Reverse body dysmorphia

30lbslightergoal
30lbslightergoal Posts: 59 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone, I am a 43 year old femal who suffers from reverse body dysmorphia. I am wondering if anyone here has successfully overcome this odd diagnosis? Looking for support and tips

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    What? You think you look good? all the time? Awesome! Pass some my way!!
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    Yes, please elaborate!
  • dbanks80
    dbanks80 Posts: 3,685 Member
    Yes. What does that mean?
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited November 2016
    Reminded me of Fat Ba$tard, "I'm dead sexy" line! "Oh aye lassie, I'm dead sexy"! Haha!


    Edit- nah, maybe it's a real thing. Just seems silly. Oh wait, does trump have it? Nah, I'm just funnin' ...

    You're gonna have to fill us in.
  • kshatriyo
    kshatriyo Posts: 134 Member
    30lbslightergoal wrote: »
    Hi everyone, I am a 43 year old femal who suffers from reverse body dysmorphia. I am wondering if anyone here has successfully overcome this odd diagnosis? Looking for support and tips

    Well, after I had my first child, for some reason he just seeemed GIANT to me, like maybe 4 times bigger than he actually was. Especially when breastfeeding. I had baby dysmorphic disorder. Yeah. I made that one up to. Cute, huh? LOL
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    jackiefrost1013 wrote: »
    Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder characterized by an obsessive preoccupation that some aspect of one's own appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix it. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined.

    For all you making fun, it actually is a real problem. You should look it up.

    I don't think anyone is making fun of BDD. Many people here suffer with it and recognize the pain of it. Seems that people are trying to figure out what is reverse BDD.
  • kshatriyo
    kshatriyo Posts: 134 Member
    jackiefrost1013 wrote: »
    Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder characterized by an obsessive preoccupation that some aspect of one's own appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix it. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined.

    For all you making fun, it actually is a real problem. You should look it up.

    You're right. It is a real problem. Sorry for being insensitive. It is definitely a very serious problem.
  • YAYA_of_2
    YAYA_of_2 Posts: 160 Member
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    jackiefrost1013 wrote: »
    Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder characterized by an obsessive preoccupation that some aspect of one's own appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix it. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined.

    For all you making fun, it actually is a real problem. You should look it up.

    I don't think anyone is making fun of BDD. Many people here suffer with it and recognize the pain of it. Seems that people are trying to figure out what is reverse BDD.

    If you put reverse body dysphoria in the search box what comes up first is exactly what I posted. Like I stated you should look it up.

    So many people have disabilities that are not seen with the eye. It bothers me that people can be so judgmental and insensitive. Take the time to research something and you might be surprised at what you find out.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    jackiefrost1013 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    jackiefrost1013 wrote: »
    Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder characterized by an obsessive preoccupation that some aspect of one's own appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix it. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined.

    For all you making fun, it actually is a real problem. You should look it up.

    I don't think anyone is making fun of BDD. Many people here suffer with it and recognize the pain of it. Seems that people are trying to figure out what is reverse BDD.

    If you put reverse body dysphoria in the search box what comes up first is exactly what I posted. Like I stated you should look it up.

    So many people have disabilities that are not seen with the eye. It bothers me that people can be so judgmental and insensitive. Take the time to research something and you might be surprised at what you find out.

    Where exactly was my judgmental post? I was simply trying to explain what might be other people's rationales for their response.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Is OP talking about the reverse of BDD? Isn't that just plain old narcissism?
  • Sloth2016
    Sloth2016 Posts: 838 Member
    Perhaps OP is Jennifer Lawrence?
    http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/a33119/jennifer-lawrence-reverse-body-dysmorphia/
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    jackiefrost1013 wrote: »
    nutmegoreo wrote: »
    jackiefrost1013 wrote: »
    Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder characterized by an obsessive preoccupation that some aspect of one's own appearance is severely flawed and warrants exceptional measures to hide or fix it. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined.

    For all you making fun, it actually is a real problem. You should look it up.

    I don't think anyone is making fun of BDD. Many people here suffer with it and recognize the pain of it. Seems that people are trying to figure out what is reverse BDD.

    If you put reverse body dysphoria in the search box what comes up first is exactly what I posted. Like I stated you should look it up.

    So many people have disabilities that are not seen with the eye. It bothers me that people can be so judgmental and insensitive. Take the time to research something and you might be surprised at what you find out.

    So this has been bugging me, so I went looking. There is no (that I could find) officially accepted reverse BDD. The only reference I could find to this was a blog that was talking about being fixated on comparing someone's SO to other women to see if she was more or less attractive to them. So in that context it was referring to a fixation on how others look, rather than one's self, which is what happens with BDD.

