Reddit reviews The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder
We found 2 Reddit comments about The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Sounds like a textbook case of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (I got my M.D. from the Internet School of Medicine). But, in all seriousness, I think therapy could be fruitful for you - cognitive-behavioral is supposed to be most effective for BDD but I suppose it all depends on if you can find a good therapist. I'd check out some body image resources and see what your reaction is to a psychological approach, e.g., Feeling Good About the Way You Look or The Broken Mirror.
I'm right there with you on all that. Touching, measuring, over-grooming, staring in mirrors waiting for something to change, avoiding mirrors, looking up options for surgery, before/after photos, obsession with aesthetics, noticing every tiny detail and change in my appearance especially age-related changes. BDD is more stubborn than OCD. Read The Broken Mirror. 75% of patients report suicidal ideation related to BDD and one quarter will attempt suicide at some point. It requires higher doses of SSRIs to treat.
To me it seems on the border between OCD and schizophrenia and it's common for patients to be completely delusional about their appearance. I would not wish this disorder on my worst enemy because your face and body are with you everywhere you go and when it gets really bad you don't want to go anywhere or be seen by anyone. Reflective surfaces, distorted mirrors, bad lighting reinforce the obsessions. How do you get away from all that? Aging is painful as it is, but with BDD it can have devastating psychological consequences. Do you tend to get stuck in mirrors?