Everyone has experienced insecurity at one point or another in their lives.
It's common to feel like you want to change something about your body; usually,
this discomfort with your appearance doesn't stop you from going on with your day-to-day life.
But for some people, it can be challenging even to leave the house.
Hey Viewers!
Did you know that 2.4 percent of the general population currently deal with body dysmorphia?
Body dysmorphia can be very difficult to live with,
as it can develop other mental illnesses like anxiety and depression.
Do you ever feel uncomfortable in your own skin? Or are you constantly fighting intrusive thoughts
about the way you look? Stick around as we discuss body dysmorphia and its symptoms.
Let’s begin.
What is Body Dysmorphia?
Body Dysmorphic Disorder or Body Dysmorphia is a mental health condition where a
person spends an unhealthy amount of time worrying about flaws in their appearance.
These flaws often appear minor or are unnoticeable to others.
But the person may feel so embarrassed and anxious that they may avoid many social situations.
When you have body dysmorphic disorder, you repeatedly check the mirror to groom
or seek reassurance, sometimes for many hours each day. Your perceived flaw and repetitive behaviors
can cause you significant distress and impact your ability to function in your daily life.
People of any age and gender can have body dysmorphia, though it’s most common in
teenagers and young adults. Body dysmorphia is different from being self-conscious.
It’s a serious mental condition that can be debilitating for most.
Let’s look at the Common Signs of Body Dysmorphia
Seeking Constant Reassurance
It is normal to ask for reassurances about how you look.
Still, there’s a difference between asking if you look okay here and there versus throwing these
questions consistently, attacking specific details about yourself such as, “Can you see my scar?”,
“Is my white hair visible?” or “Does my nose look strange?”
Repeatedly checking out the mirror and scale.
You might find yourself repeatedly checking out your reflection in mirrors, windows,
and any other reflective surface you can find. You might focus on what you think
are your imperfections and are worried about encountering new flaws. You might also find
yourself constantly checking your weight on the scale after every meal and workout.
Picking at your skin
Suppose you have the habit of picking at your skin to make the surface smooth
or to remove pimples. You might also get the urge to scratch a pimple scab.
You might not even notice the more you pick, the more issues you create. Your skin will start
scarring, and you’ll find yourself developing further insecurity about your appearance.
Investing a lot of effort into your hair
You may want to cut or style your hair until you think it feels 'right,’
which may take a lot of time and effort. You could also frequently
refuse to go somewhere just because your hair isn’t to your liking.
Using heavy make-up
People with body dysmorphia tend to use heavy make-up daily
to cover up the flaws they are apprehensive about.
Wearing clothes that hide your flaws
You wear loose-fitting clothes that don’t hug the body to ensure certain parts of your body
stay hidden, for instance, your tummy or upper arms. Essentially hiding behind your clothes.
Constantly comparing yourself
You constantly compare yourself to others and judge your appearance next to them.
When looking at models and actors in magazines and movies, you desire to look like them.
You see people on social media and even envy them for their looks.
Avoiding social activities
People who live with body dysmorphia fear being judged based on what they think are their flaws.
They live with the assumption that everybody looks at their flaws the same way as they do,
so to avoid putting themselves out there, they avoid going out and doing social activities.
Considering cosmetic surgery
Body dysmorphia could be severe enough to make one go under the knife.
This doesn’t necessarily improve the symptoms of body dysmorphia, and if the
surgery doesn’t live up to the expectations, it can cause more negative thoughts in a person.
Misuse of alcohol or drugs
Alcohol and drugs help to deal with people with self-confidence issues, and when a person
has body image issues, they turn to these toxic substances to boost their self-esteem.
Excessive exercise regimes
Another form of body dysmorphic disorder is muscle dysmorphia,
a condition where one thinks of their body to be too small, skinny, or inadequately muscular.
This often leads to excessive exercising. When a body dysmorphic person starts spending
more time at the gym, they see it as a way of controlling how a specific part of the body looks,
and this helps them feel as though they can stimulate changes in their appearances.
Gender Dysphoria
Other dysphorias such as gender dysphoria can cause body dysmorphic disorder.
Gender dysphoria is when a person feels unease because the sex assigned at birth does not match
their gender identity. Looking in the mirror at their appearance can be difficult because their
body doesn’t match how they feel, leaving them to self-hate and feel uncomfortable.
Eating Disorders
People with body dysmorphia are also affected by eating disorders like bulimia or anorexia.
They restrict themselves to a less amount of food and only depend on health supplements.
In some cases, they also start overeating due to anxiety.
Emotional symptoms that a body dysmorphic person shows include- Self-harm, Depression, Anxiety,
Suicidal thoughts, Isolation, and Lack of or excess sleep.
Body dysmorphia can result from genetics,
a chemical imbalance in the brain, or a traumatic experience like bullying or child abuse.
Many people would ignore these symptoms and take them for granted, but the truth is body
dysmorphia can eat you up, and before it is too late, one should seek professional help.
Let’s talk about Treatment.
Treatment for body dysmorphia often includes a combination
of cognitive behavioral therapy and medications.
What does Cognitive behavioral therapy focus on?
Helping you learn how negative thoughts, emotional reactions,
and behaviors maintain issues over time.
You challenge automatic negative thoughts
about your body image and learn more-flexible ways of thinking.
By learning alternate ways to handle urges or rituals to help reduce mirror checking,
reassurance seeking, or excess use of medical services.
Teaching yourself other behaviors to improve your mental health, such as addressing social avoidance
and increasing engagement with healthy supports and activities.
Medications
Although there are no medications specifically approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration
to treat body dysmorphic disorder, medications used to treat other
mental health conditions - such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder- can be effective.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs
Because body dysmorphia could be caused partly by problems related to the brain chemical serotonin,
SSRIs may be prescribed. SSRIs appear to be more effective for body dysmorphia than other
antidepressants and may help control your negative thoughts and behaviors.
Other medications
In some cases, you may benefit from taking other medications in addition to an SSRI,
depending on your symptoms.
Your body dysmorphic disorder symptoms could be so severe that you may require
psychiatric hospitalization. It is generally recommended only when your symptoms are not
allowing you to keep up with your day-to-day responsibilities or when you start to self-harm.
Many people don’t seem to pay attention to the signs of mental health conditions
and brush them off as “weaknesses” or “flaws”. Working to acknowledge
these symptoms instead of hiding them can save a person's life.
Want to know more about mental health-related issues? Let’s keep the conversation going.
Watch 7 Daily Activities That Can Cause Depression or 5 Foods To Avoid If You Have Anxiety.
Go ahead, click one, or better yet, watch both. Which of these
symptoms have you noticed you may have? Let us know in the comments.