Thread: Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body Dysmorphic Disorder, also known as BDD, is a disorder in which a person believes that they are grotesque while they are actually perfectly normal, or have a slight flaw.

At least 1 in 100 people have this disorder. 1% of people.
The disorder is linked to significantly diminished quality of life and co-morbid major depressive disorder and social phobia. With a completed-suicide rate more than double than that of major depression, and a suicidal ideation rate of around 80%, BDD is considered a major risk factor for suicide.

Originally Posted by http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/body_dysmorphic_disorder_bdd/hic_body_dysmorphic_disorder.aspx

People with BDD are preoccupied with an imagined physical defect or a minor defect that others often cannot see. People with this disorder see themselves as "ugly" and often avoid social exposure to others or turn to plastic surgery to try to improve their appearance

(More from the same site)

BDD shares some features with eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. BDD is similar to eating disorders in that both involve a concern with body image. However, a person with an eating disorder worries about weight and the shape of the entire body, while a person with BDD is concerned about a specific body part. BDD is a long-term (chronic) disorder that affects men and women equally. It usually begins during the teen years or early adulthood.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that traps people in endless cycles of thoughts and behaviors. People with OCD have recurring and distressing thoughts, fears or images (obsessions) that they cannot control. The anxiety (nervousness) produced by these thoughts leads to an urgent need to perform certain rituals or routines (compulsions). Similarly, with BDD, a person’s preoccupation with the defect often leads to ritualistic behaviors, such as constantly looking in a mirror or picking at the skin. The person with BDD eventually becomes so obsessed with the defect that his or her social, work, and home functioning suffers.

The most common areas of concern for people with BDD include:

• Skin imperfections — These include wrinkles, scars, acne, and blemishes.
• Hair — This might include head or body hair or absence of hair.
• Facial features — Very often this involves the nose, but it also might involve the shape and size of any feature.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What are the symptoms of BDD?
People with BDD have distorted views of themselves, which can lead to harmful or socially avoidant behaviors or repeated attempts to correct perceived problems through surgery. Some of the warning signs that a person may have BDD include the following:

• Engaging in repetitive and time-consuming behaviors, such as looking in a mirror, picking at the skin, and trying to hide or cover up the defect
• Constantly asking for reassurance that the defect is not visible or too obvious
• Repeatedly measuring or touching the defect
• Experiencing problems at work or school, or in relationships due to the inability to stop focusing about the defect
• Feeling self-conscious and not wanting to go out in public, or feeling anxious when around other people
• Repeatedly consulting with medical specialists, such as plastic surgeons or dermatologists, to find ways to improve his or her appearance

A cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light. Early in the development of age-related cataract the power of the lens may be increased, causing near-sightedness (myopia), and the gradual yellowing and opacification of the lens may reduce the perception of blue colours. Cataracts typically progress slowly to cause vision loss and are potentially blinding if untreated.[1]

A senile cataract, occurring in the aged, is characterized by an initial opacity in the lens, subsequent swelling of the lens and final shrinkage with complete loss of transparency.[2] Moreover, with time the cataract cortex liquefies to form a milky white fluid in a Morgagnian cataract, which can cause severe inflammation if the lens capsule ruptures and leaks. Untreated, the cataract can cause phacomorphic glaucoma. Very advanced cataracts with weak zonules are liable to dislocation anteriorly or posteriorly. Such spontaneous posterior dislocations (akin to the historical surgical procedure of couching) in ancient times were regarded as a blessing from the heavens, because some perception of light was restored in the cataractous patients.

Cataract derives from the Latin cataracta meaning "waterfall" and the Greek kataraktes and katarrhaktes, from katarassein meaning "to dash down" (kata-, "down"; arassein, "to strike, dash"[3]). As rapidly running water turns white, the term may later have been used metaphorically to describe the similar appearance of mature ocular opacities. In Latin, cataracta had the alternate meaning "portcullis",[4] so it is also possible that the name came about through the sense of "obstruction". Early Persian physicians called the term nazul-i-ah, or 'descent of the water' - vulgarised into waterfall disease or cataract - believing such blindness to be caused by an outpouring of corrupt humour into the eye.[5] In dialect English a cataract is called a pearl, as in "pearl eye" and "pearl-eyed".[6]

