Body Dismorphic Disorder

[Gamma Ray]

Does anyone know anything about this mental illness? Does anyone suffer from it?

 

[Majic Walrus]

I know about it. I do not suffer from it.

 

[david icke]

i used to, but don't anymore.
it is the kind of thing that you have to get over yourself, i don't know if there's much anyone else can do for you.
it may look like nothing much to someone else, but it can be a helluva thing to get over if you have a problem with how you look physically in some way.
yes, surgery can help some people, and i had a little work done myself that took the edge off, so to speak, and it did help.
But even after that i still had a problem and only made any kind of real breakthrough when i realised that other people's focus is not where yours is at in regards to your self image, for the most part other folk will be focusing on how you act as a person, not what you look like. Of course there will be some who focus on such things from time to time, but these people are not important in their opinions or in your life, so fug 'em.

it can be anything, big nose, stick out ears, overweight, too skinny, skin problems, and may not even look like such big deal to outsiders, but to the person suffering from the issue it can overshadow every aspect of their lives, causing them to avoid employment, relationships, everything that makes up a normal healthy lifestyle.
so, if there is anyone out there suffering from this type of deal, my heart goes out to you as i have been there, but, it can be tamed, and when you make that mental breakthrough you will feel like you have wasted a lot of time worrying about nothing much at all. so, hang in there, i'm, not saying it is easy, but if you just keep trying to push yourself into a stronger frame of mind you will get there eventually, and will eventualy not give a crap what other people think of you, and realise that they are most probably not thinking of you in that way, if at all, to the degree you think they are.

 

[Bboy]

I've had my fair share of this in the past and it's not fun hey. Can really rob you in every area of life.

 

[AnorexicBatman]

I might have a mild case of it. That or I am exaggerating.

 

[union_jak]

I think Reverse-Body Dismorphic Disorder is funnier.

 

[SuperFerret]

Things like this make me sick. Why must everything be a disorder?

 

[Gamma Ray]

This isn't really helping my research.

 

[david icke]

This isn't really helping my research.

ok, here is something that will definitely help your research, it's spelt with a 'y', 'Dysmorphic'.
and you can cite Mystique from the x-men movies as someone who suffered from it but got over it.
She went from being someone who was afraid to go to school because of the way she naturally looked, to someone who could choose to look any way she wished, but chose to go naturally blue buck assed naked, because we shouldn't have to change the way we look for the sake of cowtowing to other people's perceptions or prejudice.
if this is for some paper, you could cite her convo with senator kelly in x-men1, and her convo with nightcrawler in x2, to back this up.

edit: and i wouls say it is probably best to be clear about why you want to know about this mental illness, whether it's a thread for discussion, or for an essay or whatever, as it can be a sensitive subject for most.

and as for supperferret's

'things like this make me sick, why must everything be a disorder?'

maybe you should try being a bit more sensitive dude, and less of a blundering ignoramous, coming into a thread concerning something that can have a devastating impact on people and essentially declaring it to be nothing serious is totally out of order.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I'm fairly certain I have mild form of it, otherwise known as The Adonis Complex. It hasn't negatively impacted my life, but I can remember when it was at its worst. I was having serious asymmetry problems lol

 

[david icke]

I think Reverse-Body Dismorphic Disorder is funnier.

What's even funnier is the little freaks who hide behind anonymous usernames and poke fun at folk who suffer/have suffered from a mental illness, when you just know they would never have the balls to do so in the presence of the person/s themselves.

 

[Majic Walrus]

Do I sense some hostility?

 

[david icke]

Do I sense some hostility?

See, now this guy:, that to me looks like a nose-job too far, but, he seems happy, so more power to him.

 

[SuperFerret]

and as for supperferret's

'things like this make me sick, why must everything be a disorder?'

maybe you should try being a bit more sensitive dude, and less of a blundering ignoramous, coming into a thread concerning something that can have a devastating impact on people and essentially declaring it to be nothing serious is totally out of order.

It's not serious. People need to stop being self-conscious and stop hiding behind a "disorder" or a "disease" or any other term that relieves them of their responsibility on the matter.

Just suck it up and get over it.

 

[kane9321]

uh boy

 

[david icke]

It's not serious. People need to stop being self-conscious and stop hiding behind a "disorder" or a "disease" or any other term that relieves them of their responsibility on the matter.

Just suck it up and get over it.

Y'know, I'm not surprised by this post of yours, every single post I've ever read of yours displays the naivety of an Amish bubble-boy, and suggests about as much interaction with the real world.

