- Hey, everybody.
Today we're going to talk about body dysphoria
or, in less diagnostic terms, when we don't like
some or all parts of our body and we obsess over it
while also taking extreme measures to hide or fix it.
But before we jump into this very important topic,
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Now, to get into body dysphoria,
I wanna briefly tell you that there is a diagnosis
in the DSM to help describe this issue.
It's called Body Dysmorphic Disorder,
or BDD, and it falls under the
Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders section
because it has that obsessive component to it.
This is also where you'll find diagnoses
like Trichotillomania, hair-pulling,
or Skin Picking Disorder, otherwise known as Excoriation.
In short, it's diagnosed when we are preoccupied
with one or more perceived deficits
of our physical appearance.
We engage in repetitive behaviors as a result,
like mirror-checking, excessive grooming.
It can take us hours to get ready and it can impair
our ability to function in our daily life.
Many of my patients with this will struggle
to make it anywhere on time or even leave the house
at all because they don't look just right
and some even say they struggle to tell me
what just right is, they just know it when they feel it.
If you want a more in-depth video
all about BDD, you can click the link
in the description to watch my diagnostic video.
Now, into the five most common misconceptions
and number one is that only women get BDD.
The percentage of men who reported being dissatisfied
with their overall appearance is 43%.
That's triple what it was only 25 years ago.
BDD doesn't care what sex or gender you are.
It's a serious mental health condition
that can lead to suicide, so it's important
that we know it can happen to anyone.
The only thing research has found
to be a bit different in men with BDD
is that they tend to focus their obsessions
on hair thinning, skin issues due to acne or scarring,
shape of their nose, and size of their genitals.
Also, 90% of eating disorder patients are female,
while only 50-60% of BDD patients are,
so there's a lot of men who struggle as well.
Misconception number two, that BDD only occurs
to people who are of a certain weight.
Most people think it's only underweight people
and, underweight or overweight,
BDD actually has nothing to do with our size.
Any person of any size or weight can suffer from BDD.
Remember, BDD is simply our belief
that something is wrong with a certain part or parts
of our body and we obsess about it
and we take drastic measures to hide or fix it.
Think of that. I've heard from my patients and other Kinions
that many see certain parts of their body
as much smaller or skinnier than they are
and they don't like the boniness of it
while others share how they feel so much larger
or pudgier than they are and they hate
how their clothes always pull on that one area.
It's a mental illness, not a vanity issue,
so remember that it comes in all shapes and sizes.
Misconception number three, that BDD
is just like an eating disorder. Wrong.
So many people think that those with an eating disorder
also have BDD and, while some of the symptoms can overlap,
BDD doesn't focus only on food.
Remember, it's about our own perception that that part
or parts of our body are just bad or wrong
and we obsess over how to hide or fix it.
One of the biggest differences
is in the location of the perceived deficits
or what we think is wrong with us.
Now, BDD patients report greater dissatisfaction
with their faces and their hair than those without BDD,
whereas eating disorder patients
place an emphasis on concerns with weight and body shape
and you can be diagnosed with both
an eating disorder and BDD, but you would have to meet
both sets of criteria, and not everyone does.
And the fourth misconception is that
plastic surgery can cure it. No.
BDD is a mental illness, not just a bump on our nose
that we've hated since high school
and we want to get it fixed.
In my opinion, it isn't even ethical
for a plastic surgeon to operate
on those with BDD and some do require
people who've had surgeries already,
maybe they see a pattern, but many don't care to check.
They'll just take our money and, just so you know,
of those with BDD who did get plastic surgery
to "fix" the problem, only 2% of them were actually pleased
with the surgery and it helped with their BDD.
2%, that's a terrible statistic!
Surgeons should not be allowed
to operate on those of us with BDD.
Ugh. So frustrating.
And number five, that there isn't any help
and it won't ever get better. Wrong again.
Therapy, specifically CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy,
has been shown to be extremely beneficial
for those with BDD.
While we don't know the exact cause,
we do know that many with BDD have falsely held beliefs
about themselves and their appearance
and CBT helps with that by working to figure out
where those beliefs come from and helping you
challenge those thoughts and change them.
They also believe that experiencing trauma in childhood
or having parents who were really critical
of how we looked can make us more likely to develop BDD.
Therefore, trauma or attachment-based therapy
can also really help, and SSRIs and SNRIs
and even some atypical anti-psychotic medications
have been shown to alleviate some of the symptoms of BDD.
So, please reach out, please speak up
because there are treatment options
and you can heal and overcome it.
Many of you also asked what to do
if someone you love is struggling with BDD
and I wish I had a better answer for you,
but the truth is all we can do is be supportive of them
and encourage them to receive professional help.
Telling them that they look beautiful
or that they aren't as skinny or fat
as they think isn't gonna help
and it can even make them feel worse and kinda invalidated.
So, listen, be supportive, and encourage them
to get the help is the best thing we can do.
This video has been brought to you
by the Kinions on Patreon.
If you would like to support the creation
of these mental health videos, click the link
in the description and check it out.
But I wanna hear from you.
What do you wish those in your life would do to help?
Are there things about BDD you wish I would've mentioned?
Other misconceptions you hear all the time?
Let me know in those comments down below
because with your experience and my expertise,
we will keep working together
towards a healthy mind and a healthy body.
And I will see you next time. Bye!