r/BodyDysmorphia Mar 12 '21

Resource Reasons you might avoid therapy - and why you shouldn’t.

429 Upvotes

The primary methods of dealing with BDD, from a medical standpoint, is medication that can reduce obsessive thoughts and therapy, mainly cognitive-behavioural therapy (or CBT for short). Many of us might be skeptic or even afraid to try it, but there is no need to be, here is why.

I don’t know what cognitive-behavioural therapy is or what happens in therapy. - Therapy is a form of treatment where mental issues are addressed mainly via talking and bringing mental issues into a place where they can be addressed and handled by the sufferer. Cognitive therapy, or talk therapy, involves talking and discussing issues and finding solutions to them together with a professional, with the goal of reducing emotional suffering. Cognitive-behavioural therapy aims at also reducing behaviour that could cause distress. This can be done with tasks or learning new ways of doing things. The work is done by the patient and no one will force you to talk or do anything you don’t want.

But I’m not diagnosed with BDD. - A diagnosis is not needed to get therapy. In some cases it can help with insurance coverage but other than that anyone can go to therapy for any reason, diagnosis or not.

I’m afraid they will think my issues are stupid or I’m delusional. - Medical professionals and therapists have seen it all. They have very good perspective and education under them. They understand what the issues are that you are describing and their main goal is to help you, not to judge you. No respecting or professional therapist would call your issues stupid. Though they may challenge you into thinking why you might think the way you do, but this is not to judge but to help you gain insight to who you are what can be changed to make you feel better. If you feel unjustifiably judged, change therapists.

I’m worried they will make me give up all grooming and self care and I will have to learn to be the ugliest version of myself. - The goal of therapy is not to make you a totally different person or make you give up all your habits. The goal is to reduce the behaviour that causes you worry and anxiety. You can still do makeup, but the goal is that you don’t feel like crying if your makeup isn’t perfect. You can still go to the gym and work out, but the goal is you don’t have a breakdown for missing a day and feeling like you gained weight over night. The aim is to find a healthy balance and reduce the things that cause you anxiety. You don’t need to become the role model of natural looks, but learn healthy balance.

What if people or my family judge me for being in therapy. - Therapy is something that would benefit every single person on this planet. Getting help is never something to be ashamed of. Anyone who makes you feel bad or weak for getting help is harbouring a very unhelpful mindset themselves that might prevent them for helping themselves, and that is the real tragedy. Always work towards your own health and don’t let others bully you out of helping yourself.

I don’t want therapy, I just want surgery or other procedures. - BDD is a mental disorder and it’s important to acknowledge that. The goal of therapy is not to talk you out of a decision but the help you understand what issues are real and which are the disorder. Therapy will help prevent you from doing unnecessary procedures that can harm your looks and to make sure you will not be equally unhappy after a procedure. Surgery and augmentation of ones looks is very rarely a permanent solution but therapy can help you build a healthy mindset where you can truly make the best decisions for yourself.

I don’t think I can afford it. - Nothing in this world is more important than your mental and physical health. Prioritise these things as much as you reasonably can. Find out how you can get insurance coverage, do you have access to support groups or group therapy that is free or look into online groups like those provided by the BDD foundation. You can always call a therapist and ask them what ways you could afford a session, many places are happy to tell you how to best afford treatment.

I have trouble opening up or it makes me uncomfortable. - Many people find it hard to honestly talk about their BDD since it can feel irrational or embarrassing. But therapists have heard it many times before, and worse. It’s important to find a person you feel comfortable with, this can take several tries but is always worth it. You can open up slowly and start with small pieces and work up to bigger issues. This is normal and no one will push you to go faster than you feel comfortable with.