As I said myself, yes, the person does need to get over it by themselves, but other people not taking the condition seriously does not help the matter. It can become very serious when a person's mind becomes trapped into a negative way of thinking.
I'm all for encouraging people 'to get over it', and 'man up', but you also have to be sympathetic to the fact that it is not easy for these people to do so.

and calling something a 'disorder' is just a way of giving something a medical term that everyone can recognise. It is a disorder, the mind becomes ill and no longer follows healthy modes of thinking that move your life forward.

how does calling the matter a disorder relive them of responsibility? They call alcoholism a disease, but that does not negate the fact the alcoholic has to take responsibility and decide for themselves to quit. It does become a disease when the body and mind becomes dependant on it.

hey, ok, maybe we are all Amish bubble boys to an extent, and those things that are out of our own personal experience may seem like not so much of an obstacle, and I'm not into mollycoddling anyone, but if you have the audacity to have no empathy whatsoever with the sufferer's pain, or even try to understand there may be more going on here than you can imagine, then I'd have to say you were a bit frickin' disordered yourself.

yeah, we have to start somewhere in helping people get over these mind disorders, to toughen them up a bit, but to begin by saying 'your problem is not even a problem in the first place', is counter productive.

 

[union_jak]

What's even funnier is the little freaks who hide behind anonymous usernames and poke fun at folk who suffer/have suffered from a mental illness, when you just know they would never have the balls to do so in the presence of the person/s themselves.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I can quite easily mock someone directly to their face. I'm pretty much the same persona here and in real life. This thread isn't about poking fun or being anonymous, however. It's a discussion about a debateable 'disorder'. Let's not go calling me a "little freak" because that get will you nowhere.

From experience, people I know who have claimed to have this disorder are really just attention-seeking baiters who crave someone to say "No, you're not ugly, you're beautiful". I have no time for their games. I'm far too honest and would rather people just stop playing word games and get some self-confidence instead.

And Reverse-Body Dysmorphic Disorder is funny, in my opinion. There's a local girl here who is obese, has no eyebrows and stinks of burgers but she still reckon's she is "as hot as Barbie". But of course, I wouldn't call that a disorder... it's just delusional.

 

[SuperFerret]

Y'know, I'm not surprised by this post of yours, every single post I've ever read of yours displays the naivety of an Amish bubble-boy, and suggests about as much interaction with the real world.

As I said myself, yes, the person does need to get over it by themselves, but other people not taking the condition seriously does not help the matter. It can become very serious when a person's mind becomes trapped into a negative way of thinking.
I'm all for encouraging people 'to get over it', and 'man up', but you also have to be sympathetic to the fact that it is not easy for these people to do so.

and calling something a 'disorder' is just a way of giving something a medical term that everyone can recognise. It is a disorder, the mind becomes ill and no longer follows healthy modes of thinking that move your life forward.

how does calling the matter a disorder relive them of responsibility? They call alcoholism a disease, but that does not negate the fact the alcoholic has to take responsibility and decide for themselves to quit. It does become a disease when the body and mind becomes dependant on it.

hey, ok, maybe we are all Amish bubble boys to an extent, and those things that are out of our own personal experience may seem like not so much of an obstacle, and I'm not into mollycoddling anyone, but if you have the audacity to have no empathy whatsoever with the sufferer's pain, or even try to understand there may be more going on here than you can imagine, then I'd have to say you were a bit frickin' disordered yourself.

yeah, we have to start somewhere in helping people get over these mind disorders, to toughen them up a bit, but to begin by saying 'your problem is not even a problem in the first place', is counter productive.

When your "problem" is as common as this is (where literally EVERY HUMAN BEING WHO HAS EVER LIVED HAS EXPERIENCED ANGST OVER THEIR PHYSICAL FEATURES), it's not a problem. Maybe, MAYBE, there are some poor, unfortunate people who are so severely stricken by their own insecurities that they might actually need psychiatric help to overcome it (I'll leave my more "misanthropic" opinion of this out of this post to seem more sympathetic), but these people are in the extreme minority.

I guarantee you that many people are being overly coddled and feel relieved of their personal responsibility in the matter because they either were misdiagnosed or diagnosed themselves.

Also, I'll never call alcoholism a disease (though I agree with the reasons why it is a disease), because to many people the word "disease" comes along with something that you have no real personal fault in contracting. Nobody gets blamed for getting lung cancer (although they could have stopped smoking...). Nobody thinks that they're at fault for getting the flu (though if they had washed their hands before eating that one time...). So naturally, and I've met people like this, there are some people who'll say that "I'm an alcoholic and I have a disease." and take no steps to better themselves because their "diseased condition" has left them an innocent victim of circumstance, not someone who put themselves in that circumstance.

