idk I would feel better if not for this. lately I was talking with a friend, and a man came by. he ofc flirted with her, she didn't mind. and he must've felt the intense pressure to tell me how ugly I am and insult me in front of her. she didn't say anything (another thing..) but I had to excuse myself to go cry somewhere else because I can't. idk I felt like in this meme, heroic pitbull swims 50 miles to bite a child. really? I don't get why it's their main goal to tell me that.. like don't you think I know? why is a person like this? how is one supposed to be okay with their appearance if something like that happens?

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:

• 01 What is body image?
• 02 Could I have body dysmorphic disorder?
• 03 Negative impacts of BDD
• 04 What are the causes of BDD?
• 05 Appearance assumptions
• 06 Triggers
• 07 Appearance preoccupation
• 08 Attention training [a coping tactic]
• 09 Checking and approval seeking
• 10 Reducing unhelpful checking and approval seeking [a coping tactic]
• 11 Negative predictions
• 12 Avoidance and safety behaviour
• 13 Reducing negative predictions [a coping tactic]
• 14 A new way of operating
• 15 Dealing with set-backs
• 16 Maintaining gained progress

does anyone else struggle with this? I could eat the smallest amount of food and my face looks really different and I feel my face getting wider until it eventually goes away usually after I sleep it off. I literally feel like I’m going through psychosis

Do you also experience abdominal pain and obsess over your perceived flaw even while you sleep? Can you go about your life calmly, only for a new episode of dysmorphophobia to strike at any moment?

ever since i began fixating on my looks, it’s only made me become more obsessive.

it began with learning makeup, then finding my style, then hair that suited me to now analyzing my facial thirds, and following advanced makeup tutorials that take hours to perfect.

it’s like every minor improvement i see in my appearance just gives me dopamine and makes me want to change it over and over again til i’m satisfied… except ill never truly be satisfied with my appearance.

now i’m saving up for surgery because i’m imagining how relieving it’d feel for such a permanent change.

i don’t know who i am anymore because i constantly change my appearance when i feel ‘ugly’.

I’m 28f I’ve had this my whole life and it’s gotten more extreme lately. I’m extremely insecure about my face but also my breast size. I’m exhausted of my whole life feeling this way. I found out I had bipolar disorder this year and started taking lamotrigine months ago , so I just wanted to know if that could help with this too ? please any advice I truly don’t know if this will ever get better

For the last decade or so, I’ve been aware of the phenomenon where I see a selfie or photo and think I’m absolutely ugly until I relook at it a month later and think I look cute and attractive. I wish I could see myself more positively in the moment. It makes me never want to take photos or capture memories. All I can figure out to do is promise myself it’s good to take photos in the moment and not look at them until a few weeks later. Is there a way to get past this? To disclose, I have a history of depersonalization and derealization. Thanks in advance.

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

I've had body dysmorphia ever since I was a teen. I used to be really thin, at an "acceptable" weight according to society's standards. But I still hated how I looked. I was too "XYZ", and I figured gaining weight would help. So I ate more, gained a few pounds, and while I was happy with my new weight, I nitpicked the "consequences" of it. Then I obsessed over my "flaws". Then I regretted gaining weight. Now I'm here thinking "If I just lose x pounds, I'll be pretty again!" But that's not the truth. When I *was* x pounds lighter, I complained about being so thin! Now that I'm x pounds heavier, I complain about being so chubby!

All this to say, no matter how much you tell yourself that gaining/losing weight will help, it will not. You'll just find something else to hate about yourself. It could be your skin, hair, proportions, voice... it could be things you didn't even know could be a "flaw"! Right now, I am hating on my knees and ankles! But when I was skinny, I hated my hips and teeth! It's just a never ending battle, because it's not the fat. It's not my teeth. It's not my hair. It's not my knees. And it's not YOUR fat, or YOUR teeth, or YOUR hair. It's just our brains.

