All people have varying opinions of how strangers look when they’re in public. Some people think positively of a person’s appearance while others think negatively of the same person. Someone who suffers with body image issues will always think negatively when he or she looks in the mirror. Learn more about this condition and the solution to overcoming it.
What Is Body Dysmorphic Disorder?
The technical term for this distorted view of one’s body is body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). It mainly affects young girls, but it also affects boys in addition to older women and men. People with this disorder have exaggerated ideas that some parts of their body are severely flawed and need corrections. Symptoms include:
- Low self esteem
- Low self confidence
- Low energy
- Shyness
- Self-harm behavior, such as cutting
- Depression
- Anxiety and/or paranoia
- Suicidal thoughts
- How Does It Lead to Other Disorders?
Body dysmorphic disorder causes the development of other equally destructive disorders. Anorexia nervosa is common among girls with BDD who are obsessed with being skinny. They think that their bodies have too much body fat and want to achieve extremely low, unhealthy weights. Bulimia is a similar condition that causes girls to regurgitate their food in an effort to lose weight. They develop several health problems that are unique to their condition, such as gastritis and esophagitis.
Obsessive compulsive disorder occurs when someone with BDD becomes obsessed with improving one or more body parts. Girls are obsessed with making modifications to their weight, breast size, facial features or body shape. Boys and men are self conscious about changing their weight, body hair, baldness or height.
How Plastic Surgery Helps
Plastic surgery cannot cure body dysmorphic disorder completely, but it is a start. After undergoing surgery, many people with BDD report having increased self confidence, higher self esteem and fewer negative thoughts about their body. As a result, they are more energetic and enthusiastic about going out in public and less anxious about what other people think about them.
Plastic surgeons know how self conscious their patients are. They develop individualized treatment plans that are unique to each person’s problems. They recommend a list of procedures, such as breast augmentation, face lifts or rhinoplasty, to improve the appearance of certain body parts. Kole Plastic Surgery is a local plastic surgeon Bucks County PA provider that will help you choose the right procedure and resolve your body image issues once and for all.
