Body Dysmorphic Disorder, When You Look Perfectly Beautiful Becomes Obsession

Illustration of body dysmorphic disorder (Unsplash/Milada Vigerova)

YOGYAKARTA – To get a perfect appearance, of course the steps taken will not be easy. The reason is, in taking photos, you can repeat more than three times to get a thinner portrait, an attractive smile, bright eyes, and neat hair.

The way a person sees himself is influenced by many things. Including the internal way-personal way-perceiving all the shortcomings they have. Quoting Cosmopolitan, Wednesday, April 20, body dysmorphic disorder makes a person fixated on physical deficiencies, distorted perceptions of self-image, and is experienced by about 2 percent of the population.

According to an explanation on the Psychology Today page, body dysmorphic disorder is a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder. A person with this condition often has a perception of himself as imperfect and spends hours thinking about how he looks.

There are two factors that influence a person with body dysmorphic disorder. First, there is a genetic component to having a first-degree relative with obsessive-compulsive disorder. In addition to the first factor, environmental factors contribute to body dysmorphic disorder. This is often experienced when you have a history of childhood abuse, neglect, or other childhood trauma, and you may have a parent or sibling with an anxiety disorder.

In the United States, about 2.4 percent of adults have body dysmorphic disorder. The prevalence is 2.5 percent in women and 2.2 percent in men. On average experienced by the age of 12-13 years and 15 years. However, symptoms can appear gradually and are similar in children, adolescents, and adults.

Vivian Diller, Ph.D., a psychotherapist in New York City, says that comparisons and despair syndromes are driving the trend to an extreme. What Diller highlighted was the plastic surgery trend. A poll by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery also found that there was a 31 percent increase in cosmetic requests from consumers who wanted them to look better.

Having a positive self-image will certainly be more calming. However, negative views of course also cannot be completely eliminated easily. That is, knowing yourself and taking the right way for body positivity needs to be done.

The symptoms and explanations above cannot be used for self-diagnosis. It is recommended to consult a doctor to get an accurate diagnosis and proper treatment.