Posted by Racer on June 21, 2006, at 2:02:01
In reply to Re: Body Dysmorphic Disorder, posted by Adrift on June 20, 2006, at 22:23:33
It would help if you gave some indiction what symptoms are leading your friend to suggest this, but in general, BDD is a little different than most people think. Having a distorted body image is NOT BDD. Having a distorted body image is -- well, it's having a distorted body image.
BDD generally has a specific and obsessive focus -- "I didn't get that job because my ears stick out," "that cute guy won't ask me out because my ears stick out too much," "I shouldn't leave the house because my ears stick out so much that it totally ruins my looks and makes me look like a freak," "Everyone stares at me and thinks I'm weird because of how much my ears stick out." That's more like BDD.
And then there's the other side -- sometimes, what others might think is BDD, just isn't. I have been told that "your b**bs aren't that big, it's not a problem." Well, uh, guess what? Just because someone else doesn't think they LOOK big, doesn't mean that I can find clothing that fits, it doesn't mean that I can exercise comfortably without wearing two bras, etc. So, do I think that the size of my b**bs totally ruins my looks? No, but I do think that the way I look to others is distorted by the size of my chest, and that my life would be a lot easier if I didn't have them. (Not to mention less painful.) So, my issue around this section of my body might make someone else say, "Ah, BDD." Nope -- practical things, like finding clothing and physical discomfort are behind my dislike of this section of my body.
Make sense? I know, I went off on a tangent. I do that. But at least I did hit on the three things that seemed important: the difference between BDD and distorted body image; one example of what sorts of things are involved in BDD; and that sometimes the body dissatisfaction is real, even if someone else might not see it.
Hope that helps
poster:Racer
thread:659493
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20060615/msgs/659586.html