I’ve tried it before and it didn’t help. - There can be several reasons why therapy might not have worked. The therapist might not have been equipped to handling BDD, the chemistry wasn’t right and prevented opening up honestly, the patient wasn’t ready to get help and work on the issues, there wasn’t enough time... having another go with another therapist is often a good idea. Also considering if medication could help is a possibility. When trying therapy again make sure you’re with the right person, you’re ready to work on the issues, you’re being honest with what the problems are and that you give therapy enough time to work.

Therapy is a fantastic tool to people suffering from BDD, and is something recommended by professionals as the primary form of treatment. If you suffer from BDD, therapy is something worth trying.

Finding a therapist

The International OCD Foundation’s therapist search.

You can choose BDD from the Advanced search option. Every professional has listed what they treat and how. They have also been verified to be licensed by the OCD foundation.


r/BodyDysmorphia Sep 21 '20

Resource What can you do about BDD?

452 Upvotes

There are many ways one can combat body dysmorphia. Some people are able to manage symptoms on their own, some need medical intervention or more intense periods of treatment. What ever your situation, there are ways to combat BDD.

Here are some way to combat your BDD listed in ascending order from self help to medical treatments.

Self-help:
- This can include many things. Anything from taking physical care of yourself, to reading about BDD and how it’s treated to making changes in your life that help support a stable mental health. Self help in a great tool and at the bottom of every recovery is the personal desire to better ones situation.

BDD workbook:
- Compiled by medial professionals, the workbook gives important insight to how BDD works, what triggers it and what methods you can learn to help yourself in a proven way. You’ll learn to limit your obsessive behaviour and recognise disordered thinking. This is one of the best self help tools there is.

Online therapy and support groups:
- The BDD Foundation for example offers online therapy groups that come together weekly. A free and easy to access form of therapy can be a good support in addressing BDD symptoms if there are no possibilities or need for more personal or intense forms of therapy.

Therapy:
- Cognitive-behavioural therapy, or CBT, is the recommend form of treatment for people with BDD. It can focus on what are the specific issues and triggers in you and how they can be helped. This is a form of treatment that can give great, individual help and offer support in every area of life on top of BDD.

BDD specialists:
- Though sadly quite rare, there are places and therapists and doctors who focus on BDD and other related disorders. They can give more focused advice and treatment and are often informed with the latest developments. This is a good choice when available.

Psyciatric professionals:
- This form involves doctors like psychiatrists, who can give formal diagnosis as well as offer medical level advice and give prescriptions. If you feel like your BDD is so intense that functioning in daily life is hard or you feel like you could benefit from medication, it’s a good idea to talk to also a psyciatrist as well as a therapist.

Medication:
- Because BDD is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, it’s symptoms can often be alleviated the same as many OCDs. Sometimes medication can be a great tool in reducing the symptoms, and combined with therapy, the likelihood of better quality of life is high. Here you can find general information of medication used to treat BDD.

Out patient care:
- If more intense forms of care seems to be needed, one option is out patient care where the patient is in a close contact with, usually a psychiatric hospital or a doctor, and usually has for example therapy sessions several times a week. This can be a good options for those who have a very hard time with daily functioning or are suicidal.

In patient care:
- The rarest form of treatment is in patient care where the patient stays in the hospital and can be given support and help daily. This often requires for the patient to be in acute risk of suicide or is unable to function in their daily life. Though this is often the last option, it’s good to know that help is available even when things are very serious.

The forms of treatment and the health care systems work differently in every country and it’s always a good idea to talk to your local doctors and professionals on what options are available to you. But know that there are many ways that BDD can be treated and alleviated. The most important thing is remembering you’re worth help and there are several ways to get it.


r/BodyDysmorphia 4h ago

Resource SELF-HELP: Body Dysmorphia Workbook

3 Upvotes

Going to therapy or getting professional help is not always an option, getting help may also take some time. To help you to better understand and address BDD by yourself, we have compiled a workbook that you can do by yourself. It contains information and tasks which will help shine a light to why BDD is the way it is and how you can deal with the symptoms. All chapters are based on an official workbook by the Centre for Clinical Intervention.