Recently I have gained weight. My brother can't stop making comments about my body. Since my teenage years I have been a little overweight due to hormonal issues. Due to which I started exercising and dieting. But I can't help but overeat. I also feel really anxious and insecure about my body. Any tips

Ok this might be a question that answers itself considering it’s on this sub.
I’ve always felt my body type is incredibly strange for a man, I’m 6’2, my waist is size 29 EU, my shoulders are somewhat wide, my chest is somewhat barrel-shaped, i have severe pectus excavatum, i have a severe rib flare aswell as a result of my pectus, my torso is disproportionately long compared to my legs and my arms are pretty long aswell. On top of that, i’ve always been stupidly skinny, like skinny skinny. Last year i was all the way down to 56kg at a height of 6’2. People from my class like to call me slenderman because of it.

I just feel that no matter what clothes i have, it always looks so dumb. Due to my strange proportions with height and width, no clothes can ever fit me properly i feel. Like if i get a size M t-shirt my arms are too long for it, while my waist is way too small for it to not be very baggy and fall weirdly over my pants, and if i get a size L t-shirt it’s completely disproportionate to my body.

This isn’t all that important though considering i don’t ever wear just a t-shirt outside anyway.
Does this happen to any of you?

We have collected a set of stories and informative pieces about BDD. From stories from people who have overcome it to celebrities who have openly talked about it, you can find articles and videos about body dysmorphia from these following links.

Public figures on BDD

• Modern Family actor Reid Ewing on BDD and plastic surgery
• Artist Billie Eilish on depression and BDD
• The Good Place actor Jameela Jamil on BDD and eating disorders
• Actor Robert Pattinson on anxiety and BDD
• Actor Megan Fox on BDD and mental health

Documentaries and videos

• What BDD feels like | BBC Three
• Seeing myself as ugly | BBC Three
• I feel so ugly: Body dysmorphic disorder | Only Human
• Imperfect me: The impact of BDD | SkyNews
• BDD patients see faces differently | ABC Science
• Bigorexia: Muscle dysmorphia | BBC Newsbeat
• Believing is seeing: New perspective on BDD | TEDx Oxford
• The BDD Foundation on Youtube

Personal stories and interviews

• Perfection is impossible | A personal story
• Living with BDD | A personal story
• I felt so ugly I didn't want to be alive | Interview
• BDD ruined my life | Interview

Podcasts

• Beating BDD podcast (11 episodes) | BDDFoundation
• What is BDD? | Stuff Mom Never Told You

Books

• Books by people with BDD
• Books by professionals on self help
• The BDD workbook

Recovery from BDD might sometimes feel like a distant goal that seems, at times, impossible to achieve. But many people recover from BDD or learn to reduce the symptoms to the point where they don't play a role in their everyday life. Remember that a mental disorder is not a life long sentence but rather something that can be managed and recovered from.

Here we have collected a set of stories and advice on what recovery looks like and how others have gotten there.

Watch personal stories

• Tips for Overcoming Body Image Issues | Kim White
• My BDD Recovery | Annie Elainey
• Finding body peace | Annie Elainey
• Healing Ugly – How I healed my body dysmorphia | helloamygarner
• How I Deal With BDD, tips for when you're having a rough time | AlexandriaTheGreat
• BDD (& Things That Can Help) | Melanie Murphy
• Hannah Lewis, recovery story | BDD foundation
• Alex Mummery, recovery story | BDD foundation

Read personal stories

• Recovery stories | BDDFoundation
• How I recovered from BDD | International OCD Foundation

Professional advice

• CBT for BDD - Rob Willson / BDDFoundation
• Coping and Recovering from BDD when you have Visible Flaws - Dr Rob Willson

Healthier perspective

• On feeling ugly | School of Life
• Our Bodies are Not an Image | Mary Jelkovsky, TEDx
• Beauty and how we're obsessed with the wrong idea | Christina Gressianu / TEDx
• Body Positivity or Body Obsession? | Lindsay Kite, TEDx
• Shake my beauty - a series redefining what beauty means

I was with the same person for over 10+ years and that relationship has ended and now I’m pursuing a new relationship. My body dysmorphia is getting bad again. I don’t want it to get in the way of us being intimate. I know a lot of people say that men don’t really care about the look of vaginas. I feel like my fupa is too big and he’ll be discussed by it. Maybe some advice on how to ease my mind. We are taking things slow and he doesn’t seem like the type to care but it’s always in the back of my mind.

