Body Dysmorphic Disorder Research Paper

Name: Yvena Lazarre
Date: 06/09/10
Class: Intro Sociology Summer A

“Mirror Image of the Imperfect self” The Impact of Body Dysmorphic Disorder on Individuals

Body dissatisfaction is a major issue in today's society. Regardless of our race and gender, most of us often experience discomfort about our appearance or have something we dislike about our physical self. Whether it is an impaired tooth, uneven ears, a crooked smile, a small or a big nose, we complain about these flaws but they do not influence our daily lives. However, individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) think about their body imperfections each day, these imperfections are sometimes real but most of the time they are imagined. They can't seem to grasp the idea that

Women experience many body image disturbances and they are not satisfied with their bodies (Striegel-Moore & Franco, 2002), these concerns have a major influence on their well-being and also how they function daily. Individuals with BDD often avoid social gatherings, school, and work; they even alienate themselves from relative and love ones, because of the beliefs that their flaws may be seen by other people. Individuals feel the need to maintain a desired body image because they experience too many concerns toward their physical appearance, failure to maintain that image may lead to negative judgments regarding themselves (Striegel-Moore & Franco, 2002). People with Body Dysmorphic Disorder tend to undergo surgery to perfect their imperfections but the results never lead to any satisfaction. People undergo changes in their body to physically enhance their appearance in order to fulfill the desire of making good impressions and to gain other's approval (Leary, Tchividjian & Kraxberger,

Even though these flaws may not exist, intrusive and pervasive thoughts are formed about them. They become obsess with the way the look just like people with anorexia nervosa are concerned about their weight. They do not only worries about facial flaws, but also flaws in other areas of the body, such as breast, hair, legs, arm, chest, stomach, they even worried about their skin, shape and sizes. An article on Teen Health that focuses on BDD (2014) revealed that it’s also known as “Imagined Ugliness” due to the fact that the appearance problems that one experiences are usually minor and barely noticeable to other people. If they do, they are small, but to the person with BDD it’s a major issue, it's not imagined because their perceptions of it, is distorted and amplify any little imperfections. These thoughts may even lead them to believe that they are too ugly and defected to be seen