Cataracts develop from a variety of reasons, including long-term ultraviolet exposure, exposure to radiation, secondary effects of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and advanced age; they are usually a result of denaturation of lens proteins. Genetic factors are often a cause of congenital cataracts and positive family history may also play a role in predisposing someone to cataracts at an earlier age, a phenomenon of "anticipation" in pre-senile cataracts. Cataracts may also be produced by eye injury or physical trauma. A study among Icelandair pilots showed commercial airline pilots as three times more likely to develop cataracts than people with non-flying jobs. This is thought to be caused by excessive exposure to radiation coming from outer space.[7] Cataracts are also unusually common in persons exposed to infrared radiation, such as glassblowers who suffer from "exfoliation syndrome". Exposure to microwave radiation can cause cataracts.

Cataracts may be partial or complete, stationary or progressive, hard or soft.

Some drugs can induce cataract development, such as Corticosteroids[8] and Ezetimibe[citation needed] and Seroquel.

There are various types of cataract, e.g. nuclear, cortical, mature, hypermature. Cataracts are also classified by their location, e.g. posterior (classically due to steroid use[8][9]) and anterior (common (senile) cataract related to aging).

Serkat what does that have to do with the topic at hand?

Since you didn't post any original content, I figured that this thread is about collecting descriptions of random illnesses and diseases.

Originally Posted by Serkat

Since you didn't post any original content, I figured that this thread is about collecting descriptions of random illnesses and diseases.

Pfffffft....

Originally Posted by Sandform

Body Dysmorphic Disorder, also known as BDD, is a disorder in which a person believes that they are grotesque while they are actually perfectly normal, or have a slight flaw.

At least 1 in 100 people have this disorder. 1% of people.
The disorder is linked to significantly diminished quality of life and co-morbid major depressive disorder and social phobia. With a completed-suicide rate more than double than that of major depression, and a suicidal ideation rate of around 80%, BDD is considered a major risk factor for suicide.



(More from the same site)

BDD shares some features with eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. BDD is similar to eating disorders in that both involve a concern with body image. However, a person with an eating disorder worries about weight and the shape of the entire body, while a person with BDD is concerned about a specific body part. BDD is a long-term (chronic) disorder that affects men and women equally. It usually begins during the teen years or early adulthood.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder that traps people in endless cycles of thoughts and behaviors. People with OCD have recurring and distressing thoughts, fears or images (obsessions) that they cannot control. The anxiety (nervousness) produced by these thoughts leads to an urgent need to perform certain rituals or routines (compulsions). Similarly, with BDD, a person’s preoccupation with the defect often leads to ritualistic behaviors, such as constantly looking in a mirror or picking at the skin. The person with BDD eventually becomes so obsessed with the defect that his or her social, work, and home functioning suffers.

The most common areas of concern for people with BDD include:

• Skin imperfections — These include wrinkles, scars, acne, and blemishes.
• Hair — This might include head or body hair or absence of hair.
• Facial features — Very often this involves the nose, but it also might involve the shape and size of any feature.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What are the symptoms of BDD?
People with BDD have distorted views of themselves, which can lead to harmful or socially avoidant behaviors or repeated attempts to correct perceived problems through surgery. Some of the warning signs that a person may have BDD include the following:

• Engaging in repetitive and time-consuming behaviors, such as looking in a mirror, picking at the skin, and trying to hide or cover up the defect
• Constantly asking for reassurance that the defect is not visible or too obvious
• Repeatedly measuring or touching the defect
• Experiencing problems at work or school, or in relationships due to the inability to stop focusing about the defect
• Feeling self-conscious and not wanting to go out in public, or feeling anxious when around other people
• Repeatedly consulting with medical specialists, such as plastic surgeons or dermatologists, to find ways to improve his or her appearance

See original!

I figured you were doing something sarcastic like that. But why undermine a disorder in which 80% of the people effected commit suicide?

What's your point though?

Originally Posted by Sandform

I figured you were doing something sarcastic like that. But why undermine a disorder in which 80% of the people effected commit suicide?

Is it honestly that high?

Originally Posted by Sandform

and a suicidal ideation rate of around 80%, BDD is considered a major risk factor for suicide.

Originally Posted by Sandform

See original!

I figured you were doing something sarcastic like that. But why undermine a disorder in which 80% of the people effected commit suicide?

80% didn't commit suicide, they had suicidal thoughts.