Most of us would like to change something in our appearance. Many do not like the legs, nose, ears, and may even develop a complex due to the hated part of the body. Usually, with age, the individual accepts the features of his appearance, and the sharpness of perception disappears. But it happens that a person is overly concerned about a defect in his body, the condition becomes an obsession. Such an obsession can develop into a mental disorder, which is called "dysmorphophobia". The disease is dangerous for its consequences in the absence of the necessary treatment.
About illness
Dysmorphophobia - this (translated from Greek) means an obsessive fear of body deformation. The negative state refers to a flaw in appearance, to which the sufferer pays increased attention. There is also a painful perception of body odors: sweat, urine, intestinal gases, and so on. This is also a type of disease.
Dysmorphophobia Syndrome. Psychiatry
Mainly sufferthis disorder in adolescence and adolescence. Violations capture the entire process of human social life. The sufferer sinks into depression, which can develop into deep apathy. In severe cases, delirium may appear, loss of self-control, and suicide attempts are not uncommon. In 2006, a series of studies were conducted, and which revealed that the frequency of suicides in body dysmorphophobia is twice as high as among patients suffering from depression. With painful dissatisfaction with one's biological sex, the so-called gender identification, the development of mental illness accelerates.
What is the reason?
Many scientists tend to conclude that body dysmorphic disorder is a mental disorder that depends on biological factors. Examinations of patients showed that the content of the neurotransmitter serotonin is at a low level. Dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid have the same limit. These are the so-called pleasure hormones. Their minimal production can give impetus to the development of dysmorphophobia. This theory is supported by the fact of a positive response to a class of antidepressants that allow serotonin to be available to all nerve cells. But there were cases when the symptoms of the disease intensified with the use of drugs.
Mental disorder is often found in individuals who suffer from obsessive-compulsive syndrome, expressed in the obsessive adherence to individual rituals. Magnetic resonance imaging studies supportthis fact, showing that patients with dysmorphophobia and this syndrome have the same anomalies in brain regions. There is an assumption that sufferers have impairments in the perception and processing of visual information.
Psychological factors in the development of the disease
Childhood is often remembered for ridicule by peers over the appearance of the victim. In the period when the self-esteem of the individual is being laid, under the influence of teasers, a complex can develop that haunts even in adulthood. Dysmorphophobia is a mental disorder that occurs mainly in people who are extremely insecure, withdrawn, highly sensitive to the rejection of others, and are anxious for any reason. Sufferers consider themselves the ugliest, think that their flaws are visible to everyone, and people around look only at the ugly part of the body.
The painful perception of external data is affected by parents' excessive attention to the aesthetic beauty of the body. Dad and mom unconsciously focus on a non-standard part of the child's body, thereby developing an inferiority complex. Adds "fuel to the fire" and the press, showing famous people on television and in magazines, promoting the ideal appearance. The epithet "beautiful" becomes synonymous with such concepts as smart, successful, happy. Dysmorphophobia syndrome is often associated with the presence of an underlying mental illness. It can be a sign of schizophrenia, bulimia nervosa, anorexia, trichotillomania, muscle dysmorphia.
Disorder symptoms
Body dysmorphic syndromemanifests itself in the excessive concern of the individual with his shortcoming. The sufferer tries to hide it with clothes or accessories. Surrounding people sometimes perceive a veiled person as rather strange or trying to stand out from everyone. Dysmorphophobia is characterized by a “mirror symptom”. It is expressed in the constant examination of its reflection in all reflective surfaces. This is done in order to find the most favorable position in which the flaw will not be visible.
Using a mirror, the sufferer evaluates where a correction needs to be made. Patients usually do not like to be photographed, so as not to "perpetuate" their defect. Periodically, an obsessive touch of the location of the defect is manifested. The sufferer can manipulate relatives, focusing on his disorder. He may demand increased attention to himself, pleasing his desires, or voice threats of violence against himself. Because of the constant preoccupation with his appearance, the patient is not able to focus on something not related to the defect, and educational or work activity suffers greatly from this.
Sufferers frequent plastic surgery clinics, work out excessively in fitness centers, torment themselves with diets, or spend many hours in beauty salons. In the last stages, dysmorphophobia strengthens its symptoms and becomes dangerous. The patient can injure himself, trying to get rid of a hated flaw on his own, or commit suicide, simply losing faith inpositive changes.