    Considering the elusiveness of information on this condition (which would explain OP referring to it as an "odd diagnosis"), I don't think that it is particularly offensive to ask for some clarification on the condition.
  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
    I have had symptoms of BDD over many years.
    This link gives a pretty good overview of the diagnostic criteria.

    https://bdd.iocdf.org/professionals/diagnosis/

    From my understanding the 'reverse' of BDD would be obsession the point of life activity disturbance about an amazing bodily feature. I've never heard of that myself, but then I'm not a psychiatrist.

    'Reverse anorexia' is a term I have heard though.
  • 30lbslightergoal
    30lbslightergoal Posts: 59 Member
    Oh my wasn't expecting the above thread lol

    It is real and most people do react like it is odd. I truly have no idea what I really look like. I became obsessive and was taking selfie body photos daily. I believe subconsciously I learned to use the right angles to take more flattering photos. I use to ask my sister to send me photos of what I look like body wise.

    After I read an article about reverse body dysmorphia I realized I wasn't alone. It's more common with men than women. That 215 number on the scale is driving me insane. I know that I shouldn't obsess over the number on the scale but I weigh more than my mother and I can see that she is a bigger lady. I look at photos from my past and compare and try to see differences but I can't. I should mention that part of this might be the way I carry the weight?

    I have tried to put a positive twist and say to myself that I am confident in my own skin so work every lb but I still want to view myself the way I really look.

    Sorry I think I'm all over the place
  • jennybearlv
    jennybearlv Posts: 1,519 Member
    I've never heard of reverse BDD. I gained weight extremely quickly after being thin for my first 30 years and kept doing weird stuff like walking into the sides of doorways because I thought I would clear it. It took me at least a year to get used to my larger size. Is that what were talking about?
  • crackpotbaby
    crackpotbaby Posts: 1,297 Member
    Has this been clinically diagnosed or self diagnosed after relating to the articles.

    The condition 'reverse body dismorphic disorder' is not one listed in the DSM-IV psychiatric manual as far as I know but the symptoms you listed certainly overlap with a number of conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder, some delusional disorders, the grandiose over inflated sense of self esteem in mania or hypomania ...

    I hope you have been diagnosed by a professional; the diagnosing specialist (whatever the condition) is generally the best person to get advice in regard to treatment, management etc

    .........

    Side note: you can be smoking hot at any weight.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    30lbslightergoal wrote: »
    Oh my wasn't expecting the above thread lol

    It is real and most people do react like it is odd. I truly have no idea what I really look like. I became obsessive and was taking selfie body photos daily. I believe subconsciously I learned to use the right angles to take more flattering photos. I use to ask my sister to send me photos of what I look like body wise.

    After I read an article about reverse body dysmorphia I realized I wasn't alone. It's more common with men than women. That 215 number on the scale is driving me insane. I know that I shouldn't obsess over the number on the scale but I weigh more than my mother and I can see that she is a bigger lady. I look at photos from my past and compare and try to see differences but I can't. I should mention that part of this might be the way I carry the weight?

    I have tried to put a positive twist and say to myself that I am confident in my own skin so work every lb but I still want to view myself the way I really look.

    Sorry I think I'm all over the place

    Thank you for coming back to explain. I haven't heard of this before, so was curious. I ran the term through one of my University databases, and it came up with nothing.

    Personally, I don't see myself as being the weight that I am. I was quite thin until my 20s and then it just kept creeping on. So pictures of myself are shocking, but that seems to be different from what you are describing. For myself, I wouldn't seek to call it anything other than my brain not matching my body, but it doesn't influence my daily life at all.

    Have you been seeing a psychologist/psychiatrist for this? It sounds like it is pretty invasive. I don't know if they would call it reverse BDD, but it would be helpful for you to have a professional to guide you through the healing process.
  • 30lbslightergoal
    30lbslightergoal Posts: 59 Member
    edited November 2016
    Yes, this was professionally diagnosed by a Pyshologist. She asked if there was any sexual or physical abuse in my past (which generally is the root cause) but thank God, no I have not been subjected to any such abuse. She seemed stumped so I figured maybe if I reach out to others that I could gain insight on how to deal with this. I believe that this will help with my weight loss journey. I should also mention that I do not even notice in others if weight is gained or lost.

    I recently have lost 5lbs thanks to a My Fitness Pal challenge. I do not see or feel any difference. Regardless if I lose weight, inches whatever I can never see the results and tend to sabatoge any success (but not this time). I did ask my sister and my nephew, who replied my muffin top is turning into a pear.. works for me lol

    PS I made reference to reading online about this because I was unsure how to explain it to my doctor. It helped me understand what was going on. I never was so obsessed about my appearance before.

    Thanks everyone for you input :)

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