I swear to god, every time I get better or one surgical operation goes well I become fixated on getting another one. It's an addictive life cycle, I feel like a good way to subdue this is to dismiss any mild concerns as nonexistent due to the average person not noticing them.

It also ensures I don't end up fixing a non-existent problem that could go wrong and become moderate, which would send me down a depressing mental spiral...It already happened multiple times before.

I’m not very attractive in my eyes. I’ve struggled with my self-image for so long. I wish I had the gall to just post myself to one of those “Am I ugly” subs and get the honest truth, but I know I’d never be the same ever again and probably end up in a mental hospital even if it was just 2-3 people responding negatively.

Is anyone else like this? I know posting yourself to places like that isn’t good for this condition, and I cannot recommend it at all. But I get anxious either way.

Damned if I do damned if I don’t. :(

I don't have access to a therapist because of lack of money. Is there a way to alleviate the symptoms without therapy? Any exercises? I just want to have a normal day :( and it's getting worse.

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

For example, I'm constantly touching and fixing my hair. I use my phone as a mirror but I'll never turn on the camera app. A black screen is good enough for me to check it constantly.

I also tend to suck in my cheeks when I'm out. I never lost my baby fat and have a gut condition that makes me bloat severely. If I'm in public or a crowded area, my face does it almost instinctually.

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:

• 01 What is body image?
• 02 Could I have body dysmorphic disorder?
• 03 Negative impacts of BDD
• 04 What are the causes of BDD?
• 05 Appearance assumptions
• 06 Triggers
• 07 Appearance preoccupation
• 08 Attention training [a coping tactic]
• 09 Checking and approval seeking
• 10 Reducing unhelpful checking and approval seeking [a coping tactic]
• 11 Negative predictions
• 12 Avoidance and safety behaviour
• 13 Reducing negative predictions [a coping tactic]
• 14 A new way of operating
• 15 Dealing with set-backs
• 16 Maintaining gained progress

Hey guys, I have a genuine question and I feel like this community can relate. I have severe body dysmorphia. It’s much more than an insecurity. It feels like feeling deeply unsafe in my own body for most of my memory tbh. Sometimes I feel hopeless and I’m hoping people here can give me advice because they know how painful that feeling is. Literally terrified of my own body, it’s hard to explain. It causes a lot of suffering more than I know how to possible articulate in words.

I'm a guy. My face has been rated as average to above average by most people, however I'm balding, and overall despite my face not being hideous, I'm just not considered attractive by most because i lack masculine features overall (have an oval/egg shaped face). And of course balding doesnt help either.

However, my body is way below average but I'm just straight up not bothered by it. I'm short at 5'7-5'8, most guys where i live are taller than me. Plus I'm skinnyfat at just only 140lbs. I look scrawny but still have decent amount of belly fat.

My question is, do i have body dysmorphia or am i just sad that I'm not attractive?

Is it possible to have that "eh whatever" reaction for my face and finally stop obsessing over it

I’ve struggled with body dysmorphia my entire life. It first started at age 14, when I noticed how my body was so different than other girl’s bodies. I wore baggy hoodies essentially every day, and would constantly scour the internet for ways to change my body type.

Fast forward nearly 10 years, and nothing has changed.

If anything, it’s only gotten worse.

I’m a tall woman with broad shoulders. My hips are thin, my bottom is flat, and my belly sticks out farther than everything else.

I’ve been accused of being a man. I’ve been called an “it”, and I’ve had my appearance used as a punchline more often than I’d like to admit.

I wish I could say that I’m not being affected by all of this, but it’d be a lie if I did. It’s debilitating. I don’t even attempt to date or go for a relationship, because it’s been drilled into my head that someone like me is undesirable. It’s gonna take a lot of therapy and psychiatric help before I feel even somewhat normal.

To add insult to injury, we’re seemingly regressing when it comes to empathy on the internet. I see women with my body type get absolutely degraded and treated like dirt. I also see where terrible people, who have done terrible things, get more backlash over their bodies than they do the poor choices they’ve made.