by Mary M. Redoutey

Created on: May 02, 2009   Last Updated: May 11, 2009

Wendy looked in the mirror intently, and said to herself. "I look so ugly. Look at my nose. It is huge. Look at my breasts. They are too small. Look at me." Yet were anyone to have seen her face and her figure, they would have been unable to find any fault with her as she was beautiful. She was beautiful to everyone else and ugly to herself... She had Body Dysmorphic Disorder or BDD for short.

Bob looked into the mirror and called himself "puny and small" and yet his body was, if anything, large and over-developed. He too had BDD...

BDD is a condition that afflicts men and women equally. Those who have this condition typically have a distorted image of a body part and experienced a reduced sense of self esteem due to this distorted image of their body part. And, they suffer from difficulties in their careers, family and social relationships and activities because of this disorder.

The parts of the body that are focus on are acne or scarring, thinning hair, height, nose size or shape, the size or shape of genitals, weight, breasts, buttox, lips, teeth, calves, hips, etc.

Those who have this disorder may spend large amounts of time in front of the mirror, studying the disliked body part and trying to: pick at it; find ways to hide it; adjust it;or to compensate for it, etc. and may engage in excessive grooming. They compare themselves with others, ask people about their body part, and seek reassurance from others.

They often show up in the offices of plastic surgeons and dermatologists wanting treatment. Unfortunately, they normally experience no relief from having the treatments they seek. They normally express disappointment as they still feel bad about themselves and their body even after the offending body part is "fixed" through surgery, etc. Unfortunately, it is not at all unusual for them to begin fixating on another body part and desiring to have it fixed or to want a repeat surgery on the offending part to "make it right."

The inability to "make it right" causes them to become socially isolated and depressed and this puts them at higher risk for suicide.

BDD was recognized as a psychiatric condition in 1997after plastic surgeons and dermatologists noticed that there was a segment of the population who over utilized their services but did not really seem to benefit from it. It is a somotiform mental illness, an illness that does not seem to have a physical cause but affects the perception of the body. It is said to occur in one in every 20 people and usually

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