Muscle Dysmorphophobia
This is a mental disorder in which the sufferer, despite his high level of physical fitness, believes that he still has a small body size. Illness is defined as an obsession with one's own outward perfection. It is believed that this disease is the opposite of anorexia. Bodybuilders often suffer from this disorder. Symptoms are obsession with training, strict adherence to strict diets, uncontrolled use of anabolics, and a loss of interest in all topics that are not related to this sport.
The patient is always dissatisfied with his appearance. He spends almost all the time in the gym, does not miss a single workout, under any pretext. If the sufferer could not visit the "rocking chair", he becomes irritable. The most progressive phase is manifested in the fact that the patient hides his “imperfect” body under clothes, begins to practice at home so that no one can see him.
Dysmorphomania
With this mental disorder, the patient is convinced that he has a defect that can be removed surgically. This conviction is delusional in nature and cannot be corrected and criticized by the sufferer. The disease is accompanied by a depressive mood, disguise of experiences, and most importantly - the desire to get rid of the disadvantage in any way. The patient can come up with a special hairstyle that will hide his "huge" ears, or walks in a hat all the time, constantly refers to doctors witha request to change the hated part of the body.
Sometimes sufferers try to correct their defect themselves, for example, filing their teeth, refusing to eat, and so on. The syndrome of dysmorphophobia, dysmorphomania, if left untreated, leads to disastrous consequences. The sufferer, in addition to he alth and mental problems, usually remains completely alone.
Manifestations of the disease in adolescence
Adolescent dysmorphophobia manifests itself in a depressive state due to its inconsistency with the ideal. A person is afraid of speaking in front of people, he is worried that the environment will see his shortcomings. Young people with excessive concern for appearance begin to suffer from insomnia, they lose their desire to study and spend time with friends. The patient is in a sad mood, you can often see his tears. Increasingly, there are cases of the use of drugs to get rid of a deficiency, as well as alcohol. In severe cases, anorexia and bulimia are added to the mental disorder.
Treatment
To get rid of the disease requires a lot of patience, therapy takes time. But we must remember that body dysmorphic disorder is a treatable disorder. Various methods of recovery are used, for example, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. It goes through several stages. First, the doctor helps the sufferer to realize that the defect does not need to be evaluated, but it is necessary to accept and live with it. Gradually, the patient is led to the idea that there is no need to hide his shortcoming when communicating with people. The result of therapy is the cessation of the painful perception of one's ownlack, the sufferer begins to calmly perceive obsessive thoughts.
In the treatment of mental disorders, the method of imaginary stories is used. In this case, the doctor tells short stories that are based on the obsessions and fears of the patient. After the presentation, there is a discussion. Thus, situations close to the sufferer are re-experienced, and ways out of them are found. Cognitive restructuring is applied, which is expressed in learning to challenge the validity of their fears, forcing a distorted perception of their body. Another successful method in the fight against the disease is hypnosuggestive psychotherapy. With its help, the achieved results of treatment are fixed in the subconscious of the sufferer. In addition to direct immersion in hypnosis, the patient is taught the basics of self-hypnosis, which allows you to replace negative ideas with productive thoughts.
Additional recovery methods
Dysmorphophobia, the treatment of which is important to start at the first symptoms, requires a comprehensive study. Methods of bodily therapy, breathing exercises, auto-trainings are actively used. The use of cosmetic operations is undesirable, since a mental disorder cannot be cured in this way, and a habit of constantly changing one's body may appear. The dissatisfaction persists. Treatment in a hospital takes place only in cases of a tendency of patients to self-harm or in severe depressive states. In the restoration of mental he alth, antidepressants and antipsychotics are used. The disease of dysmorphophobia does not provide independent treatment. Postponing a visit to the doctor can have dire consequences.
Conclusion
If the syndrome of dysmorphophobia develops against the background of schizophrenia, then this case is extremely difficult, since the existing methods of treatment with this combination are ineffective. Relatively easy to recover patients in whom dysmorphophobia occurs on the basis of a real defect in appearance, but which can be put up with. For example, a big but not too ugly nose.
For the prevention of mental disorders, it is important when raising a child not to focus on his external shortcomings, but to teach him to deal with them or accept them. You can’t make offensive remarks, for example, “how fat you are with us,” “short-legged,” and so on. It is necessary to maintain a child's self-esteem at a high level, to believe in his strength and pay attention to his dignity. If you suspect the presence of negative obsessive thoughts, depressive states, it is better to contact a psychologist, psychotherapist.
