Body image is a concept defined by how a person appraises their own physical appearance in relation to some external standard. Just as a person can develop a positive body image, there is also the potential for a person to be dissatisfied with it. Negative body image alone is not a diagnosable psychiatric condition and is believed to be relatively common in the general population. The age of development is typically before or around the onset of puberty.
A negative body image can result from any one of the following:
- Influence from societal, cultural, social and family messaging about ideal standards of physical attractiveness
- Effect of other people’s values relating to physical appearance
- Negative thoughts about one’s shape, weight, or specific physical features
- Low self-esteem
- One or more psychiatric conditions
As opposed to mere body image concerns, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a diagnosable psychiatric condition that affects approximately 2% of the general population. BDD can develop before the onset of puberty, with the exact cause believed to be some combination of biological and environmental factors.
Symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
- Excessive focus on at least one physical part of the body, such as a person’s shape, weight or physical features, with an accompanying belief that it is defective or flawed
- Other people’s inability to see the defect or flaw, or it is so subtle they would hardly notice it even after it was pointed out to them
- Inflexible patterns of negative thinking associated with the physical body part(s)
- Frequent comparison of one’s specific appearance concerns with other people’s physical appearance unbeknownst to those other people
- Repeated behaviors such as reassurance seeking, mirror checking, avoidance or being preoccupied with trying to change or hide the perceived defective or flawed body part(s)
- Anxiety, depression, or shame
- Increased potential for co-occurrence of other psychiatric conditions
People possessing a negative body image and those diagnosed with BDD may both actively seek ways to change their appearance through the use of prescription medication, products sold to the public that are not FDA approved, or may pursue cosmetic or surgical procedures to change their appearance. But unlike someone who is merely dissatisfied with their appearance, BDD is a debilitating condition.
A person suffering from BDD can become consumed by the symptoms to the extent that it becomes difficult to participate in everyday living, achieve major life milestones and, in some instances, maintain the will to live. People who merely possess a negative body image but do not have BDD are likely to go on to experience some degree of satisfaction or boost in confidence, sometimes after altering their appearance in some way, and sometimes even without altering their appearance in any way. This allows them to move on and focus their attention elsewhere. A person with BDD will have difficulty experiencing that same satisfaction or boost in confidence and will be unable to move on easily.
To learn more about cognitive behavior therapy for BDD or how to improve one’s body image, please contact the AICT intake coordinator at 212-308-2440 for more information.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5thed.).