Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Reason, Symptom, Treatment
Definition
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), also known as a dysmorphia, is a psychiatric disorder characterized by excessive worry that a person experiences. This worry is related to the feeling that there is a deficiency in the body. For example a less sharp nose, asymmetrical eye folds, and the like. This deficiency is usually only seen by sufferers. Meanwhile, other people see that what is worried is actually a normal thing. BDD is usually more experienced by adolescents and young adults.
Reason
The exact cause of body dysmorphic disorder is not yet known with certainty. However, the incidence of BDD is often associated with several conditions, such as:
- Depression
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- An imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain
- History of trauma in the past, for example, having been bullied as a child
Diagnosis
To confirm the diagnosis of body dysmorphic disorder, in-depth interviews with sufferers are needed. The diagnosis of BDD can be made by a psychiatrist.
Some questions that can be used to detect the presence of BDD are:
- Are you feeling dissatisfied with your appearance?
- Is the complaint you have about your appearance a very important issue?
- Do you spend more than three hours per day thinking about how you look?
- Are your appearance problems really affecting your daily life?
- Do your appearance problems seriously affect your activities at work or at school?
The more questions that are answered with “Yes”, the more likely the person is experiencing BDD.
Symptoms
Recognized symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder include:
- Observe performance periodically, can be more than one hour per day
- Seeing or touching the perceived flaws over and over again
- Often ask for the opinion of others about body parts that are considered lacking
- Thinking of doing plastic surgery
- Always feeling dissatisfied with her body
Meanwhile, the parts of the body that are often the center of attention for sufferers of BDD are the eyes, nose, lips, chin shape, cheek shape, jaw size, breasts, and buttocks.
Treatment
Treatment of body dysmorphic disorder must be carried out by a psychiatrist. Treatment includes psychotherapy and medication.
Psychotherapy is done with cognitive behavioral therapy ( cognitive behavior therapy ). In this treatment, a psychiatrist will help the patient to recognize that negative perceptions about his body are excessive.
After that, the psychiatrist will slowly guide the sufferer to think more rationally and have a positive perception of his body. If the sufferer is a child or teenager, this therapy requires the help of a parent or family member who has a close relationship with the sufferer.
Meanwhile, drugs used to treat body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are drugs belonging to the selective serotonin receptor inhibitor (SSRI) class, such as fluoxetine and sertraline. This drug can only be consumed under strict supervision from a doctor. Generally, after taking the drug for at least 12 weeks, complaints will start to improve.
In addition, the important thing in the treatment of BDD is to have consistent treatment with the same psychiatrist. Changing psychiatrists will make the treatment that has been done unsustainable and hinders recovery.
Psychiatrists as much as possible will not advise people with BDD to do plastic surgery. Because plastic surgery will not solve the problem. Instead of treating BDD, plastic surgery can actually cause new problems.
The thing that underlies BDD is a perceptual disturbance of limbs. Therefore, it is important to correct the perception of the sufferer, not the limb that must be repaired.
Prevention
Until now, there is no action that can be taken to prevent body dysmorphic disorder.