Body dysmorphia can have a profound impact on how you see yourself and experience everyday life. You may find yourself preoccupied with a perceived flaw in your appearance that others barely notice, or feel that a particular aspect of your body makes you unacceptable or unattractive. These concerns can become consuming, affecting confidence, relationships, work, and social activities.

You may spend considerable time checking your appearance in mirrors, comparing yourself with others, seeking reassurance, avoiding photographs or social situations, or trying to conceal or change the features that cause distress. Although these behaviours may offer temporary relief, they often reinforce the anxiety and preoccupation over time.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is more than dissatisfaction with appearance. It is a distressing psychological difficulty that can leave you feeling trapped in a cycle of negative thoughts, anxiety, and attempts to feel better about how you look.

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Treatment approach

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Body dysmorphia treatment includes:

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• Understanding your triggers: Identifying situations, thoughts, and feelings that intensify concerns about your appearance.​

 

• Reducing checking and avoidance: Gradually addressing behaviours such as mirror checking, comparing yourself with others, seeking reassurance, or avoiding social situations.

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• Challenging negative thinking: Learning to recognise and question the beliefs and assumptions that influence how you see yourself.

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• Managing anxiety and distress: Developing practical strategies to tolerate uncertainty and respond differently to difficult thoughts and feelings.

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• Exploring underlying issues: Understanding how experiences such as bullying, criticism, perfectionism, low self-esteem, or a need for control may contribute to your difficulties.

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• Building a healthier relationship with yourself: Developing self-acceptance and a stronger sense of identity that is not dependent on appearance.

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The aim is not to convince you that you look different, but to help you change the way you relate to appearance-related thoughts and feelings, reduce the hold they have over your life, and feel more comfortable engaging in the things that matter to you.

You deserve to live a life that is not dominated by concerns about how you look. Therapy can help you begin to regain that freedom.