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Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder
In a world obsessed with appearance, it is not surprising that body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD -- an emotionally painful obsession with perceived flaws in one's appearance -- has manifested itself as a troubling and relatively common problem for many individuals. In The Broken Mirror , the first and most definitive book on BDD, Dr. Katharine A. Phillips provided a comprehensive manual for patients and their physicians by drawing on years of clinical practice, scientific research, and professional evaluations of over 1,000 patients. Now, in Understanding Body Dysmorphic An Essential Guide , the world's leading authority on BDD reaches out to patients, their friends, and their families with this concise and updated handbook.
BDD causes sufferers to be obsessed by perceived flaws in their appearance and may afflict as much as two percent of the population, or nearly five million people. Many sufferers are able to function well in society, but remain secretly obsessed by their "hideous acne" or "horrible nose," sneaking constant peeks at a pocket mirror, or spending hours at a time redoing makeup. Others find their lives disintegrate because of their appearance obsessions. It is not an uncommon disorder, simply a hidden one, since sufferers are often embarrassed to tell even their closest friends about their concerns.
Using stories and interviews to show the many different behaviors and symptoms of BDD, and a quick self-assessment questionnaire, Dr. Phillips guides readers through the basics of the disorder and through the many treatment options that work and don't work. With Understanding Body Dysmorphic An Essential Guide , sufferers will find both helpful advice and much needed reassurance in a compact, down-to-earth indispensable book.
BDD causes sufferers to be obsessed by perceived flaws in their appearance and may afflict as much as two percent of the population, or nearly five million people. Many sufferers are able to function well in society, but remain secretly obsessed by their "hideous acne" or "horrible nose," sneaking constant peeks at a pocket mirror, or spending hours at a time redoing makeup. Others find their lives disintegrate because of their appearance obsessions. It is not an uncommon disorder, simply a hidden one, since sufferers are often embarrassed to tell even their closest friends about their concerns.
Using stories and interviews to show the many different behaviors and symptoms of BDD, and a quick self-assessment questionnaire, Dr. Phillips guides readers through the basics of the disorder and through the many treatment options that work and don't work. With Understanding Body Dysmorphic An Essential Guide , sufferers will find both helpful advice and much needed reassurance in a compact, down-to-earth indispensable book.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 12, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 24, 2025
Such an underreported topic. It's amazing to read about it because I thought I had BDD. After doing the scanning and understanding what this disorder really was now I understand it's not exactly what I have. I have symptom of BDD but not the severe form and OCD and BED would be more applicable for me.
Having said that, having read this book I think many people in my life might have a form of BDD and only 5 percent seems very low to me. But maybe I'm in a BDD bubble.
It's an amazing topic to know and to read about and I'm glad I did. I now have a better understanding of my situation and my hate relationship to mirrors.
I'd advise anyone who is having any thoughts about their appearance to read this book.
Having said that, having read this book I think many people in my life might have a form of BDD and only 5 percent seems very low to me. But maybe I'm in a BDD bubble.
It's an amazing topic to know and to read about and I'm glad I did. I now have a better understanding of my situation and my hate relationship to mirrors.
I'd advise anyone who is having any thoughts about their appearance to read this book.
April 18, 2023
✨ I'm a therapist.
✨ The edition I read was based on the DSM-IV so it's outdated.
✨ I did not learn much more about the disorder, though the author does warn this book in particular is written for laymen and not clinicians.
✨ There are a few chapters at the end regarding treatment, but they're very basic.
✨ I picked up some tips.
✨ The edition I read was based on the DSM-IV so it's outdated.
✨ I did not learn much more about the disorder, though the author does warn this book in particular is written for laymen and not clinicians.
✨ There are a few chapters at the end regarding treatment, but they're very basic.
✨ I picked up some tips.
August 27, 2016
About the Author: The author has an M.D. from Dartmouth Medical School (1987). She completed a residency and then a fellowship at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. Currently, she is a professor of psychiatry at Brown University, and director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Program at Rhode Island Hospital.
Overview: This book describes a little-known mental illness where people obsess on small bodily defects.
Obsessing on Small Defects: There exists a common mental illness that is not widely known. It is called Body Dysmorphic Disorder. People suffering from it spend several hours a day worrying about their physical appearance, even though they look average. BDD sufferers are often afraid of social situations, because they fear ridicule or disgust. It is not their overall appearance that these people worry about. Instead, they focus on one particular imaginary defect. Skin defects, such as pimples, scars and varicose veins, are the most common worry. Many sufferers worry about the pores on their noses being too large. Sufferers also worry about their hair, in particular, whether it is falling out. BDD sufferers spend a great deal of time checking themselves in the mirror and engage in excessive grooming. Sufferers also worry about not being symmetrical, about one side being larger than the other. Women worry about the size of their breasts, even if their breasts are a normal size. Men often worry that they are not muscular enough. This is called muscle dysmorphia or the Adonis complex. Such men lift weights for many hours each day and may even take anabolic steroids. Many BDD sufferers, particularly men, use street drugs.
Looking for the Wrong Kind of Help: Sufferers rarely believe that they are suffering from a mental illness. Almost always, they believe that they have a major physical flaw. If they seek medical help, it is almost always surgical in nature. Sufferers often visit dermatologists. Sufferers also seek cosmetic plastic surgeons to fix imaginary flaws in the shapes of their feces.
