|
When the mirror lies - Body dysmorphic disorder (dysmorphophobia) on the rise and taking lives. |
|
|
|
|
Thursday, 24 August 2006 |
Doctors say the pressure in certain sections of society and the media are adding to the considerable pressures of people suffering from the condition known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder or dysmorphophobia. The psychiatric condition is marked by a fixation on an imaginary flaw in the physical appearance. In those cases where a minor flaw actually exists, the BDD sufferer exhibits an inordinate amount of anguish and will tend to amplify its significance ou of aall rational importance.
In extreme cases, the anguish brought about in the mind of sufferers can drive them to extreme and tragic measures - as in the case of a 30 year old Taiwanese woman who committed suicide last week, believing that her looks were destroying trade at her family restaurant.
According to her family, the woman felt she had become ugly after receiving cosmetic surgery to create double eyelids, a physical trait that is considered to be a sign of beauty in many Asian countries. She thought her eyes had become disproportional in size after her surgery and believed the "ugliness" of her face was scaring customers away from the family's breakfast shop.
Doctors say that people with dysmorphophobia are extremely critical of their looks and often undergo cosmetic surgery to change what they don't like about their bodies. The condition is not as rare as one might imagine, and even glamorous celebrities including Uma Thurman struggle with the condition.
Even after having surgery, doctors say that most BDD sufferers are only satisfied with their new look for a short period of time before finding more faults with their appearance.
The classic BDD patient will display some or all of the following symptoms:
Comparing their looks to others.
- Checking of the 'flaw' in all reflections.
- Trying to camouflage the imagined defect with clothes, makeup, hands etc.
- Repeatedly asking about the defect, or trying to convince others how ugly it looks.
- Constantly touching the defect.
- Excessive dieting or exercise.
- Use of drugs to change body shape and size.
- Avoidance of social situations.
- Low self-esteem and lack of confidence
For patients suffering from BDD, cosmetic surgery is not recommended, since the psychiatric condition will continue to manifest itself even after repeated surgery and must be treated as a psychiatric illness, rather than a physical defect.
|
![[أربيك]](http://www.lipo.com/websitetranslator/images/flag_ar.gif){kind=small}