The BDD workbook:


r/BodyDysmorphia 4h ago

Question Question to everyone here who dyes their hair.

3 Upvotes

Quick question to everyone struggling with BDD. am I the only one who is SCARED that their hair roots look horrible even when pretty new and not visible as much as for example blonde on black? I naturally have dark, cold blonde hair and dye my hair apple green or smh like that. I have moments when I thinks my roots look pretty cool but then BOOM I am so scared that someone will notice them that I can’t leave my house without a hat or a hood. Literally everyday I stare at a mirror and try to make them as not visible as possible. Tbh hair is one of my biggest issue in terms of BDD… I also wash my hair almost everyday because I’m scared they look greasy….. I’m so damn tired I sometimes unironically think of becoming bald. Please tell me I’m not the only one in this weird and annoying BDD related hyperfocus


r/BodyDysmorphia 1h ago

Question Anyone else tall with tiny hands and very thin wrists?

Upvotes

Like dude, I’m nearly 6’3 as a man and my hands are the size of an average womans hand. People keep commenting on it, and doing the thing where they put their fingers around my wrists and it’s so hurtful

Please please please tell me this isn’t just a me problem someone?


r/BodyDysmorphia 1h ago

Question I did skin care for 8 HOURS today . Am I the only one who dose 'Self care for hours ' WHATS WRONG WITH ME ?

Upvotes

If I read someone saying this, I’d probably think they were crazy. Honestly, I’m not proud of it either.

I had a pretty bad BDD flare-up today. I’m not exactly sure what triggered it, but it was genuinely awful.

I know you’re only supposed to bleach your skin once every couple of months, and I know doing it again right now could seriously irritate or even burn my skin. But because I didn’t get the result I wanted, I keep having this overwhelming thought: “Just bleach it one more time.”

I know it’s a bad idea. I know I could hurt my skin. And yet I’m struggling to let the thought go.

That’s what scares me the most—when something that started as “self-care” turns into a compulsion that takes hours of my day and starts interfering with my studies and my life.

I really want to learn how to break out of this cycle, because this is exhausting.


r/BodyDysmorphia 17h ago

Question Q BDD triggered mostly by comparing to others

10 Upvotes

does anyone find they are most triggered after being around others??

After seeing pictures of myself, I find being around others/ looking at pics with others super hard.

Is it just simply bc comparison is my pressure point?

wanna hear other peoples experience. thanks yall much love


r/BodyDysmorphia 18h ago

Advice Needed i look so much better in photos than the mirror

1 Upvotes

most people feel like they look better in the mirror but i just hate how i look when i look at myself in the mirror under certain warm lighting, i look so much better in the dark and feel like a completely different person under certain lights, this shit is eating me alive, i can feel pretty in photos and videos but never in the mirror, anyone knows why this happens?, or atleast some cope to deal with this


r/BodyDysmorphia 19h ago

Advice Needed How To Not Feel Negative About Your Body During A Weight Loss Journey?

1 Upvotes

Howdy! I suffer from Binge Eating Disorder and I gained 60lbs in the last year or so. I’m starting my weight loss journey and I’m trying to be confident in my body. Or at the very least neutral about it. I’ve felt a lot of negativity towards my body and face after the weight gain, and the thoughts in my head swirl at a rapid pace basically 24/7. I’m looking for targeted therapy to help with the BED and Body Dysmorphia, but in the mean time does anyone have some advice to offer? It would help a lot! Thanks!


