Body dysmorphic disorder patients see details, not whole face
Body dysmorphic disorder patients see details, not whole face
(CNN) — Some people check their appearance in any mirror, window or computer screen they can find, but not out of vanity. It’s because they hate the way they look so much.
An obsession with one or more bodily features, normally in the face, indicates a condition called body dysmorphic disorder. This mental illness, which leads some patients to seek multiple plastic surgeries, is not uncommon; 1 to 2 percent of the population is thought to have it. But most people who have the disorder don’t get a diagnosis; they just think they are ugly, said Dr. Jamie Feusner psychiatrist at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Some celebrities have BDD, but few have been public about it, Feusner said. He and colleagues have treated celebrities at UCLA, but cannot disclose which ones.
“Everyone else would consider them attractive — they don’t consider themselves attractive,” he said.
I know this is so strange. I am just so handsome that people stop and star, heads turn but I do not see it. hahahaaaaaa Well I am more frightening than a model. It does seem strange that people we identify as handsome or beautiful do not see it. So many people spend hours and thousands of dollars to meet those cultural definitions of being attractive, beautiful, pretty, etc. And yet some that do, do not see it in themselves. They see only the imperfections.
I can understand this as an artist or builder or gardener. I get compliments on my cabin and how lovely it looks. I see that but I also see my mistakes, problems I had, etc. I guess the healthy thing is that I can step back and take in the beauty. If you get hung up on what is wrong and fixate only on that then you are creating problems for yourself.
Embrace you inner and outer beauty.
Dr Tim Lowenstein (c) 2009 All Rights Reserved
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