Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a psychological disorder in which a person is preoccupied and excessively critical of one or more parts of their body which makes them willing to go to extreme measures to either hide it or 'fix' it. This disorder normally starts in adolescence and is believed to effect males and females at approximately the same rate. It is believed to be drastically under diagnosed because persons suffering this disorder go to extreme lengths to cover up their fixations. It is also believed to be associated with, or a precursor to, anorexia and/or bulimia. BDD severely impairs quality of life and leads to a large number of suicides and incidents of suicidal ideation. Oftentimes, those who suffer from BDD will elect to use plastic surgery to change or improve the body parts that they are unhappy with, or in the case of weight-related dissatisfaction the victim may opt for starvation or compulsive exercise as a means of changing their body image.