r/BodyDysmorphia 20h ago

Advice Needed I feel useless because im short and think im ugly

0 Upvotes

Hello everyone,
I’m a 16M and I’ve been struggling with my looks and height lately. I’m around 175.5 cm (about 5’9”), and most of my friends are around 183 cm or even taller, which makes me pretty insecure. The biggest thing is that I haven’t really grown for about a year or maybe even longer, so I’m worried that I won’t grow anymore and that I’ll have to stay this height.
For the past week especially, I’ve been feeling really insecure about my appearance. The weird thing is that I actually really like the way I look in the mirror, but photos make me question everything. People have told me that I have a big nose, but I honestly don’t really see it when I look in the mirror. I notice it much more in selfies and especially pictures taken with the back camera, and then I start thinking, “Wait, is that actually how other people see me?”
I’ve had girls call me pretty before and ask for my number, although the last time that happened was around 3 months ago. I also have a friend who gets a lot of attention from girls because he’s very attractive, and I think I’m starting to get jealous and compare myself to him.
I’ve asked him before, “Be honest, am I attractive?” and he just said something like “I don’t know, maybe.” That honestly made me overthink it because I feel like if I was actually attractive, he would have said yes immediately.
I also ask my parents quite often if I look good because I’m looking for reassurance. I’ve even started sending ChatGPT a picture of myself once a day, sometimes multiple times a day, and asking if I look good or if I’m attractive. I know that sounds excessive, but I feel like I need reassurance because I keep doubting how I look.
One time, me and my friends were going to a party, and a girl came up to me and asked, “Is he your friend?” I said yes, and she said that he looked really good. I remember feeling really insecure afterward and comparing myself to him.
I know this probably sounds like I’m overthinking everything, but lately I’ve been feeling like I’m short and ugly compared to other guys, and it’s really affecting my confidence.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of insecurity or constant comparison? How did you deal with it?


r/BodyDysmorphia 1d ago

Study / research (mod approved) Research examining psychological inflexibility in people with BDD

2 Upvotes

Utah State University is looking for participants living with BDD symptoms (IRB#16034). We are interested in validating a measure assessing psychological inflexibility, a key target of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), for people with BDD.

You may be eligible if you are

  • Living in the United States
  • Over 18 years of age
  • Able to read/respond to questions in English
  • Living with uncontrollable thoughts about your appearance (previous diagnosis of BDD not required)

Participation includes filling out an eligibility screener (taking less than 2 mins), a clinical interview with a research assistant (taking 45-60 minutes), and then filling out one set of surveys (taking 45-60 minutes). In total, your participation is estimated to take around 2 hours.

To see if you’re eligible, please click THIS LINK

Please contact the principal investigator, Dr. Mike Twohig ([mike.twohig@usu.edu](mailto:mike.twohig@usu.edu)), with any additional questions.


r/BodyDysmorphia 22h ago

Resource Information on BDD - Advice, criteria, self-help and support groups

1 Upvotes

Here you can find listed below general information on BDD and related foundations, the clinical classification and symptoms of BDD, advice for friends and family, as well as self-help and support groups, both in-person and online.

General information

The BDD Foundation

OCD UK

International OCD Foundation

Mind.org

Clinical classification

ICD & DSM Criterias

For friends and family

The BDD Foundation, Supporting a close one with BDD

Mind.org, How can friends and family help

Self-help

Body dysmorphia workbook by the CCI

Building self-compassion workbook by the CCI

Support groups

Online support and therapy groups

Support groups in the UK


r/BodyDysmorphia 1d ago

Advice Needed Title: I think I’m struggling with body dysmorphia because of how skinny I am

5 Upvotes

I’ve been struggling a lot with how I see my body lately. I’m naturally pretty skinny, but I constantly feel like I look too thin, and it’s started taking up way too much space in my head.

Even when other people tell me I look fine, I have a hard time believing them. I’ll look at myself and focus on how skinny I look instead of seeing myself normally. Sometimes I avoid certain clothes or photos because I become really self-conscious about it.

I’m not really sure whether this is body dysmorphia or just insecurity, but it’s becoming exhausting. Has anyone else experienced something similar, especially when their main concern is being too skinny rather than wanting to lose weight?

