A monstor infront of the mirror

A MONSTER INFRONT OF THE MIRROR

ESSAY

A MONSTER IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR

Have you ever felt so bad about yourself that you wish you could disappear? Nowadays it is getting harder to live in aworld where the physical appearance seems to be the most important aspect. Even when most of the people learn how to face this social pressure, an increasing group of persons cannot deal with it.These persons suffer a medical condition called Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). But what is BDD and how does it affect the everyday life of those who suffer this disease?

Body Dysmorphic Disorder is aserious psychiatric condition. Those who suffer from BDD see hideous defects when they look in the mirror, defects that in reality are minor or non-existent. They are so concern about theirappearance that they think about it all the time and even if they are attractive, they will think they are ugly. According to the psychiatrist Jamie Feusner (2008) these distorted body images cause a greatfeeling of unhappiness. All these situations interfere with the everyday life of those who have BDD.

Everybody wish they could change something about their appearance. But in the case of the personswith BDD it can be said that this continuous nonconformity affects all the different aspects of their lives. Because they are so concern about their defects, people with this condition spend hoursthinking of their imperfections and how these imperfections impede their happiness. However, in most of the cases the perceived defects are completely normal looking. All this negative thinking makes theperson lose concentration at work, school and at everyday activities in general.

BDD also interferes with the social and personal life of the persons with this condition. In the first case; becausethey feel so bad about their appearance, people with BDD tend to avoid social meetings. In a big percent of the cases, people with BDD isolate themselves even from family, friends and romantic...