How do you know if you have BDD or...?

[MrTornado]

How do you know if you have BDD or if there is something actually "wrong" with your appearance? Been told I am good-looking, etc, my parents don't understand at all my deprecating talk and bascically think I am crazy, but I've always thought something was wrong with my appearance, which has contributed to my SA greatly. Has anyone else gone through this?

 

[BarbaraWelch]

I've gone through this many of times. Not exactly sure though. I believe it's all part of BDD. I've got friends with flaws waaaay worse than mine and they are completely fine.

Hope this answers your question.

 

[Anubis]

Yea, I'm going through the same shit right now. People tell me I look nice (granted when I actually shave) but I can't ever convince myself that I'm decent enough.

I've contemplated a possible diagnosis of BDD, but I'm not exactly sure if I fit neatly into the definition. What happens to me is that I get intense anxiety during conversations because I lack confidence in my appearance during speech delivery (I also lack confidence in tonality and pitch).

Here's a typical situation:
(1) My friend and I are playing a sports video game (Let's say soccer).
(2) Something happens on the screen that 'demands' a response from me (an uncalled foul, a 'lucky goal').
(3) My mind immediately formulates a partial response. But during this formulation, I immediately begin to doubt my future delivery. What if I say it the wrong way? What if my sarcastic remark comes off as just plain arrogance?
(4) The aforementioned negative thoughts retards my ability to successfully formulate a plausible response.
(5) In exhaustion, I spit out my remark anyway, but it comes off as garbled.
(6) I feel terrible because I don't think I truly expressed myself.

Usually this is when my friend answers with his own brand of sarcasm as well. Most likely, he proceeds to jokingly critique my response (i.e. my definition of foul-play, etc). Here's the interesting part. I get put-down. Yes, I get put-down by a silly critique that I KNOW wasn't intended to be offensive, lol. But I take it seriously because I have so little confidence in my initial response that I automatically believe any criticism - even if it was in jest!

And this has been happening to me ever since elementary school ::. And I still can't stop it. So if I have BDD, it's a perception that I look incompetent during speech delivery (even though I can deliver speech flawlessly in front of a mirror).

I'm really desperate for a solution. I've been trying so many things this past year, but I feel like I never get anywhere.

 

[MrTornado]

Yea, I'm going through the same shit right now. People tell me I look nice (granted when I actually shave) but I can't ever convince myself that I'm decent enough.

I've contemplated a possible diagnosis of BDD, but I'm not exactly sure if I fit neatly into the definition. What happens to me is that I get intense anxiety during conversations because I lack confidence in my appearance during speech delivery (I also lack confidence in tonality and pitch).

Here's a typical situation:
(1) My friend and I are playing a sports video game (Let's say soccer).
(2) Something happens on the screen that 'demands' a response from me (an uncalled foul, a 'lucky goal').
(3) My mind immediately formulates a partial response. But during this formulation, I immediately begin to doubt my future delivery. What if I say it the wrong way? What if my sarcastic remark comes off as just plain arrogance?
(4) The aforementioned negative thoughts retards my ability to successfully formulate a plausible response.
(5) In exhaustion, I spit out my remark anyway, but it comes off as garbled.
(6) I feel terrible because I don't think I truly expressed myself.

Usually this is when my friend answers with his own brand of sarcasm as well. Most likely, he proceeds to jokingly critique my response (i.e. my definition of foul-play, etc). Here's the interesting part. I get put-down. Yes, I get put-down by a silly critique that I KNOW wasn't intended to be offensive, lol. But I take it seriously because I have so little confidence in my initial response that I automatically believe any criticism - even if it was in jest!

And this has been happening to me ever since elementary school ::. And I still can't stop it. So if I have BDD, it's a perception that I look incompetent during speech delivery (even though I can deliver speech flawlessly in front of a mirror).

I'm really desperate for a solution. I've been trying so many things this past year, but I feel like I never get anywhere.

Yeah, I have that: where I over-anaylze my response, and it comes out bascically retarded. Also, believing any criticism, even if it was meant in a joking context. Those things are me 100%! But, my concerns over my appearance are my primary fixation.

I already made two appointments with a therapist, in hopes that I can overcome these things. I feel like I have gotten nowhere, but hopefully this therapist can help me find some answers.

 

[j_brown2]

I got it for sure, I keep checkin the mirror for half a day at least, everyday I obsess about something else, my nose, my chin, ahh it's to much to write it all down... today I obsessed about my facial muscles around my eye brows being to weak


BDD has a high suicide rate, I wonder how I still can take all the stress, my BDD is out of control, my SA is hard core too, always depressed

Everything about me is disgusting, I tried to perform cosmetic surgery on my own on my nose, that's how low I got, it's like I get told on dating sites I look so good, Iam like whatever, then someone comes along and tells me Iam ugly and I freak out, I message everyone I can then and ask them if they think Iam ****ing ugly

 

[PinkFrog]

I don't obsess about my looks because I know I look like crap. Even though people throughout my life said I was very cute/attractive; I just simply don't believe them. I use to question my ex-bfs all the time, and always asked them if they thought I was really beautiful. They would say yes, of course, but I took it with a grain of salt.

I don't sit there and obsess about it though. I know what I am, and that's that. I'm more concerned about how I talk to people in my speech and body language. That's when I get real high anxiety. Because, a lot of people who are deemed "not-so-attractive" in today's society terms, have no qualms about being the center of attention, have numerous of friends, and very active social lives. Which I have none of these things. Regardless of the reality of my unattractiveness or attractiveness.

So, it's not my looks that worry me, but my overall anxiety of interacting with people in general. But, that's not to say that I'm not self conscience about it; just not obsessive.

 

[j_brown2]

Isn't BDD about obsessing/hating things about your body? Anyway since reading over the symptoms on wikipedia I can say I got all of them, Iam gonna stop touching my body parts for hours and throw every mirror i got out of my house or cover them up with something