Essay On Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is a serious disease affecting many people. Some people are unaware of having this disease, and even more know they have it and are too scared to speak up and get the treatment they need. BDD has been reported in many countries around the world, including the U.S.A, Canada, Australlia, Eastern and Western Europe, China, Japan, and South America (Phillips). Imagine you are suffering from BDD. Everytime you look in the mirror, see your friends, when you are getting ready, when you see your friends, or when you see someone on television or in a magazine, you compare yourself and think about how ugly you are. This is not just thinking you look bad, or you wish you had a better face, or smaller eyes, this is a serious

If you have it, you may be upset about the appearance of your body that it gets in the way of your ability to live normally. Your reaction to the flaw would be overwhelming (Nelson). Many people with BDD can go to work or school, but are distracted because of their thoughts about their body and may fall behind with their work. BDD affects: both men and women, people of all ages, and people from all around the world. They might stop eating or not eat enough to “look right.” BDD was first described in 1886 by Italian psychiatrist Enrico Morselli. He initially called the disorder dysmorphophobia. He reported that his patients experienced sudden fears and painful desperation. Over the years, BDD had attracted the attention of some of the most noteworthy figures in psychology. In 1901, Emil Kraepelin described it as a mental malfunction leading to beauty based hypochondriasis. Also, Sigmund Freud encountered the disorder while treating a patient in the 1930’s. Freud described the patient as being so preoccupied with his nose that he was unable to function outside of his obsessive thoughts (Costa). Although people noticed BDD, they didn’t know how it started until