I mean faces. ;+)
Effect on the Family: BDD can cause a lot of problems for family members and may even lead to divorce. Family members should not participate in the rituals. It does no good to reassure BDD sufferers that they look OK. They think you are just being kind. Instead, obtain professional help for the family member who is suffering from BDD.
Medications: BDD can usually be successfully treated by an SSRI (Serotonin Selective Re-uptake Inhibitor) such as Prozac or Zoloft, in conjunction with CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy). In CBT, the patient learns to correct errors in their thinking.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: CBT therapists will recommend that the patient try putting themselves in social situations that they are afraid of, starting with easier ones such as going shopping. They should then check whether people laugh at their appearance, as they fear. Therapists try to help the sufferer understand that they cannot predict how people will treat them in imagined situations, and that they don’t really know what others are thinking about them. The therapists will encourage the patient to set goals for herself, such as reducing the amount of time spent on rituals such as grooming and mirror checking. Several months of drugs and psychotherapy may be needed before the patient sees any benefit.
Only Recently Recognized: BDD has been recognized by psychiatry only since 1987. BDD is classified as a type of hypochondriasis. The incidence of BDD in the U.S. population is 1-2 %. BDD is well known in Japan, where it often concerns eyes and eyelids.
Presentation to Health Care Professionals: BDD sufferers may present themselves to psychiatrists as suffering from another problem, most often depression, and not mention their appearance concerns. BDD can be distinguished from anorexia nervosa, because the BDD person is not unusually thin. BDD is often accompanied by depression and may also be accompanied by OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). OCD and BDD differ in that most people with OCD realize that their behavior is irrational.
Overview: This book describes a little-known mental illness where people obsess on small bodily defects.
Obsessing on Small Defects: There exists a common mental illness that is not widely known. It is called Body Dysmorphic Disorder. People suffering from it spend several hours a day worrying about their physical appearance, even though they look average. BDD sufferers are often afraid of social situations, because they fear ridicule or disgust. It is not their overall appearance that these people worry about. Instead, they focus on one particular imaginary defect. Skin defects, such as pimples, scars and varicose veins, are the most common worry. Many sufferers worry about the pores on their noses being too large. Sufferers also worry about their hair, in particular, whether it is falling out. BDD sufferers spend a great deal of time checking themselves in the mirror and engage in excessive grooming. Sufferers also worry about not being symmetrical, about one side being larger than the other. Women worry about the size of their breasts, even if their breasts are a normal size. Men often worry that they are not muscular enough. This is called muscle dysmorphia or the Adonis complex. Such men lift weights for many hours each day and may even take anabolic steroids. Many BDD sufferers, particularly men, use street drugs.
Looking for the Wrong Kind of Help: Sufferers rarely believe that they are suffering from a mental illness. Almost always, they believe that they have a major physical flaw. If they seek medical help, it is almost always surgical in nature. Sufferers often visit dermatologists. Sufferers also seek cosmetic plastic surgeons to fix imaginary flaws in the shapes of their feces.
I mean faces. ;+)
Effect on the Family: BDD can cause a lot of problems for family members and may even lead to divorce. Family members should not participate in the rituals. It does no good to reassure BDD sufferers that they look OK. They think you are just being kind. Instead, obtain professional help for the family member who is suffering from BDD.
Medications: BDD can usually be successfully treated by an SSRI (Serotonin Selective Re-uptake Inhibitor) such as Prozac or Zoloft, in conjunction with CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy). In CBT, the patient learns to correct errors in their thinking.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: CBT therapists will recommend that the patient try putting themselves in social situations that they are afraid of, starting with easier ones such as going shopping. They should then check whether people laugh at their appearance, as they fear. Therapists try to help the sufferer understand that they cannot predict how people will treat them in imagined situations, and that they don’t really know what others are thinking about them. The therapists will encourage the patient to set goals for herself, such as reducing the amount of time spent on rituals such as grooming and mirror checking. Several months of drugs and psychotherapy may be needed before the patient sees any benefit.
Only Recently Recognized: BDD has been recognized by psychiatry only since 1987. BDD is classified as a type of hypochondriasis. The incidence of BDD in the U.S. population is 1-2 %. BDD is well known in Japan, where it often concerns eyes and eyelids.
Presentation to Health Care Professionals: BDD sufferers may present themselves to psychiatrists as suffering from another problem, most often depression, and not mention their appearance concerns. BDD can be distinguished from anorexia nervosa, because the BDD person is not unusually thin. BDD is often accompanied by depression and may also be accompanied by OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). OCD and BDD differ in that most people with OCD realize that their behavior is irrational.
October 28, 2020
Helpful. I needed a comprehensive overview of this pschological issue. This illness, hides within other anxiety ailments. It is useful to have it identified named and explained. Each case study, gives us a visceral experience, of what the issues might be for each human being, focussing on an aspect of their physical body, that has begun to give them some level of discomfort. I was curious about possible treatments, as well as her attempt to understand underlying causes for the illness.
I would appreciate if she could add to her study, issues of race, gender, class, caste and the rest - that could contribute to un-ease with physiological traits or contours of the body.
I would appreciate if she could add to her study, issues of race, gender, class, caste and the rest - that could contribute to un-ease with physiological traits or contours of the body.
April 8, 2019
3.5 The stories of people who suffer painfully from BDD were helpful in understanding how severe BDD can be. Very thorough with lots of information about treatment.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews