Body Dysmorphia
By: Victoria Jarosinski
What is Body Dysmorphia?
Body dysmorphic disorder is a psychological disorder in which a person becomes obsessed with imaginary defects in their appearance.
What Causes Body Dysmorphia
It's not known specifically what causes body dysmorphic disorder. Like many other mental illnesses, body dysmorphic disorder may result from a combination of causes such as brain differences, genes, bullying or environment.
Symptoms
Symptoms are being obsessed with a part of your body, reluctant to appear in pictures, comparison of your image with that of others, the need to grow a beard or wearing excessive make up or clothes to camouflage perceived flaws, excessive grooming or hair/skin plucking, frequent cosmetic procedures, the need of reassurance of your appearance, avoiding social situations, staying home bound, believing others take special notice of your flaws, strongly believing you have an abnormality that makes you ugly, or frequent checking/avoiding the mirrors.
Treatment
There are some treatments for body dysmorphia such as therapy, medication, and in the worst cases, people do need hospilization if people feel that the person may harm themselves.
Work Cited
Leone, James E., Edward J. Sedory, and Kimberly A. Gray. "Recognition and Treatment of Muscle Dysmorphia and Related Body Image Disorders." Journal of Athletic Training. N.p., 2005-2006. Web. 3 Feb. 2014.
"Body Dysmorphic Disorder." Causes. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
"Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014.