the two disorders is also disputed by some who claim that Anorexia is a form of BDD, albeit one concerned with weight.This initially appears convincing in that Anorexics do have a distorted view of their 'flaw'( weight) and franctically try to rectify this. Not unlike BDD. However, I personally remain unsure about any merging of disorders. i consider BDD to have a stronger obsessive component than Anorexia- 'BDDers' are more likely to ruminate for instance, and sufferers appear to be even more aesthetically sensitive than Anorexics which provides some differentiation between the two. I am unsure about whether BDD can be placed on the OCD spectrum too. Certainly there are similarities, but there are also key differences. eg. those with OCD are far more likely to comprehend the irrationality of their actions, yet feel compelled to do them anyway, whereas those with BDD generally have less insight.

I am glad someone is taking an interest in this disorder.Studies have shown that sufferers are among the most likely to commit suicide and yet it is often overlooked. In my opinion, it is one of the most stigmitised and trivialised disorders, even among those within the medical profession.

thanks for reading my earlier comments.84.68.44.24 13:35, 29 August 2006 (UTC) Zoe

That's true. But there are still many behavoiral explanations being disputed for anorexia. The importance of control elements. Importance of manipulative elements. Though Frueds theory is pretty much set aside now, that it was the effort for a girl in puberty to slow down the physical changes and thus prevent herself from becoming a real women and carrying those responsibilities it still does coincide with the control and manipulative aspects of anorexia. Anorexics also lack complete of insight which many Bdd'ers do have.

BDD seems to have more obsessive (facial features etc, for hours a day -anorexia also has the feature though it is not central) and compulsive elements (skin picking) there seems to be little value of the control and manipulation theory. Though I don't have the source on me now, there was also a much higher concordence rate found between those that suffer from BDD and take art classes, and those who do not suffer from BDD and take art classes. It's an interesting observation if true, and does outline the idea that people with BDD would be more aesthetically inclined in other walks as life, as well as being often perfectionistic as you mentioned in usually more than one aspect of their lives. -which is an obsessive feature.

There are some psychologists who consider BDD more of an anxiety disorder than an OCD one due to some key differences you also mentioned, including a far higher suicide rate for BDD (I've heard up to 24%, however I seriously doubt that number, perhaps for attempts), social anxiety, often more debilitating effects in social functioning, etc, with BDD arousing anxiety in almost all situations when the disorder surfaces (infront of the mirror, having to go to school, etc)

It is very overlooked, and misexplained. People will often, even when knowing of the disorder want to misdiagnose bdd simply because they don't have the tools or experience in treating it, and would rather approach it as OCD, schizophrenia, etc something they are familiar with and can create an explanation and treatment plan for. That's a key issue.

Thanks for the discussion, it's a disorder that doesn't gain enough acknowledgement when it is one of the most debilitating perhaps. Editor18 16:24, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

This is "original research" and unfit for the article but I thought I'd weigh in for those reading the discussion page.

Regarding the belief of some that they look average, acceptable, or even good looking but desire to look better: my understanding from discussions with a other BDD sufferers is that the self ideal or standard is underwritten by distorted thinking about appearance in general not unlike the other "variant". I put that in scare quotes because the same people will also talk about feeling defective or inferior, and many people who feel hideous and want to look normal also co-exist with an unrealistic ideal about social standing or other value. Appearance is a comparative value and relative comparisons occur within peer groups. I notice many of these types tend to work in an appearance oriented industry like modeling or exotic dancing; it isn't necessarily a desire to look better than, rather a desire to be level with others whom the comparison is applied to.

There are others who are socially isolated and have some odd ideas about appearance because of overfocusing and over internalizing culture or are touchy about a few experiences. Perfectionism about appearance might sound like vanity but it can flow from perfectionism about being accepted. For example, if I'm over obsessive and stress about small things and don't have other events to regulate emotion, one coping strategy is to avoid until conditions seem safe and plan or ruminate about what can be controlled (selective attention and background beliefs elect appearance and it's appealing because it's perceived as something that can be changed). Some seem to have an unrecognized personality problem which is a barrier between them and other people and interpret it into a faulty general belief about what it's like to look a certain way. --anon

[edit] Cutting

I am unable to find an article in wikipedia on cutting. I wrongly added some relevant lyrics to cutting to this article. Please paste them in the appropriate article. Thanks! Royalbroil 03:23, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

--- Try self-injury

[edit] Just wondering if someone would... ugh, offer opinions

I was simply wondering if someone thinks I have BDD. Here's why I think I may have it: 1. I think I'm extremely hideous. I can't look in the mirror without picking myself apart. There's certain days I can't shave because I'd most likely attempt to slit my throat for my looks. No matter how many people tell me I'm good-looking, I assume they're lying to be nice. 2. I'm "obsessed" with my collar bones. I'm always feeling them. I'm worried they're sticking out too much. 3. I'm so self-conscious going out in public is stressful to say the least. I get anxious. It feels as if everyone is staring at me, and when people laugh, I think it's because of the way I look.

yes, this definately sounds like bdd to me. you should see your doctor. check out bddcentral.com for more help.

Yes, that souns very much like bdd. It is relatively unknown and trivialized so you may have to make mention of the disorder yourself if visiting a mental ealth professional. There are also many sites on the web that may be of help for you. Also, please sign your comments guys Editor18 18:23, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Writing a Play

I'm writing a one-act play about a handicap or disability. I would like to write it on BBD (my other option is Alopecia). Does anyone have suggestion, sites, or important info on BBD that would help me?Ladylaughsalot 19:41, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Real disfigurement

So what if I am really ugly (by all standards) and also hate myself for this and am furthermore obsessed with my appearance, is it still BDD? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.112.101.195 (talk) 21:05, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes. ""Preoccupation with an imagined defect in appearance. If a slight physical anomaly is present, the person’s concern is markedly excessive."

Note the last part. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.239.84.151 (talk) 23:09, 9 March 2008 (UTC)