According to the DSM-5 body dysmorphic definition specifically refers to a mental health disorder belonging to the obsessive-compulsive spectrum.
Available data suggest that BDD should be considered a candidate form of affective spectrum disorder--a disorder that may eventually be demonstrated to belong to this family of disorders. Available data also strongly support the hypothesis that BDD is an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder.
So BDD is listed under – Obsessive-compulsive or related disorders (F42), a category which includes: 6B20 Obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental health disorder. If you have BDD, you may be so worried about the way your body looks that it interferes with your ability to function normally. You may take extreme measures such as repeated cosmetic surgical procedures to correct the perceived flaw.
As people with BDD are obsessively preoccupied with an aspect of their appearance, it has been proposed that BDD may be a form of OCD. In addition, some people diagnosed with BDD have or have had OCD. Social phobia – a type of anxiety disorder, characterised by fear of interaction with people.
The disorder affects around 1 in 50 Australians, but is difficult to diagnose because people often don't think what they see is a delusion - they believe they're genuinely disproportioned.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a serious mental illness. This is a psychiatric disorder that is related to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It most commonly begins around puberty, and it affects both men and women.
Like many other mental health conditions, body dysmorphic disorder may result from a combination of issues, such as a family history of the disorder, negative evaluations or experiences about your body or self-image, and abnormal brain function or abnormal levels of the brain chemical called serotonin.
There are two subtypes of BDD: Muscle Dysmorphia and BDD by Proxy.
Some other conditions such as schizophrenia, OCD, anti-social personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, dissociative disorder, and bipolar disorder can be classed as a form of neurodivergence too.
Body dysmorphia is considered a mental illness. And if conditions meet, it can be legally class as a disability. It's wrongfully believed that people with body dysmorphia are vain, egotistic, or self-obsessed. It's a mental health condition which can dictate a person's entire life.
BDD has both psychotic and nonpsychotic variants, which are classified as separate disorders in DSM-IV (delusional disorder and a somatoform disorder).
BDD is categorized in the DSM 5 as one of the obsessive-compulsive related disorders for obvious reasons. In BDD, people are tormented by obsessive thoughts associated with a part or parts of their physical appearance being flawed in some way, yet these flaws tend not to be noticeable to anyone but themselves.
Body dysmorphia and ADHD
Emerging research has shown that body dysmorphic disorder has high comorbidity with ADHD. That means people with body dysmorphic disorder are more likely than the average person to also have ADHD. And people with ADHD are more likely than the average person to also have BDD.
Body image concerns that may amount to symptoms of BDD are common in a severe or emotionally unstable personality disorder known as Borderline Personality Disorder or BPD. When symptoms of BDD are prominent in BPD, then it is usually regarded as an additional problem to the personality disorder.
How common is body dysmorphic disorder? Experts estimate that BDD affects about 2.4% of adults in the U.S. overall. It affects about 2.5% of women and people assigned female at birth and about 2.2% of men and people assigned male at birth. Outside the U.S., it affects between 1.7% and 2.9% of people.
Someone with body dysmorphia may experience debilitating, obsessive, and/or uncontrollable thoughts. BDD symptoms can result in beliefs that manifest into extreme and intrusive thoughts. Another common symptom is becoming obsessive over the thought that something is wrong, like seeing altered or distorted flaws.
Reverse BDD: In many ways, reverse body dysmorphia is the opposite of BDD. Individuals with this condition may believe they are thin while living in a larger body. Therefore, they may routinely buy clothing several sizes too small without trying it on.
Those with body dysmorphia have a distorted view of how they look, while those with gender dysphoria suffer no distortion. They have feelings of anxiety and depression, as they truly know who they are on the inside, despite this not fitting with their biological sex.
Someone with body dysmorphic disorder doesn't see their body as it really is or as others see it. The "flaws" they focus on are things that others can hardly notice. They exaggerate them, so things seem worse in their minds.
Abuse or bullying. Going through traumatic experiences such as abuse or bullying can cause you to develop a negative self-image, which can lead you to have obsessions about your appearance.
It is believed that BDD can develop due to a combination of genetic predisposition (nature) and environmental factors such as traumatic life experiences (nurture).
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a prevalent and often destructive mental illness that is often strongly associated with unresolved trauma. Though efforts to understand the connections between BDD and trauma are on-going, what is already known suggests an important path to healing.
If left untreated, BDD can worsen with age. With proper treatment, care and support, a person may recover from unwanted thoughts about their appearance.
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), or body dysmorphia, is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance. These flaws are often unnoticeable to others. People of any age can have BDD, but it's most common in teenagers and young adults. It affects both men and women.