Body Dysmorphic Disorder Case Study

Sheila’s Life With Body Dysmorphic Disorder In today’s society, it’s commonplace to compare oneself to models that appear in magazines or to look at oneself in the mirror and wish to be prettier or sexier. However, when one takes this comparison to a level where hours are spent comparing oneself to others, to a level where hours are spent staring in the mirror wishing to change oneself - this becomes a level of obsession that is now no longer considered normal. This obsession begins to dominate every thought the individual has, a thought that screams that one is not good enough, not pretty enough, or not beautiful enough. In fact, the only thought that is affirming is that one is ugly, one is hideous, or that one is so repulsive that other people must be feeling pity towards him or her. This level of obsession is called Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and is described as a condition demonstrated by a preoccupation with perceived defects or flaws (Silver & Farrants, 2016). Thus, if left untreated, BDD …show more content…
243). Lastly, the clinician must also specify if the Body Dysmorphic Disorder also has muscle dysmorphia, which means the individual is preoccupied with the idea that his or her body build is either too small or “insufficiently muscular” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p.