Are there situations that make body dysmorphia worse? Can certain environments put people at risk of body dysmorphic disorder? In this post we’ll cover what body dysmorphia is, what happens when it’s a disorder and certain places where we could be at higher risk.
What is Body Dysmorphia?
Body Dysmorphia is a term used to describe an overwhelming focus on a perceived flaw in physical appearance. The word ‘dysmorphia’ means a deformity or abnormality. But in body dysmorphic disorder people see an abnormality in themselves that others do not see. It is seen a disorder because the ‘flaw’ takes up a large degree attention and worry. The worry affects behavior and mood, even though it is generally not seen by others.
What happens in Body Dysmorphic Disorder?
People suffering with body dysmorphic disorder can find themselves trapped in unhelpful cycles of thinking and behavior related to their bodies. For example, people with body dysmorphic might feel stressed about how they look or anxious about being seen. This might make them spend more time alone. Isolation will make depression and anxiety worse.
Difficult relationships with food are not uncommon with body dysmorphic disorder, including eating disorders. Body dysmorphia may have kicked off some unhelpful eating habits. The eating habits bring more focus to the body and fuels the body dysmorphia.
There are numerous ways that body dysmorphia can affect a person that can make existing mental health issues worse or be the catalyst for new mental health challenges. Situations where there are social interactions or opportunity for the body to be viewed – like giving a presentation or going to the beach – are times when someone suffering body dysmorphia might have increased focus on the flaw and worry about it or even avoid it all together.
Why do people develop Body Dysmorphia?
Everybody is a little different, and we can all have some insecurities. But body dysmorphia is experienced as something that seems super noticeable. It feels like a big deal even though the average person would not see it.
For some people it can start at young age. During childhood we all grow and develop at a different rate. If people feel very different than their peers, this belief system can get carried forward into adulthood. Being taller, shorter, developing into puberty sooner than others are all examples of things that can affect how a person feels different in childhood. Usually by adulthood these differences have evened out. However, the belief that “I am different and everyone can see it” might linger on.
While the problem can certainly start like this for some, for many more people body dysmorphia is not tied to anything that is obvious to others. The belief does not correspond to reality.
So why does body dysmorphia take hold when there is no visible difference that is obvious to others? It may have to do with circumstance and resources. If circumstances become overwhelming and we lack the options, the resources to cope, fixating on the body can offer a source of distraction, control and a way to regulate overwhelming stuff.
Increased risk of Body Dysmorphia
Places, situations where the body is a focus carry more risks for people to develop body dysmorphia. Being involved in something where we are viewed by the public or compared can be a higher risk situation for developing this problem. This might be things where we perform in front of others, like dance or gymnastics. Also, situations where people are heavily involved in perfecting the body, like in fitness centers or in body building.
Being around a lot of people who are engaged in perfecting the body, have high, unrealistic standards for appearance and put appearance above other things is a higher risk situation. These situations have the potential to encourage unrealistic and harmful ideas about body shapes and sizes.
Whether this takes the form of wanting to be bigger or smaller, more muscular or more lean, these beliefs can encourage body dysmorphia when they are driven by obsessive focus on a flaw, one that is often not seen by others. The activity can start with a desire to improve and be healthier, and the focus changes with time. If we hit a time of stress, it is easier to get drawn into negative ways of thinking about body.
When we start to think that the body is something to be perfected, controlled it is red flag. If the goal places appearance as more important than health, it is a red flag. Don’t take this to mean that you can’t have a healthy mindset in a high risk situation, but if you are struggling, it might be useful to consider how you engage with them.
How does Body Dysmorphic Disorder show up in everyday life?
Body Dysmorphia can affect how it feels to be around others and can show up in social situations or at work. Situations might be avoided, leaving a person feeling isolated. Or ritual behaviors crop up that help a person manage the stress of being seen.
People with body dysmorphia often do an excessive amount of body checking, using mirror or selfies to obsessively check how they might seem to others. Body checking makes the problem worse because it increases attention to the ‘flaw’. This focus acts as a confirmation bias, meaning we see what we expect to see. We see what we look for.
Seeking out cosmetic treatments, procedures and surgeries is also not uncommon for people with body dysmorphia, although it rarely solves the problem. Because the issue is about unrealistic beliefs, dysfunctional perceptions of the body not reality. So changing the body may not feel like enough. It might provide temporary relief and then the need to seek out further procedures. And having a doctor say ‘Yes, we can correct that.’ reinforces the idea that something was wrong in the 1st place.
What does treatment for body dysmorphic disorder look like?
Treatment for body dysmorphic disorder includes working on the beliefs about the body. Therapy or self help will center on building more realistic ways of seeing the body and more accurate perceptions of how others see you. It might include slowly working to be more comfortable in social situations and reducing the ritualistic behaviors like body checking.
If disordered eating is involved, the eating behavior will need to regulated to manage health risks and also because deregulated eating will make anxiety worse.
Working on noticing and regulating emotions can be helpful aspect of treatment. Developing ways to experience the body and manage reactions with breathing, movement, yoga, grounding or calming can help to manage the spiral we can get into with body dysmorphia-related thinking and emotions.
You may also want to take control of the body messages you get from media. Being careful about the social media accounts you follow and connect you are watching is very important. Messages with unrealistic images makes it worse.
Help for Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Start therapy for Body Dysmorphic Disorder in Katy, TX
Getting extra support is important if body dysmorphic disorder is affecting your mood or daily life. Talking to a supportive friend, limiting negative body image messages and good self care can all help. Psychotherapy and counseling can also be a great help for improving body image. If you are struggling with an eating disorder along with poor body image, extra support could be essential in your healing.
I offer counseling for body image, eating disorders, mood problems (anxiety and depression), trauma and relationship issues (communication, anger, boundaries) in-person or virtually. Contact me to arrange a consultation to discuss your needs. Click here to contact me now.