B.D.D subject (body dysmorphia)

Shyangel

Well-known member
I use to have this problem...I would hysterically cry until I fell asleep sometimes...I would spend so much time crying while looking at myself in the mirror, picking obsessively at my skin, tearing my face apart until it looked like a bloody scabby mess...I refused to accept myself they way I was. I spent hours, alot of the time, the whole day putting on makeup, crying because no matter how much I put on I looked hideous. I inflicted pain on myself during this time.

What I did to stop obsessing over my appearance: I would just walk down stairs without even thinking or looking at my appearance. I would do this for a few days and I realized life was so much better when I didn't think about it. I realized I didn't die, or get made fun of when I went out. Life could go on with me looking the way I do. It was exposing myself to day to day life with myself looking as I do that made me realize it isn't that bad. I can get through life being me, looking like me. Still to this day, I put little to no thought into my appearance. I don't do my hair, I don't wear makeup, I don't dress up. Appearance doesn't matter that much to me. It causes to much stress so I just avoid it all together. I feel more confident in myself not dressed up, because I look like myself. I don't need all this glorified stuff on the outside to define me. The way I wake up in the morning, is the way I got through the rest of the day. This is my motto, and it makes my life so much easier.
 

hidwell

Well-known member
I use to have this problem...I would hysterically cry until I fell asleep sometimes...I would spend so much time crying while looking at myself in the mirror, picking obsessively at my skin, tearing my face apart until it looked like a bloody scabby mess...I refused to accept myself they way I was. I spent hours, alot of the time, the whole day putting on makeup, crying because no matter how much I put on I looked hideous. I inflicted pain on myself during this time.

What I did to stop obsessing over my appearance: I would just walk down stairs without even thinking or looking at my appearance. I would do this for a few days and I realized life was so much better when I didn't think about it. I realized I didn't die, or get made fun of when I went out. Life could go on with me looking the way I do. It was exposing myself to day to day life with myself looking as I do that made me realize it isn't that bad. I can get through life being me, looking like me. Still to this day, I put little to no thought into my appearance. I don't do my hair, I don't wear makeup, I don't dress up. Appearance doesn't matter that much to me. It causes to much stress so I just avoid it all together. I feel more confident in myself not dressed up, because I look like myself. I don't need all this glorified stuff on the outside to define me. The way I wake up in the morning, is the way I got through the rest of the day. This is my motto, and it makes my life so much easier.
You are a naturally beautiful woman inside and out Shyangel, and your empathy towards fellow SPW members is like a breath of fresh air .:)
 

Shyangel

Well-known member
You are a naturally beautiful woman inside and out Shyangel, and your empathy towards fellow SPW members is like a breath of fresh air .:)

I strongly appreciate that, Hidwell. Your are truly to nice to me. ^.^

I appreciate you being on this forum.:)
 

WeirdyMcGee

Well-known member
What I did to stop obsessing over my appearance: I would just walk down stairs without even thinking or looking at my appearance. I would do this for a few days and I realized life was so much better when I didn't think about it. I realized I didn't die, or get made fun of when I went out. Life could go on with me looking the way I do. It was exposing myself to day to day life with myself looking as I do that made me realize it isn't that bad. I can get through life being me, looking like me. Still to this day, I put little to no thought into my appearance. I don't do my hair, I don't wear makeup, I don't dress up. Appearance doesn't matter that much to me. It causes to much stress so I just avoid it all together. I feel more confident in myself not dressed up, because I look like myself. I don't need all this glorified stuff on the outside to define me. The way I wake up in the morning, is the way I got through the rest of the day. This is my motto, and it makes my life so much easier.

I have tried this method of thinking as well... I don't have a scale or a mirror in my bedroom and when no one else is home for a weekend- I cover the mirrors with towels just so I don't accidentally walk past my reflection and see it from the corner of my eye.

I can't seem to accept myself but hearing that you have is inspiring, really.
Thanks for sharing!
 

ohheybbyitscorixx

Well-known member
I have it, but usually don't talk about it. It's related to my OCD. I will feel ugly, look in the mirror, get compulsions to pick at my skin, feel better for a few seconds, look in the mirror at what I've done to my skin and feel ugly all over again (and it just all keeps going in a cycle). I'm extremely ashamed of me not ever feeling good about myself. I have a list of like 10 plastic surgeries I'm planning on getting. I feel that being bullied/abused by my parents lead to this for me. It does make me more antisocial because I don't want to leave if I am ugly and it causes me anxiety. For me, the areas I am most concerned with are the areas that remind me of my parents or the ones that my parents made fun of.
 

ohheybbyitscorixx

Well-known member
I use to have this problem...I would hysterically cry until I fell asleep sometimes...I would spend so much time crying while looking at myself in the mirror, picking obsessively at my skin, tearing my face apart until it looked like a bloody scabby mess...I refused to accept myself they way I was. I spent hours, alot of the time, the whole day putting on makeup, crying because no matter how much I put on I looked hideous. I inflicted pain on myself during this time.

