BODY DYSMORPHY: What is it, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

The media, social networks and culture in general promote aesthetic pressure and concern for physical appearance. However, excessive attention and concern for self-image constitutes a mental disorder: body dysmorphic disorder. People with this pathology develop a distorted perception about different aspects of their physique and carry out a series of repetitive behaviors. If you want to know more about this disorder, keep reading our Psychology-Online article: Body dysmorphia: what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment.

Index

1. Body dysmorphia: what is it
2. Body dysmorphia: causes
3. Body dysmorphia: symptoms
4. Body dysmorphia: treatment
5. Body dysmorphia: prevention

What is body dysmorphia? The body dysmorphia, dysmorphophobia or body dysmorphic disorder it is a psychological disorder related to physical and bodily self-image.

Dysmorphia: meaning

People who suffer from this pathology have both a distorted perception of a defect, whether real or imagined, as well as excessive concern about it. That is, they have an obsession with physical appearance, of a specific part of the body. The flaw that people with

This pathology usually has its onset in adolescence, since it is a stage of changes physical and developmental identity and self-image, however, can appear in any range of age. Among the most prevalent concerns are those of the face (skin, hair and nose), although the The focus of concern can be any body area or the asymmetry of any part of the body. Body.

Body dysmorphia or body dysmorphic disorder affects both men and women, although these usually worrying about your genitals or a small or not very muscular body structure, while you are about face, hair and chest. When it focuses on muscle mass it is called muscle dysmorphia or vigorexia, while when focusing on there is also dental dysmorphia, when the concern falls on the teeth.

Body dysmorphia is currently classified in the group of "OCD and other related disorders", whereas before it was grouped in "Somatoform disorders". This variation is due to the fact that in this disorder prevail fear and anxiety and not the physical or bodily symptoms. Therefore, this current classification corresponds more than the previous one with the characteristics of body dysmorphia.
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What are the causes of body dysmorphia or dysmorphophobia? Currently, the specific causes of this mental pathology are unknown, but a number of risk factor's that could promote and explain the appearance of body dysmorphic disorder:

• Social context: Both in social networks and in the media there is an image culture that affects the perception and importance that people give to their own physique. Beauty canons and media messages generate pressure on people to achieve an image based on standards promoted by society.
• Bullying: traumatic experiences in childhood and / or adolescence related to bullying, humiliation, jokes and criticism about the image and physical appearance of classmates are a risk factor for the genesis of this pathology. In the following article you will find What to do in case of school bullying.
• Psychological abuse by the partner: refers to the pressure and demands to meet the beauty standards imposed by an affectionate partner. In this mistreatment there are also humiliations, criticisms and emotional blackmail. It's important to know How to detect psychological abuse in your partner.
• Parenting styles: families that exert excessive pressure on the aesthetic aspect, as well as make use of criticism and humiliation to their sons or daughters, can also be a trigger for this disorder.
• Personality traits: There are a number of personality traits that are associated with body dysmorphia, such as low self-esteem, the perfectionism, neuroticism or insecurity.
• History of physical problems in adolescence: the experience of complexes or physical stigmas in adolescence, such as acne, can favor the development of insecurities and excessive attention and surveillance of one's own image in the future.
• Negative or traumatic experiences how abandonment, both physical and emotional, promotes insecurity, pathological fear of rejection and the need for social approval through physical appearance.
• Visual processing: people with this disorder have a tendency to visual processing focused on details and not holistic or global. This sensitivity to detail is not limited only to external appearance, but also to the perception of other visual aspects of reality.

