Dysmorphic disorder is a condition in which the person is mentally preoccupied with his external appearance and has serious anxiety with intense effort, although he does not have a serious physical defect or in cases where he has a mild physical defect. It becomes difficult to control negative thoughts about your body and this negatively affects your normal life. You can spend hours every day worrying about how you look. The cause of body dysmorphic disorder is thought to be a combination of environmental, psychological, and biological factors. Bullying or fear of ridicule, inadequacy, embarrassment can create or feed these thoughts. It usually starts in your adolescence or teenage years.
What Are the Symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder?
You can be obsessed with any part of your body. The most common areas are your face, hair, skin, chest and stomach.
Checking yourself constantly in the mirror
Trying to hide your body under a hat, scarf or makeup
Continuous exercise or maintenance
Constantly comparing yourself to others
Always asking other people if they look good
Disbelief when other people say you look good
avoiding social activities
Desire to have plastic surgery
feeling anxious, depressed and embarrassed
How Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder Treated?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy method is generally preferred here. It should be determined in which situations the client is triggered and these experiences should be interpreted by speaking. In addition, homework should be given to the client from time to time and a behavioral planning should be made in order to interrupt certain actions slowly. We try to replace negative automatic thought patterns and cognitive distortions by restructuring them with realistic thoughts. Here, it is aimed to bring a new perspective to the individual about what it means to be valuable and attractive. It is important to reveal the valuable and attractive aspects of the person himself.
