Body Dysmorphic Disorder? Ocd? Posted: 07-11-05 21:54pm
There are two things about me which have
led me to think I have a mild form of ocd
and also body dysmorphic disorder...
First of all, pretty much whenever I get a
chance, I look in a mirror and sometimes
tell myself "i hate you" when I look in
the mirror...This is because I just hate
the way I look...I could say a bad point
about pretty much all of my facial
features and body parts...I sometimes
stare into a mirror for as long as 15-20
minutes at a time just trying to see if
i'm actually better looking than I
thought...Sometimes i'll think I look
better than I usually do but then I start
to concentrate on my bad features...I
don't like my eyebrows, I don't like my
nose, I don't like my chin, I don't like
my cheekbones I don't like my neck etc
etc...It really makes me feel depressed.
Once when I walked into a clothes shop, in
the dressing cubicle the mirrors inside
allowed you to look straight ahead and see
a profile of yourself...I looked at myself
and was horrified at the disproportion of
my body and face...Although I know i'm not
hideously ugly, this just sent me into a
debilitating depression that I couldn't
shake off for a few days...
One thing that makes me think I have some
kind of ocd is I often dwell on things
i've done or said in the past that made me
look bad in any way and I immediately
think of graphic self harm as a kind of
way to counter the regretful thoughts...I
even sometimes carry out the motion of
cutting my arm immediately when I get one
of these thoughts (i only rarely actually
self harm, and when I do it's not as
extreme as drawing blood...More like
punching walls, punching myself etc.) this
is making me think I have ocd as it's
like a reflex thought that pops into my
head as a defence mechanism or something?
|
Assena
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 12 Nov 2004 Posts: 328 Location: Georgia
Posted: 07-11-05 22:26pm
Sweetheart it sounds like you have a case
of poor self esteem. You probably have
clinical deppression as well. Dwelling
on the past is not usual for people with
ocd... That usualy has to do with
repetative nature and order. (ie you have
to lock and unlock the door 6 times before
going in the house.... All the time)
this may be hard but it is something I do
to try to counter my self loathing (or
what I call reverse vanity) feelings is I
try to find 1 think I like about my self..
Just one thing and go with it. I find I
have less rage and feel a little better.
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jurplesman
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 139 Location: Sydney Australia
Posted: 07-11-05 23:22pm
I think assena hits the nail on the
head.
You seem to have a combination of
depression and that has been focused on
the physical self-image.
First you need to treat the depression,
because this is a physical disorder
contrary to popular opinion.
It is mainly caused by hypoglycemia, that
inter alia also cause you to put on
weight. Hence the connection between
depression and obesity.
You can help yourself if you are prepared
to study the contents of our web site at:
these articles tend to be somewhat
technical and if you have problems
following these, please discuss with a
doctor or a therapist.
Then you need to study the self-help
psychotherapy course. There are eight
chapters and if you study one chapter a
week and carry out the mental exercises,
you should start to feel better about
yourself.
Also pay particular attention to the
topic:
“the wooden leg argument” (google
search our web site)
that explains how you can get rid of a
negative self-image that is related to
your physical features.
This cannot be resolved over night and you
need time to study and do the
psychotherapy course. If in problems
consult a therapist.
I'm a producer with a new talk show in ny
called the Dr. Keith ablow show. He's
very interested in covering stories on
body dysmorphic disorder with hopes of
spreading awareness of this disease.
We're looking for stories similar to yours
that can hopefully educate and help other
people that might be suffering from it.
If you're still going through this, please
email me if you might be interested in
speaking with Dr. Ablow.
Her
etohelp1234@yahoo.Com
|
norman12
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 May 2006 Posts: 23 Location: new jersey
Kd121 Hang In There Posted: 06-11-06 15:59pm
I wish you recovery w/ this illness. I
can relate to what you're going through
b/c I go through it too. I also have body
dysmorphic disorder and think i'm
ugly/disproportionate as far as my facial
deatures go and I spend too much time in
the mirror. I did get some relief from a
hypnotherapist a while back and this
seemed to lessen some of the symptoms.
You may want to try this kd121, don't look
into mirrors, avoid them as best you
could. Instead look into a pane of
glass-you may get a different image.
Also, what do other people (family,
friends) say you look like. Do you
resemble a specific actor/musician. Give
us some more feedback about yourself so we
could be of more help to ya.
For me, I feel that I have distorted
facial features and not an attractive
face. Bdd is mostly about my facial
features but also somewhat my body. I
spend hours infront of the mirror and I
try on hats, glasses just figuring that
what I see in mirror-don't make sense.
I'm generally seen by friends, women,
family as a very handsome guy. I've been
compared to actor james caan (sonny from
godfather). Others have said vin diesal.
And i've heard bruce willis too.. For me,
my image changes when I look into a pane
of glass-i look more attractive. Looking
into the mirror does not work for me. And
even when I was in high school, I thought
the girls were being cruel when I heard
that they found me attractive. "why
wouuld they lie to me, that's so cruel" I
used to say
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