Also, it's heartening to know that you've been following my posts. It's good to have a fan, and I can assure you that your assumptions about me are extremely wrong (though the Amish comment might seem true, I haven't shaved in a bit and the beard's getting bushy).

 

[Master Chief]

It does seem like everything is being called a mental illness nowadays lol, but still everyone is different. Just because everybody felt the same way at one time doesn't mean everyone was affected the same way. A guy who thinks he's too thin might not even worry about it unless in front of a mirror, whereas another guy who thinks he's too thin can become paranoid that people are judging him all the time based on his appearance. And hey, you're right! According to wikipedia only 1-2% of the world's population fit all the criteria for this. It's sort of amusing to have such a variety of specific things that label people for the way they feel and think and act.

Of course the only answer to all psychological problems that aren't dealing with chemical imbalances and grand delusions is to just get over it, but not many people realize that until they go through therapy because they're so caught up in their insecurities.

 

[david icke]

This thread isn't about poking fun or being anonymous, however. It's a discussion about a debateable 'disorder'.

yeah, exactly, so why didn't you post up something akin to what you just did in the first place then? Because that goes some way in 'debating' whether this is a serious problem or not, whereas your 1st post merely mocked people who suffered from it. Saying you found the other kind 'funnier', suggested that you do think the disorder exists, but that you have no sympathy or empathy for sufferers and find their plight funny.

 

[david icke]

When your "problem" is as common as this is (where literally EVERY HUMAN BEING WHO HAS EVER LIVED HAS EXPERIENCED ANGST OVER THEIR PHYSICAL FEATURES), it's not a problem. Maybe, MAYBE, there are some poor, unfortunate people who are so severely stricken by their own insecurities that they might actually need psychiatric help to overcome it (I'll leave my more "misanthropic" opinion of this out of this post to seem more sympathetic), but these people are in the extreme minority.

maybe? there are, trust me, i was one of them, and there are folk who are worse off than i was.
i got over it, some people go through their entire lives not being comfortable in their own skin, to the point where they avoid human contact. and usual modes of connecting with society... employment, relationships, social life... they are out of the question for these people due to the disordered state of mind they get themselves into.

I guarantee you that many people are being overly coddled and feel relieved of their personal responsibility in the matter because they either were misdiagnosed or diagnosed themselves.

well, those people will never help themselves out of their hole.

and i think there is some confusion over what constitutes a 'disorder' or 'disease' or 'mental illness', these terms do not mean the same thing necesarily when it comes to different conditions.

Also, I'll never call alcoholism a disease (though I agree with the reasons why it is a disease), because to many people the word "disease" comes along with something that you have no real personal fault in contracting. Nobody gets blamed for getting lung cancer (although they could have stopped smoking...). Nobody thinks that they're at fault for getting the flu (though if they had washed their hands before eating that one time...). So naturally, and I've met people like this, there are some people who'll say that "I'm an alcoholic and I have a disease." and take no steps to better themselves because their "diseased condition" has left them an innocent victim of circumstance, not someone who put themselves in that circumstance.

yes, there are people like this, it would be almost a perfect world if there were not. but that does not excuse you from barreling in as if you have all the answers and know it all, just because you have encountered a couple of bad examples in your personal life.

you're almost using the word 'misanthrope' as an excuse for bad manners and ignorance, as if it's some kind of cool demeanor to have that explains your 'controversial' opinions.

if you were truly a misanthrope, you would not be on these boards. what you appear to be is ignorant, and closed to further knowledge, thinking your limited experience in the world is somehow a crystal ball into the hearts and souls of all mankind.

we all have a limited personal experience, that's why we have to be open to other's knowledge and experience to learn more beyond our own myopic 1st hand experience.

Also, it's heartening to know that you've been following my posts. It's good to have a fan, and I can assure you that your assumptions about me are extremely wrong (though the Amish comment might seem true, I haven't shaved in a bit and the beard's getting bushy).

i am just going by the fact that you always seem to barrel into a thread proclaiming this or that should be immediately discounted because you know this or that, so the subject should be closed immediately according to superferret's infinite wisdom. When, like most things in life, the matter under discussion is usually not so black and white, and is a more complex situation than you perceive.

