Body Dysmorphic Disorder

I suspect most psychological disorders come in a "range" of degrees. True BDD is debilitating, where the sufferer fixates on one or more physical attributes, and becomes almost incapable of functioning normally in society, due to feelings he/she is horrific in appearance to others.

But I can imagine there may be degrees of BDD.

A friend of mine felt she might have BDD because she would obsess over her nose and her bangs. Her obsessive thoughts and actions did negatively affect her life, but weren't necessarily coupled with the notion those attributes made her look abnormal or like a monster. For the most part, she functioned normally, and excelled in many social, academic, and professional arenas. She was subsequently diagnosed with general OCD, and takes Zoloft, I believe.

I promise you this...you are perfectly normal and have the same right to exist, and thrive in life, as everyone else. Perception is so huge, it's why you think everyone's a size 2, and why you imagine how others are judging you. Ultimately, please know that appearance is actually the least important thing about any of us. Those who focus a lot of energy on their own appearance, or routinely judge the appearance of others, are shallow, pointless people (probably with low self-esteem, themselves). What matters is how smart you are, how kind, how generous, or how accomplished you are.

I know that probably didn't help much. I sure hope it wasn't hurtful, in any respect, as that is the furthest from my intent. It just pains me when (women especially) focus their valuable energy worrying about pleasing others by way of their appearance...as though we have some duty to be attractive to others. The best day of my life was when I got over that nonsense. :-)

thanks for posting.. as far as it being dibitating.. i have my days. it is also coupled with ocd and bi-polar.. so it is just another brick in the wall so to speak. but i notice as i spend more time trying to lose weight.. i focus more and more on it. and then it becomes overwelming to the point that i don't want to leave the house. at this point i can still make myself leave.. but you will most likely see me in a long skirt, long sleaves and scarfs. i have been trying to "uncover" myself .. but it is not easy. i feel fat, awkward, ugly, .. i have a hard time looking people in the eye for fear ill see what they see (fat)..

im working on myself.. but i have a long way to go.. i have very little self esteem.. and the days i get a glimps of what good others see (i was contacted by a reporter two days ago to have an article written about me and my art work).. i panic.. i haven't been able to get back to him.. im afraid that he will see im some sort of art fraud or something..

ugh..

:-)

I suspect most people have those feelings, to one degree or another.

The "fraud" thing is classic. It's a common worry many people, in many walks of life, share. Some will refuse compliments, or even genuinely earned awards, for fear the world will one day realize they aren't worthy...that they're really not very good at that thing, and be discovered as a fraud. ...Sooooo common. :-)

I, myself, like to stay "covered" because I have large breasts (large for my frame - 30G), and don't like the way many men stare at me/them. I can't recall a single occasion where I've worn a form-fitting top of some kind, without a cardigan/jacket/hoodie over it, and DIDN'T have someone say something (embarrassing to me) about my chest. (It's not even really that big...just big for my small frame.) I would like to "get over" that, but I've never liked the look of large breasts, anyway. So, it's hard to find something positive about it.

We all have our "things".

You are just fine, and normal, and not unattractive (not that your appearance is all that important). MILLIONS of people want to lose more weight; some for health reasons, others just to minimze the negative judgement of others. You share so much in common with so many other people! ...You struggles, your feelings, your worries, your goals...

Just know there are MANY people who aren't negatively judging you. In fact, there are many people who have it much worse off, who envy you. And just as an aside...I really hate to spend any energy on the issue of apearance but....I've seen people with BDD, and most seem to be perfectionists (thus likely do many things to near-perfection), and are quite attractive, by most standards of physical beauty. It's funny that so many BDD'ers aren't just average looking, but quite "attractive".