It is usual to hear someone complaining about their body or expressing dissatisfaction with a particular body part. In our culture, we are intervened with the detective concepts of body perfection to live in a society that constantly reminds us: ‘we are not good enough!’. It has become so commonplace for people saying self-discouraging expressions like, “I look so fat” or “I hate my body”. Commonly, we are so harsh on ourselves and judged by our appearances strictly against the ‘ideal’ standards to view ourselves only in terms of how we look instead of what we can do.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Eating Disorders
There are researches has discovered the harmful consequences of this mindset. It has been studied that when a person experience negative body image, he/she will often go to dieting as a solution. A disordered body image is a substantial component of eating disorders and plays a significant role in developing eating disorders. It has also shown that the individuals who have low-esteem are usually connected with health-compromising behaviors in adolescence like eating disordered problems, suicide-ideations and substance abuse.
While BDD doesn’t only happen in cases of individuals suffering from eating disorders, it will happen to be some overlap between suffering from BDD and eating disorders. Also, if BDD remains untreated for a long period of time, it will possibly turn into an obsession with different body parts and can develop into an eating disorder, including bulimia and anorexia. People who are suffering from anorexia express an extremely distorted body image because they are obsessed by an devastating fear of being ‘fat’ and a preoccupation that no matter how much weight they lose, they are still not satisfy with it. Therefore, they often see themselves as being much more “fat” than they actually are or they are even despite being underweight. Overweight people can also suffer from BDD if they focus extremely on one aspect of their body appearance, rather than their overall health.
Allulah Willis is known for Demi Moore and Bruce Willis’ daughter. She has bravely opened up about her past issues with eating disorder and how she battled with substance abuse and depression. She admitted that she was diagnosed with Body Dysmorphic Disorder when she was 13 and had an eating disorder issue that has trouble living her life in the public eye dues to her famous parents. She said:
“I struggled a lot when I was younger. Like I’m diagnosed with body dysmorphia with reading those stupid f–king tabloids when I was like 13 and feeling like I was ugly, like always. I believed the strangers more than the people that loved me because why would the people who loved me be honest?”
She was mentally broken down in tears when she started to read the comments by others, saying she is a hideous, disgusting-looking person and how she is an unattractive human being. It wasn’t just about the anonymous cyber bullies but she became her own worst critic. She shaved her hair off before Christmas and started to abuse drugs when her depression became devastating in college.
Tallulah decided to seek help that she knew she needed to go take care of herself. After her sister Scout Willis ‘forced her to see what she was doing’, she checked into a treatment facility for 45 days to battle depression and drugs. She is now ‘starting to feel OK’ about herself after seeking treatment in rehab. Her recovery journey wasn’t easy and takes a long period of time knowing to completely love herself and have no problems.
Over 30 million people are thought to suffer from some type of eating disorder but only a small minority will ever seek treatment, either out of fear embarrassment or a lack of awareness about the signs. The treatment that can offer understanding how the brain analyzes this kind of unique visual information may help to treat the patients. The best solution is to find a therapist who was capable of diagnosing the BDD in addition to the depression and to work elements of addressing that into sessions. It is the best learning way to address anxiety and understanding the self as a whole huge unit of attributes and skills and feelings. People with BDD can be able to place their body as not being the center of whether they are valuable individuals or not.
References:
Daily Mail Australia 2015, ‘I thought I was a hideous, disgusting-looking person’: Demi Moore’s girl Tallulah Willis on battling her demons and life after rehab as she celebrates six months sober, Daily Mail Australia, viewed 9 September, 2016, < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2902083/Tallulah-Willis-opens-rehab-celebrates-six-months-sober-saying-needed-ake-care-myself.html#ixzz4JprxR3n9 >
McCallum Place 2016, ‘Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Eating Disorders’, McCallum Place Eating Disorder Centers, viewed 9 September 2016, < https://www.mccallumplace.com/dysmorphic-disorder-and-eating-disorders.html >
McConville, S. 2014, ‘Body Dysmorphia And Its Relationship With Eating Disorders’, Eating Disorder Hope, viewed 9 September 2016, < http://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/body-image/body-dysmorphia >
Weller, C. 2015, ‘Anorexia And Body Dysmorphic Disorder Come From The Same Place In Your Brain’, Medical Daily, viewed 9 September 2016, < http://www.medicaldaily.com/anorexia-and-body-dysmorphic-disorder-come-same-place-your-brain-324932 >
BDD Does Happen To Us 