 

[david icke]

Of course the only answer to all psychological problems that aren't dealing with chemical imbalances and grand delusions is to just get over it, but not many people realize that until they go through therapy because they're so caught up in their insecurities.

a person can be aware of this, but still be powerless to 'get over it' to an extent.
they may have been conditioned to feel this way through systematic bullying that went on for years, abusive parents, siblings, workplace bullying etc
edit: the person's mind has in effect been brainwashed systematically over a long period of time to only see themselves in this negative light. and that type of programming can be hard to break.

the thing about this condition is that it can be so self defeating, it causes the person to retreat from the world, but in order to get over it, you have to actually get out there into the world, in order to see that people will not focus on you as much as your mind tells you they will.
i have never been to see a therapist, but i imagine therapy can only do so much, at some point you have to go out into the world and face down these demons, and for people whose minds have been caught in a negative spiral for many years, that is a lot of conditioning they have to untangle. It can take a long time, moving in baby steps through the minefield, in order to get to a place where they feel comfortable going outside at all, before making any progress of a permanent kind through meaningful interaction with the world.

 

[SuperFerret]

yes, there are people like this, it would be almost a perfectt world if there were not. but that does not excuse you from barreling in as if you have all the answers and know it all, just because you have encountered a couple of bad examples in your personal life.

you're almost using the word 'misanthrope' as an excuse for bad manners and ignorance, as if it's some kind of cool demeanor to have that explains your 'controversial' opinions.

if you were truly a misanthrope, you would not be on these boards. what you appear to be is ignorant, and closed to further knowledge, thinking your limited experience in the world is somehow a crytal ball into the hearts and souls of all mankind.

we all have a limited personal experience, that's why we have to be open to other's knowledge and experience to learn more beyond our own myopic 1st hand experience.


i am just going by the fact that you always seem to barrel into a thread proclaiming this or that should be immediately discounted because you know this or that, so the subject should be closed immediately according to superferret's infinite wisdom. When, like most things in life, the matter under discussion is usually not so black and white, and is a more complex situation than you perceive.

I'm using the word "misanthrope" because I've been accused of that before when I say that I believe that if it weren't for our society being so "nice", the world would be a better place as natural selection would take effect and those who are not able to help themselves and get over certain circumstances wouldn't survive long enough to breed.

Also, I've never said that I have all the answers, or that I know it all, or that I have infinite wisdom. I merely come in, state my opinion and move on, unless I'm presented with an argument that would change my opinion, which does happen despite my so-called "closed" mind (which of all the things I've been called and accused of, that is the most insulting).

I know it's not a black and white topic, and I'm aware that there are people who suffer from this, but for reasons stated, I don't like something like this to be considered a disease/disorder/mental illness/etc. It may very well be those things, but due to the stupidity that is the very nature of the average human being (and of humanity as a collective) labeling this as such is detrimental to those who legitimately suffer, as well as the species as a whole.

 

[katie_girl09]

It's not serious. People need to stop being self-conscious and stop hiding behind a "disorder" or a "disease" or any other term that relieves them of their responsibility on the matter.

Just suck it up and get over it.

 

[david icke]

I'm using the word "misanthrope" because I've been accused of that before when I say that I believe that if it weren't for our society being so "nice", the world would be a better place as natural selection would take effect and those who are not able to help themselves and get over certain circumstances wouldn't survive long enough to breed.

Also, I've never said that I have all the answers, or that I know it all, or that I have infinite wisdom. I merely come in, state my opinion and move on, unless I'm presented with an argument that would change my opinion, which does happen despite my so-called "closed" mind (which of all the things I've been called and accused of, that is the most insulting).

I know it's not a black and white topic, and I'm aware that there are people who suffer from this, but for reasons stated, I don't like something like this to be considered a disease/disorder/mental illness/etc. It may very well be those things, but due to the stupidity that is the very nature of the average human being (and of humanity as a collective) labeling this as such is detrimental to those who legitimately suffer, as well as the species as a whole.

yeah, dude i'm not trying to insult you, but you do display a tendancy to have a closed mind due to petty personal prejudice.

going by what you have said in previous posts-

you dismiss any artist's work immediately if you don't like what they say in interviews.

you dismiss the notion that someone who takes drugs/has had a drug problem could be intelligent, and dismiss anything they say as a rule.

you don't understand why talking in the cinema with your friends during a movie should be an activity that is frowned upon.

and now you barrel into a thread immediately dismissing people's personal experience as bs, thinking you know it all and there is a very simple catch all solution to this thing you do not even deem as a true illness of the mind.

@katiegirl: yeah, the level of insight you display is blinding, how long did it take you to click on that smiley? i imagine you sat in the library all day cooking up that thesis. I have to say, you've changed my mind right around on the whole subject.
I wish i had the insight of a 5yr old, the world would seem a much more managable place and easy answers would solve everything.