Do I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder?!


Question: Do I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder?
Throughout elementary and middle school I was always teased by other kids and judged a lot about my appearance nearly everyday. Now lately my own Dad occasionally will make remarks about how my skin looks, my hair, my weight, etc.

I've turned into a completely different person. When I was younger, I didn't care how I looked.
Now, I frequently need to wear foundation on my face when I go out. (I'm a guy!)
Whenever I see a reflective surface at school or around town, I absolutely MUST glance at myself to make sure I look as perfect as I can be. Whenever I'm alone in my bedroom I spend countless time in my mirror examining my face and body. I literally do facial exercises to try to make my face more narrowed and less round. I suck my little gut I have in so I don't look fat. I do weights to gain muscle. I specially position myself when standing and sitting to not look fat. I dye/bleach my hair and I always make sure my hair is shiny and soft, I constantly comb my hair with free time. I always watch what I'm eating, how much, etc. I spend tons of money on skin and hair products, like for acne and things like that. I have hereditary dark lines and bags under my eyes - I always need to make sure they are covered up. I HATE taking pictures, the few pictures I do take, I MUST edit in them in some way. I think my face looks fat in pictures, I won't even allow myself to be in pictures taken by friends without freaking out. The list could go on and on.

I need some advice, I just don't know what to do. I've heard of this disorder before I feel I have it now because of what I had to go through. I'm 16 by the way. What should I do? Please help!!

Answers:

Sounds like it. As someone with experience, what helped me most was group therapy with people my age (I was 19 at that time), for 20-hours a week. But that would mean you will have to stop everything you do at the moment, cause it is exhausting and you won't be able to do much beside that. You should go visit a doctor or a counselor, cause the odds are it will get worse.

As long as you can go to school, try to keep going. It will probably get worse when you sit at home all day. And the most important thing is to keep hope, cause people do recover from it.

One final thing that helped me a bit, do you pick your friends based on how they look? I guess not, and neither will they, so even if you aren't looking like Brad Pitt you still can have fun.

All the best man



Just be yourself it is all you can do.



No you are just very vain but I think thats fairly normal for a 16 year old with little else to worry about.



No. You're just 16 and self conscious. All teenagers feel that way. When you get older you will stop caring what others think of you and be more comfortable with yourself. So don't worry, you're not the only 16 year old that feels that way about themselves! Its just called being a teenager.
Maybe knowing that you're not the only way that feels this way will help you feel better. And everyone gets acne, some just don't get it as bad as others. You will grow out of this too.




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