Body dysmorphic disorder is a quite common problem of mental health. This is a condition that causes people to spend most of their time thinking and distressed about imagined or minor defect in their physical appearance. These people tend to focus much on their physical defects that others may not be able to see. In other situations, they tend to have a mild physical defect but are more worried of the defect to be out of proportion (Shaw et al, 2016). For instance, there are people who feel that they have an odd shaped nose, something that other people may consider quite trivial for an individual to care about. The feelings and thought of defect are quite distressing to the extent that these people get adversely affected by the condition. However, the condition should not be confused with the normal dissatisfaction that people usually engage in from unfavorable experiences. There are those who normally wish they were darker, taller or slimmer and it is normal. BDD involves total preoccupation with the condition that they consider themselves ugly and distressed. This paper, therefore, seeks to discuss some of the most common behaviors of the people suffering from this disorder.
Most people suffering from the condition tend to avoid the social functions and do not enjoy the idea of going out with friends and families. They feel that their presence in the social occasion will elicit unnecessary attention from the people in the function. In the few occasions where they have decided to attend social functions, it is quite common of them to constantly seek reassurance from their family and friends and comparing themselves with others in the social functions.
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According to Nieuwoudt et al (2015) , these people approach and consult cosmetic surgeon in an effort to ensure the correction of their trivial or the imagined defect in their body. They have a strong belief that they are ugly and deformed that few people are willing to associate with them in the social functions. This explains their common perfectionist tendencies where they have to ensure they are quite smart and perfect before they go. This is quite evident in the way in which they take much of their time trying to hide the defect through various ways such as excessive use of makeup, styling or beautiful clothes before actually stepping out of their house. Alternatively, these people spend excessive time looking at themselves in the mirror to ensure they are perfectly presented before wherever they go. All these are based on the fact that they feel they will be mocked or attract negative attention from their friends and families. However, these cosmetic surgery treatments may vary such as smoothing treatments for their skin. It must be noted that most of these treatments are quite costly and rarely give the needed results from the condition.
It is as well important to consider the common behavior of the people to involve themselves in suicide because they feel that their condition is too bad that it cannot be controlled. They feel death is the only way to come out of their situation. Some of them deeply engage in misuse and abuse of drugs and alcohol to deal with their condition. In other cases, some of the people suffering from the condition have fallen into depression. They get much preoccupied with their condition disorder and appearance that it leads to major social life problems or distress in social places such as church, schools, sports events and even at home. They live in isolation and do not want to associate with people. This type of behavior has led to more anxiety disorders in the people suffering from the disorder. Some of the anxiety disorders common in these people include eating disorders, social anxiety disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. If these conditions are not properly controlled in the patients, they result in depression and later suicidal attempts in the patients’ life (De Brito et al, 2016). Therefore, it is quite important to address such concerns in them before the condition gets worse. However, there are cases where BDD has been misdiagnosed as these disorders because of their common symptoms. For instance, the repetitive behaviors and intrusive thoughts of BDD are quite similar to the compulsions and obsessions of OCD. The only difference between the BDD and OCD disorders is that BDD portrays repetitive behaviors and heavily focus much on the appearance of the patient. Similarly, social anxiety disorders share similar symptoms with BDD condition in the way these people get embarrassed by their appearance and avoid social occasions.
Generally, individuals suffering from this condition tend to only gather more evidence to prove their defect and ugliness. The professionals have little to do in most cases and only offer their sympathy to the patients. Most of them get depressed in their situation because of their inability to share with others what they feel, and why they think they need help. Nonetheless, they are always preoccupied with the idea of either correcting the defect or constantly hiding it from people to see.
References
Shaw, A. M., Hall, K. A., Rosenfield, E., & Timpano, K. R. (2016). Body Dysmorphic Disorder Symptoms And Risk For Suicide: The Role Of Depression. Body image , 19 , 169-174.
Nieuwoudt, J. E., Zhou, S., Coutts, R. A., & Booker, R. (2015). Symptoms Of Muscle Dysmorphia, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, And Eating Disorders In A Nonclinical Population Of Adult Male Weightlifters In Australia. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research , 29 (5), 1406-1414.
De Brito, M. J. A., Nahas, F. X., Cordás, T. A., Gama, M. G., Sucupira, E. R., Ramos, T. D., ... & Ferreira, L. M. (2016). Prevalence Of Body Dysmorphic Disorder Symptoms And Body Weight Concerns In Patients Seeking Abdominoplasty. Aesthetic surgery journal , 36 (3), 324-332.