How do I know if I have body dysmorphia? Below you will find a list with the symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder used for the evaluation of body dysmorphic disorder or dysmorphophobia, as well as the effects of body dysmorphia:

• Excessive worry for one or more defects, real or imagined. The rest of the people do not observe them or do not give them little importance, compared to the person who perceives them.
• Distorted or exaggerated perception of the imperfections and defects that the subject focuses on.
• Maintaining this belief as objective and immovable, even if your environment does not share it. They may come to believe that their environment does not tell them the truth about their physical appearance and they deceive them so as not to make them suffer.
• Concerns about these defects are constant, they occur rumination or obsessive thoughts about these.
• Negative self-verbalizations about one's own body or face, causing a contempt for one's own physique.
• Repetitive behaviors, such as looking in the mirror, excessive grooming, constantly applying makeup, etc.
• Repetitive mental rituals, such as mentally compare yourself to other people or famous people continuously.
• Also in some cases there is avoidance of one's own reflection, mirrors, and images or videos in which the person appears.
• Attempts to hide or disguise defects perceived through clothing, makeup or hairstyle.
• Avoidance of social situations out of fear or shame, being able to reach social isolation.
• Use of a wide variety of aesthetic products, as well as they can go to aesthetic professionals or try different aesthetic procedures. All this without achieving satisfaction with the result.
• Use of techniques to deviate the image of perceived imperfection, such as using extravagant and eye-catching clothing or accessories.
• Search for information in different sources about the physical area that concerns you.
• Feelings of fear and anxiety in social situations, since they fear that other people may see those defects that they perceive and make fun of them.
• Feelings of insecurity and inferiority about the image itself.
• Emotions like anxiety, anguish and sadness because of worries.
• The concerns and behaviors carried out by the person generate alteration in different vital areas of the person.

People with body dysmorphic disorder may be reluctant to psychological intervention, since they do not perceive their problem as subjective, but as physical and objective. Therefore, they go to aesthetic specialists, since these people are motivated by a physical and external change, but not a psychological one. Nonetheless, there is psychological treatment for body dysmorphia, whose objectives are the modification of negative self-verbalizations and irrational beliefs about the physical image, the reduction and disappearance of the obsessive behaviors and the tolerance of the own image.

How to overcome body dysmorphia? The different parts of treating dysmorphophobia or body dysmorphic disorder are explained below:

• Psychoeducation: In the first step of the treatment of dysmorphophobia, an explanation is made to the person about the disorder, its symptoms, as well as the concepts of physical appearance and body image. It seeks to achieve the motivation and commitment of the person.
• Exposure technique: coping technique of those situations that cause anxiety and worry. The exhibition is developed gradually and with previous training by the professional person. Likewise, training in Relaxation and breathing techniques to facilitate exposure.
• Response prevention technique: complementary technique to that of exposure. With the training in it, it is intended to avoid the realization of obsessive behaviors, therefore you can set a time limit for dressing and putting on makeup, going outside without first looking in the mirror etc.
• Mirror exposure technique: By means of this technique, different exercises are carried out: in one of them the person with this disorder that describes your body objectively, through the guidance and instructions of the person professional. It is also required to express the feelings that it causes to contemplate in the mirror, as well as to point out some parts of the body that you like or dislike less than the rest and make an assessment positive.
• Cognitive restructuring: In relation to distorted cognitions and beliefs, the cognitive restructuring technique is used. The influence of thoughts on emotions and behaviors is explained to the person. On the other hand, records and identification of maladaptive thoughts are made, which are put to test or in doubt and, finally, the substitution of these by other more cognitions is promoted. functional.
• Complementation of therapy: can be complemented with self esteem work and / or the social skills depending on the needs of the person and the treatment.

However, better than treating is always prevention. For the prevention of body dysmorphic disorder, the following keys are offered:

• Develop self-esteem from childhood, both in the field of school and from the family. The acceptance and esteem of one's own body should be encouraged, as well as the appreciation of other capacities or abilities beyond the image. For this, it may be useful to know these Activities to strengthen self-esteem in children.
• Provide information about physical changes and bodily that occur throughout adolescence. It is important that young people know how their own body works, the variations that occur and why. Through information and communication, physical functioning is prevented from becoming a taboo subject and an object of shame.
• Foster an attitude criticism about the beauty fees imposed by society and the aesthetic pressure to which people are subjected. Knowing that beauty is subjective, is related to the mandates and impositions of society and is a source of economic income for large companies, can facilitate empowerment of people in terms of their own image.
• Finally, it is necessary demand responsible media, that show a variety of physical features and bodies, promote self-acceptance and self-esteem, as well as focus their attention on other aspects of people that are not only aesthetic.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Body dysmorphia: what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

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