Could I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)?!

Question: Could I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)?

I obsess about every little detail. I have to make sure everything is even, too. For example, my eyebrows have to be even, and my latest obsession is that my eyes are disproportionate. I ask for reassurance alot as well. I am constantly asking my parents and other people about my appearance. When I had acne (it's starting to clear up, but it was mild even then), I would check the mirror CONSTANTLY. When I say constantly, I mean I would go to the bathroom every half hour or so (at least) and check my appearance to make sure my acne was covered and my face was the same tone (my face gets blotchy red alot). I would use the reflection of anything I could get ahold of just so I could check my appearance. In the morning, I have to make sure my eyelashes are spread out evenly (it's weird, I know) Most of my concerns I guess have to do primarily with my eyes. Anyway, it takes me forever to get ready in the morning just because I'm trying to make sure everything is perfect. Most of the time I'm late to school because I'm still getting ready, even though I wake up two hours before school starts. After gym, it's takes me forever to get to my next class because I'm checking in the mirror. Also, everyone says I'm skinny, but I've always thought I was a little overweight. It's gotten a little bit better, but just last month I didn't even want to leave the house because I thought I was extremely ugly. I would spend hours (or at least what felt like hours) in front of the mirror trying to fix my appearance, and would eventually just give up and start crying. I only did that a couple of times, though. It's not that I'm vain or superficial, because I'm not at all. It's actually really stressful. Is it possible I have BDD?
P.S. BDD is related to OCD, and I have OCD. Does that elevate my chances of having BDD? This BDD stuff didn't start that long ago. Could it just be an OCD phase, or am I developing BDD? It seems like some days I think I'm pretty, and other days I think I'm terribly ugly. Like some days are better than others.

No mean comments please :) Thank you!!

Answers:

What you are describing sounds very much like BDD, but really only you and your doctor can say for sure.

I think the most important thing to look at here is the fact that you've realized that something is off, and that it is affecting your life in a negative way - and that is a great first step to take! The next step would be possibly talking to your family and/or a doctor and to start working towards relieving your symptoms.

There isn't a magic cure that's going to make you not care about what you look like, but there are definitely things that you can do to make it easier to deal with.

I also think it's fairly common for BDD to appear with other things like OCD, Social Anxiety, Depression, Eating Disorders, etc.. so I would say it's important to get in control of it as soon as you notice.

Even if you don't have Body Dysmorphic Disorder, I think it would still be helpful to you to talk to someone, a professional, about what you described here - they could really help to give you some answers. :)

Also, when I first was trying to do some research on BDD for myself, I bought a book called "The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder" (here - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195167… ) and it really helped give me a lot more information that made me feel a lot less alone, and also gave steps I could take to make things better.

Good Luck and stay strong! :)

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Could I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)?!

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