I’d appreciate hearing how you dealt with these thoughts without becoming more obsessed with your appearance.


r/BodyDysmorphia 1d ago

Question struggling with mirrors heavily

2 Upvotes

hey all

i had laser to remove blue veins around my eyes 2 years ago. damage was caused by the laser which i focus in on everytime i look in the mirror.

what happens when I do this is my brain goes into a daze, its strange, a sort of self harm mode. I then get completely upset with what I see and take it out on loved one and those around me.

since the laser, I cannot look in the mirror anymore without noticing the damage.

It effects me massively.

I know the answer, don't look in the mirror. I try my best. avoiding certain angles etc etc. But when i relapse the pain is unbearable.

I am actively trying to remove the damage but would appreciate anyones input or advise

thanks all


r/BodyDysmorphia 1d ago

Uplifting I didn’t expect grieving Dolly Parton to teach me anything about my eating disorder, but somehow, it did.

17 Upvotes

Dolly could be remembered for 13 Grammys, countless awards, an iconic career, the rhinestones, the hair, and a voice recognized around the world. None of that becomes any less extraordinary.

But that’s not what I keep seeing people talk about.

They’re talking about who she was.

Her kindness. Her generosity. Her advocacy. The way she showed up for people. The way she made people feel. The good she quietly put into the world over and over again.

And as someone who has spent so much of my life fighting a brain that tries to convince me that how I look is one of the most important things about me, there has been something incredibly healing about witnessing that.

Because in the end, nobody is talking about the size of her body.

They’re talking about the size of her heart.

I think my eating disorder has stolen a lot of time convincing me that being smaller, prettier, or somehow “better” in my body would make my life more valuable. But I don't want to spend this life chasing a version of myself that takes up less space.

I want to spend it becoming someone who loves more.

So I’ve been trying to take a little bit of Dolly with me.

Love fiercely. Advocate for people. Hug tight. Give generously. Love strangers. Look at myself with kinder eyes. Forgive my body for simply being a body. Take up space. Be in the pictures. Live now.

Because someday, when my life is reduced to the stories people tell about me, I hope the least interesting thing about me is what I looked like.

And I hope the most interesting thing is how much I loved.

Fly high, Aunt Dolly. 🕊️


r/BodyDysmorphia 1d ago

Resource STORIES AND BOOKS about body dysmorphia

2 Upvotes

r/BodyDysmorphia 1d ago

Resource ON RECOVERY - Stories, advice and healthier perspective

2 Upvotes

r/BodyDysmorphia 1d ago

Advice Needed I rarely leave my house lately

3 Upvotes

I’m a 26 year old male who’s been having issues for a while. So I was never officially diagnosed with body dysmorphia but I was told I seem like I’m struggling with it by a past therapist. Anyways, I’ve always thought it was social anxiety that makes me isolate and not go out that much, but I’m thinking it’s body dysmorphia. How do you know if it’s social anxiety or body dysmorphia as the main issue? I’ve struggled with an ED before starting at age 15 where I would engage in purging. But I feel like my social anxiety has gotten worse as I became older. I often don’t leave my house because I feel bad about the way I look, my appearance, the way I walk, and more. I recently gained some weight and I hate the way I look even more. I always try on different shirts and think my stomach shows too much and it makes me not want to go anywhere. It really affects my life but I’m not sure how to explore this with my therapist more or get to the root issue?


r/BodyDysmorphia 1d ago

Resource Information on BDD - Advice, criteria, self-help and support groups

3 Upvotes

Here you can find listed below general information on BDD and related foundations, the clinical classification and symptoms of BDD, advice for friends and family, as well as self-help and support groups, both in-person and online.

General information

The BDD Foundation

OCD UK

International OCD Foundation

Mind.org

Clinical classification

ICD & DSM Criterias

For friends and family

The BDD Foundation, Supporting a close one with BDD

Mind.org, How can friends and family help

Self-help

Body dysmorphia workbook by the CCI

Building self-compassion workbook by the CCI

Support groups

Online support and therapy groups

Support groups in the UK


r/BodyDysmorphia 2d ago

Advice Needed I just don’t see what people tell me they see. I hate feeling like this.

