Any BDD'ers out there?
Question:
Those, like me, who’s OCD focused on their physical image. Such as complexes about noses, ears, head shapes, torsos, etc. Mine is focused on my thinness, and therefore lack of ‘manliness’, type scenario. Most definitely, the OCD brought the BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder) to the surface. When I’ve struck up a conversation to others about this, almost everyone has some sort of complex about their looks, but when not in the presense of OCD .. it doesn’t bother them as often. Any takers on this one? I’d love to explore the OCD/BDD connection. Thanks, Rob
Response:
Hey Rob, I’ve always had the sneaking suspicion that I have a little BDD sprinkled in with my OCD. My obsession is with my face. Everyone has always told me that I’ve got a very handsome, chiseled face; without any trace of arrogance, I’d say for the most part, I believe this to be true. However, I seem to obsess over even the most miniscule of flaws. Sometimes, when I point these out to people, they tell me I’m nuts, they don’t see anything wrong, that people would kill to have a face like mine, etc. I don’t know, maybe I am nuts. Why else would I be hanging around in this NG? lol. When it comes right down to it, though, I really don’t know enough about the BDD/OCD connection, so I’m not even going to try to sound like I know what I’m talking about. It is a very interesting subject, however, and I’m looking forward to reading what others have to say about it. Justin
Response:
Rob wrote: > Those, like me, who’s OCD focused on their physical image. Such as > complexes about noses, ears, head shapes, torsos, etc. Mine is focused on > my thinness, and therefore lack of ‘manliness’, type scenario. Most > definitely, the OCD brought the BDD (Body Dysmorphic Disorder) to the > surface. When I’ve struck up a conversation to others about this, almost > everyone has some sort of complex about their looks, but when not in the > presense of OCD .. it doesn’t bother them as often. > Any takers on this one? I’d love to explore the OCD/BDD connection. > Thanks, Rob
Rob, I’ve had BDD along with OCD since I was a kid. Since adolescence, I’ve been convinced that my face and body are not symmetrical enough to be "normal." Have you ever read Katherine Phillips’ book about BDD? It explains a lot (at least it made sense to me). Other peoples’ bodies look normal to me, but mine never has. In addition, I have OCD (count, check, collect). –Cindy W
Response:
It’s my feeling that without the presense of OCD, I wouldn’t dwell (or be obsessed) with thoughts about my physical image. Most people have something they they ‘wish was better’, or ‘not comfortable’ with regarding their physical image, but when not compounded with OCD, it seems that these thoughts of image discomfort occur much less frequently. There’s a book called "The Broken Mirror", that attempts to understand BDD, but there’s lots more to be learned, and a lot more ‘opening up’ by others who have this condition. Of course, plastic surgery is a multi-billion dollar industry, and it’s possible that lots of these patients aren’t doing this for vanity sakes, rather in hopes of mimimizing any recurring thoughts about ‘abnormalities’ (especially as related to proportion), which is BDD. Naturally, there’s ‘degrees’ of this obsession, much like degrees of OCD, which I really feel is the precursor to BDD. Rob Justin <JustinCas…@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:26724-390EBC42-17@storefull-143.iap.bryant.webtv.net… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hey Rob, > I’ve always had the sneaking suspicion that I have a little BDD > sprinkled in with my OCD. My obsession is with my face. Everyone has > always told me that I’ve got a very handsome, chiseled face; without any > trace of arrogance, I’d say for the most part, I believe this to be > true. However, I seem to obsess over even the most miniscule of flaws. > Sometimes, when I point these out to people, they tell me I’m nuts, they > don’t see anything wrong, that people would kill to have a face like > mine, etc. I don’t know, maybe I am nuts. Why else would I be hanging > around in this NG? lol. > When it comes right down to it, though, I really don’t know enough about > the BDD/OCD connection, so I’m not even going to try to sound like I > know what I’m talking about. It is a very interesting subject, however, > and I’m looking forward to reading what others have to say about it. > Justin
