Although first described in the European psychiatric literature more than a century ago, the American Psychiatric Association has classified BDD as a clinical disorder only since 1987.
A Paralyzing Condition
BDD occurs in both children and adults, but it most often appears during mid-adolescence. Both women and men are afflicted in equal proportions, according to researchers.
Perceived facial flaws are the most common focus of BDD. However, any part of or the entire body can be of concern. People with BDD imagine their minor or nonexistent defect to be obvious and grotesque, but “I can never guess correctly what body part my patients are obsessed about,” says Dr. Andrea Allen, psychologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s Compulsive, Impulsive and Anxiety Disorder Program in New York, New York.
While most people are dissatisfied in some way with their appearance, the dissatisfaction is so extreme with BDD that those suffering with the condition are gravely disabled. They typically spend hours each day consumed with worry and rituals, such as mirror checking, excessive grooming or skin picking. BDD sufferers tend to avoid social interactions and relationships.
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