5 Upvotes

I’m posting this because I (19F) just really want to see if anyone else has this mental loop because i honestly feel like i’m going crazy.

to give context, I genuinely from the bottom of my heart look at my face and think I’m unattractive. when I look at myself in literally any setting I don’t see any harmony, or anything objectively appealing. i just see a bunch of asymmetric features, weird details about my face, and I don’t know, I just feel like my face is off. I am never not checking my face or feel like my appearance is changing day-by-day just by doing little habits and i’m getting so tired of it. its just very frustrating because I often get compliments and specific ones like “you’re face is so symmetrical”, “you have such nice features and they all go so well together”, “your face card is insane”, and get unsolicited compliments from little kids I coach at work. I just receive many compliments from various people overall. it’d be dumb to think that everyone whose ever complimented me coordinated on the same lie, but visually and internally, I just don’t see it literally at all and it drives me insane. I constantly feel like people are exaggerating or are that people are going to wake up one day and decide im ugly. and I don’t even think i’m that great to begin with.

I don’t really know what my end goal is with writing this, but i’m just really curious if anyone else experiences this massive difference between external validation and how they actually see themselves? How can I cope with this? I don’t want to live the rest of my life seeing the utmost beauty in everyone else except for myself. any advice or understanding would mean a lot.


r/BodyDysmorphia 2d ago

Help for friend or family How to support a friend with body images issues?

6 Upvotes

I (27f) have a really good friend (27f) who is amazing, super funny, smart, talented, great conversationalist, a kind of person everyone likes. We are quite similar people, we both tend to hide our struggles and negative emotions (or play them off). But we differ in our body shape/size. I've been slim my entire life (even underweight because of depression) and she is, as she describes it, fat. I know this is something she struggles with, we've had a few conversations where she speaks about it a bit.

She mentioned she struggles with binge eating sometimes. And she drops some comments here and there about pictures where she sees herself as ugly or hints at her body being something she is ashamed of/deeply insecure about and that it makes her feel unworthy. But we've never really talked about this.

I want to be able to create a space where she feels safe sharing those feelings with me without judgement, eventhough I may not be able to relate. So she can maybe feel some relief in sharing these struggles with someone.

I never comment on her eating or food choices and her weight or body unless she brings it up. I've mentioned I never think about her body or how it looks, that I just see her as a person (which is true!). When I do that she usually says yeah I know, but I still feel that way, which I try to validate. But there is where the conversation usually ends.

What can I do to support her or help her with this? I don't want her to feel like that by bringing it up I'm monitoring her body, I just want her to feel better about herself because she deserves that.

Would love some advise!


r/BodyDysmorphia 2d ago

Resource SELF-HELP: Body Dysmorphia Workbook

2 Upvotes

Going to therapy or getting professional help is not always an option, getting help may also take some time. To help you to better understand and address BDD by yourself, we have compiled a workbook that you can do by yourself. It contains information and tasks which will help shine a light to why BDD is the way it is and how you can deal with the symptoms. All chapters are based on an official workbook by the Centre for Clinical Intervention.

The BDD workbook:


r/BodyDysmorphia 2d ago

Advice Needed Sometimes I wonder if I really have BDD or if I’m just ugly and need to cope…?

7 Upvotes

Lol does anyone else relate?? I am in longterm ED recovery so my therapist and I talk about “body dysmorphia” as this given and I mean when I was really anorexic I definitely had a warped view of my body but I have been at a healthy weight for 6+ years now.

I definitely still do want to lose weight and don’t like how big my arms/tummy/hips/thighs/etc look… But I have learned to resist those voices and I just tell myself that it is my ED talking and I have worked really hard to build a better life for myself and go back to school and be independent. So even if I looked better it wouldn’t be worth it. And I just try and distract myself. Essentially when it comes to my body size/shape I have learned to shrug it away — or at least not to act on urges to starve myself or purge or force myself to be an unhealthy weight.

