How Does Body Dysmorphic Disorder Present Itself?
If you have BDD, you have obsessions that cause you significant anxiety and may also develop compulsive behaviours, or routines, to deal with this. In this way, BDD is closely related to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
You will often spend several hours a day thinking negatively about your appearance. You may be concerned about one specific area of the body or you may be worried about several different areas.
Common areas of anxiety include:
facial features, such as the nose, eyes, hair, chin, skin or lips
particular areas of the body, such as the breasts or genitals
feeling that your body is unbalanced or lacking symmetry
feeling that one of your features is out of proportion to the rest of the body
feeling too fat or too skinny.
Common compulsive behaviours include:
using heavy make-up when out in public
brushing or styling hair obsessively
obsessively checking your appearance in mirrors or avoiding them completely
changing your posture or wearing heavy clothes to disguise your shape
seeking constant reassurance about your appearance
checking yourself regularly by feeling your skin with your fingers, particularly around areas you dislike the appearance of
picking your skin to make it smooth
constantly comparing yourself with models in magazines or people in the street
seeking cosmetic surgery or having other types of medical treatment to change the area of concern.
Some people with BDD also experience an eating problem, but not all people with eating problems will have BDD.