What I did to stop obsessing over my appearance: I would just walk down stairs without even thinking or looking at my appearance. I would do this for a few days and I realized life was so much better when I didn't think about it. I realized I didn't die, or get made fun of when I went out. Life could go on with me looking the way I do. It was exposing myself to day to day life with myself looking as I do that made me realize it isn't that bad. I can get through life being me, looking like me. Still to this day, I put little to no thought into my appearance. I don't do my hair, I don't wear makeup, I don't dress up. Appearance doesn't matter that much to me. It causes to much stress so I just avoid it all together. I feel more confident in myself not dressed up, because I look like myself. I don't need all this glorified stuff on the outside to define me. The way I wake up in the morning, is the way I got through the rest of the day. This is my motto, and it makes my life so much easier.


You give me hope that I can somehow lessen my skin picking. I've been doing it since I was 11 and feeling hopelessly not "good enough" in every sense.
 

ohheybbyitscorixx

Well-known member
So looking at the definition on Wikipedia it seems I have this. Kinda knew but didn't know. I'm surprised to find it considered a part of OCD, that never occurred to me and I have no other OCD tendencies that I'm aware of.

I guess because you are so focused on something about yourself. Someone with BDD has really obsessive thoughts about their appearances, which can lead to compulsions.
 

YellowBird

Well-known member
^agreed,definitely sabotages my social life,i can't focus on anything else but how ugly i am compared to everyone else,it also makes me so much more submissive,another reason i find it easier to talk to men,because i don't have to compare myself.Sometimes i even feel like a dude around other women,which triggers my hocd..aaaaah it's a never ending nightmare.
 

JustMe1987

Active member
^agreed,definitely sabotages my social life,i can't focus on anything else but how ugly i am compared to everyone else,it also makes me so much more submissive,another reason i find it easier to talk to men,because i don't have to compare myself.Sometimes i even feel like a dude around other women,which triggers my hocd..aaaaah it's a never ending nightmare.

im sure like 80-90% of my SA have to do with BDD.
i keep think, if i was like that guy im sure i havent SA or maybe im just crazy.
 

YellowBird

Well-known member
it's truly terrible,if i were to tell someone what goes through my head when i get these episodes,they would run away from me,most of it makes no sense AT ALL and yet you can't think about anything else.
 

AGR

Well-known member
Yes I have since I was a kid,I hate my reflection and is definitely a big reason that I dont go out of the house or that I turned down some opportunities to be normal.
 

ohheybbyitscorixx

Well-known member
Yes I have since I was a kid,I hate my reflection and is definitely a big reason that I dont go out of the house or that I turned down some opportunities to be normal.

It must be hard dealing with that and being a male. They tend to get treated unfairly when they have problems regarding the appearance (although it's deeper than that). Even males getting abused and such is treated as funny or insignificant.
 

rebyoo

Well-known member
Could a kind person please explain to me what BDD is and how you know you have it? People have started mentioning to me that they think i have it, but best they can explain it is it's like anorexia but with how you look... Sorry that must seem like a very dumb question.
 

WeirdyMcGee

Well-known member
Wiki says:
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD, also body dysmorphia, dysmorphic syndrome; originally dysmorphophobia) is a type of mental illness, a somatoform disorder, wherein the affected person is concerned with body image, manifested as excessive concern about and preoccupation with a perceived defect of their physical features.[1][2] The person complains of a defect in either one feature or several features of their body; or vaguely complains about their general appearance, which causes psychological distress that causes clinically significant distress or impairs occupational or social functioning. Often BDD co-occurs with emotional depression and anxiety, social withdrawal or social isolation.[3]

The causes of Body Dysmorphic Disorder are different for each person, usually a combination of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. Furthermore, mental and physical abuse, and emotional neglect, are life-experiences that can contribute to a person developing BDD.[4][5] The onset of the symptoms of a mentally unhealthy preoccupation with body image occurs either in adolescence or in early adulthood, whence begins self-criticism of the personal appearance, from which develop atypical aesthetic-standards derived from the internal perceptual discrepancy between the person's ‘actual self’ and the ‘ideal self’.[6] The symptoms of body dysmorphia include psychological depression, social phobia, and obsessive compulsive disorder. The affected individual may become hostile towards family members for no reason.[7]

BDD is linked to a diminished quality of life, can be co-morbid with major depressive disorder and social phobia (chronic social anxiety); features a suicidal ideation rate of 80 percent, in extreme cases linked with dissociation, and thus can be considered a factor in the person's attempting suicide.[8] BDD can be treated with either psychotherapy or psychiatric medication, or both; moreover, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are effective treatments.[9][10] Although originally a mental-illness diagnosis usually applied to women, Body Dysmorphic Disorder occurs equally among men and women, and occasionally in children and older adults. About 76% of parents think their child is either over conceited or simply lying about their condition.[11] Approximately one to two percent (1–2%) of the world's population meets the diagnostic criteria for Body Dysmorphic Disorder.[12]
 
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