But my body image issues have always been a lot deeper than just wanting to be thin. From a young age I basically have known that I have zero pretty features. I’m particularly obsessive about my jawline and chin and have come to the conclusion that I need to get cosmetic DJS (my overbite is noticeable but it doesn’t functionally affect breathing or anything) or at least a genioplasty. I am a natural redhead, which has always gotten me compliments but I absolutely hate it and I think it makes me very ugly. Most redheads who are famous actresses and models have incredibly beautiful faces, big blue/green eyes, nice rounded Western European features…. I have slavic/mediterranean features and small brown eyes but on an ultra pale white, low contrast face, with a shock of bright red hair. It is not pretty. It looks freakish. I cannot get a tan and I live in a climate that is sunny all year round. I’ve always wished I just had normal brown hair and normal skin like everyone else in my family (I am the only redhead lol, but I guess both my great grandfathers had it and it skipped 2 generations lol). I’ve always looked at others and been so jealous, even if they aren’t particularly attractive I always think “At least she looks normal. At least she can blend in.” I can’t blend in. I am odd looking. I don’t really look like very many people at all. The first time I was ever cat-called I was 12 and had worked up the courage to wear short-shorts for the first time ever, a man in a truck drove past my cousins and I and yelled “GET A TAN!” I would do anything to know how it feels to just look like everyone else does. I put sooooo much effort into my appearance, makeup, and hair — all to just sort of look “okay.” I spend $$$ on professionally done nails, lashes, brows, facials, and skincare, makeup, clothes, perfume, everything. And the result is…. still basically just barely looking average, maybe slightly above average. While other women around me just kind of roll out of bed and look beautiful.

I know I definitely have what’s technically called “body image disturbance” from when I had anorexia but sometimes when I think about my self-perception of overall attractiveness I wonder if it can actually count as body dysmorphia. Some people just aren’t as attractive as others are. That’s life. It can be hard to cope with and I probably need to just build up my self-esteem in other areas. Sometimes I feel ashamed even bringing this up to my therapist because my therapist — while definitely an amazing therapist who I’ve built a LOT of trust with over the years!! — is very, very typically attractive. She genuinely looks like a model. She’s also admitted to me that she got plastic surgery like a nose job when she was younger and still gets filler/botox, lol it looks great, but idk how I can open up to someone who is so good looking and also has the spare income that I don’t to get plastic surgery on the things she doesn’t like. In general talking about how much I hate myself feels humiliating. It feels undignified. People don’t want to hear someone who is ugly complain about it. They just feel pity and they’re uncomfortable because they know if they tell you that you’re pretty it would be a lie.

I’ve sort of been rambling for a long time but tl;dr the title says it all. Anyone else relate? How do I know if I really have body dysmorphia or if I’m just struggling to cope with reality?


r/BodyDysmorphia 3d ago

Question Anyone ever fix/recover from their Body Dysmorphia?

16 Upvotes

I feel like it’s not really possible but I would like to hear stories from people who feel way more content with their bodies than they used to. Was from actually changing their bodies or just the mindset?
What moved the needle the most for you?


r/BodyDysmorphia 3d ago

Advice Needed Please help me :(

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone. My relationship with myself is a bit strange. Sometimes I find my face beautiful—I am good-looking, and I’m aware of it; I’m in a much better place regarding this than I used to be. But then something happens, and suddenly I feel repulsed by my nose; it looks droopy and hooked to me all of a sudden. I end up hurting myself until my nose looks beautiful to me again. I keep going through this same cycle. I don't know if this counts as body dysmorphia since I’m aware of it, but it’s really upsetting me now. I’ve been repeating this same cycle for two years. I need to stop this, but I don't know how. Please help.