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Body Dysmorphic Disorder
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What is body dysmorphic disorder and how is it treated? 1:41
Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) exhibit an excessive concern regarding one or more perceived defects or flaws in their physical appearance.
Individuals with this disorder often believe they look ugly, unattractive, abnormal, or deformed. However, the perceived flaws are often not observable or may be minimal to others.
Some of the most common preoccupations include skin (e.g. acne, scars, lines, wrinkles, paleness), hair (i.e. “thinning” hair or “excessive” body or facial hair), or nose (i.e. size or shape). Although these preoccupations with skin, hair, and nose are most commonly displayed, any area of the body can be an object of focus, such as eyes, teeth, weight, stomach, breasts, legs, face size or shape, lips, chin, eyebrows, genitals, as well as the overall symmetry of the specified body area. The constant apprehension and negative thoughts about appearance can be intrusive, time consuming, and often difficult to resist and overwhelming to control.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder Experience
Individuals with body dysmorphic disorder focus their attention to one or more physical “flaws,” which are often not visible or may be slight to others.
Due to the perceived flaw, the individual will engage in repetitive behaviors such as mirror checking, or mental acts such as comparing themselves to others. For many, these thoughts and behaviors cause the individual to experience significant impairment in their daily functioning.
Impact of Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Due to the constant preoccupation of their physical appearance, excessive repetitive behaviors or mental habits begin to be deployed to combat those thoughts.
These behaviors include, but are not limited to mirror checking, excessive grooming, skin picking, reassurance seeking, or comparing themselves to others. Individuals will often engage in excessive grooming (combing, styling, shaving, plucking, or pulling hair), camouflaging (continuous application of makeup or hiding disliked areas with hats, clothing, makeup or hair), seeking reassurance for the perceived flaws, checking the disliked body areas by touching them, excessively exercising, and seeking cosmetic procedures to aid in “fixing” the problem areas. Individuals may engage in excessive tanning or repeatedly changing their clothing. Individuals with perceived skin defects most commonly will perform compulsive skin picking to improve the problem area. However, skin picking can lead to skin damage, infection, or ruptured blood vessels.
To receive a diagnosis of body dysmorphic disorder, the previously mentioned preoccupations must cause significant impairment in the individual’s social, occupational, and other areas of daily functioning, and must be differentiated from an eating disorder.
A form of body dysmorphic disorder that almost exclusively occurs in males is known as muscle dysmorphia. Suffers of this disorder believe their body appears too small or inadequately lean or muscular. Individuals with this form of body dysmorphic disorder often have “normal” looking bodies or tend to already have muscular bodies.
Effective Body Dysmorphic Disorder Treatment
Treatment for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) focuses on reducing obsessive thoughts about appearance and decreasing compulsive behaviors such as checking, reassurance seeking, or avoidance. Because BDD can significantly impact daily functioning, early and specialized BDD treatment is essential.
The gold standard approach is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for body dysmorphic disorder, often combined with exposure and response prevention (ERP). CBT for BDD helps individuals identify and challenge distorted beliefs about their appearance, while developing healthier thinking patterns and coping strategies.
A core component of BDD treatment is ERP for body dysmorphic disorder, a form of exposure therapy that helps individuals gradually face feared situations, such as being seen by others or avoiding mirrors, without engaging in compulsive behaviors. Over time, this reduces anxiety, decreases avoidance, and weakens the cycle of obsessive thoughts and compulsions.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for BDD may also be incorporated as part of treatment. ACT helps individuals build skills in mindfulness, acceptance, and value-based living, allowing them to tolerate distressing thoughts without becoming overwhelmed or driven by them. Rather than trying to eliminate thoughts, ACT focuses on helping individuals live a meaningful life beyond appearance concerns.
For some individuals, BDD treatment may include medication as part of a comprehensive plan to reduce symptoms of anxiety or depression.
At Anxiety Institute, our specialized body dysmorphic disorder treatment program integrates CBT, ERP, ACT, and family support to provide individualized, evidence-based care. Treatment is tailored to each client’s needs, helping teens and young adults reduce symptoms, improve functioning, and regain confidence in daily life.
Contact us for a complimentary consultation. Our team will help determine the best treatment for body dysmorphic disorder for your child.
Resources
Newsletter:
Read Anxiety Institute’s newsletter about body dysmorphic disorder.
Foundation;
http://bddfoundation.org/resources/
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) Popular Literature;
http://guides.library.illinois.edu/c.php?g=526620&p=3600781
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.)
American Psychiatric Association. (2013).
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