Funkymonk1
Experienced Member
- Reaction score
- 340
I'm not talking about you guys! In fact, I think it's obvious that quite a few people here suffer from BDD but I generally feel it's an illness that isn't understood or talked about.
Just the other day I was called "vain" by a woman in work. I can actually understand this because to someone who isn't educated about it ther's a thin line between BDD and vanity; Both involve being obsessed with your looks but are actually opposites because vanity is taking excessive pride and being in love with your appearance and BDD is excessive worry/loathing your appearance and thinking your appearance is flawed.
I think it's something that the wider public needs to be educated on for several reasons 1) It's a serious mental disorder that can take over your life. 2) It can be irrational I admit; often the things you think are ugly or flawed can be miniscule or not even noticeable to others. To the uneducated it makes you sound ridiculous but to those who suffer it can be debilitating. 3) People who have BDD possibly don't even know they have it and those who do simply arn't going to talk about it because they know people won't understand and they'll be seen as vain or shallow as in the example above. 4) BDD is seen as part of depression and not always treated as an illness on it's own.
Just the other day I was called "vain" by a woman in work. I can actually understand this because to someone who isn't educated about it ther's a thin line between BDD and vanity; Both involve being obsessed with your looks but are actually opposites because vanity is taking excessive pride and being in love with your appearance and BDD is excessive worry/loathing your appearance and thinking your appearance is flawed.
I think it's something that the wider public needs to be educated on for several reasons 1) It's a serious mental disorder that can take over your life. 2) It can be irrational I admit; often the things you think are ugly or flawed can be miniscule or not even noticeable to others. To the uneducated it makes you sound ridiculous but to those who suffer it can be debilitating. 3) People who have BDD possibly don't even know they have it and those who do simply arn't going to talk about it because they know people won't understand and they'll be seen as vain or shallow as in the example above. 4) BDD is seen as part of depression and not always treated as an illness on it's own.