What is Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)?

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), or body dysmorphia, is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others.

People of any age can have BDD, but it’s most common in teenagers and young adults. It affects both men and women.

Having BDD does not mean you’re vain or self-obsessed. It can be very upsetting and have a big impact on your life.

Symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)

You might have body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) if you:

• worry a lot about a specific area of your body (particularly your face)
• spend a lot of time comparing your looks with other people’s
• look at yourself in mirrors a lot or avoid mirrors altogether
• go to a lot of effort to conceal flaws – for example, by spending a long time combing your hair, applying make-up or choosing clothes
• pick at your skin to make it “smooth”

BDD can seriously affect your daily life, including your work, social life and relationships.

BDD can also lead to depression, self-harm and even thoughts of suicide.

Treatments for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)

The symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) can get better with treatment. The recommended treatment for BDD, in line with guidance from the National Institute of Clinical and Health Excellence is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with or without a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) depending on the severity of symptoms.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

CBT can help you manage your BDD symptoms by changing the way you think and behave.

It helps you learn what triggers your symptoms, and teaches you different ways of thinking about and dealing with your habits.

You and your therapist will agree on goals for the therapy and work together to try to reach them.

CBT for treating BDD will include experiments to test your beliefs, often including a technique known as exposure and response prevention (ERP).

This involves gradually facing situations that would normally make you think obsessively about your appearance and feel anxious to test your beliefs about what happens.

Your therapist will help you to find other ways of dealing with your feelings in these situations so that, over time, you become able to deal with them without feeling self-conscious or afraid.

You may also be given some self-help information to read at home.

CBT for children and young people will usually also involve their family members or carers.