Could I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)?!
Question: Could I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)?
P.S. BDD is related to OCD, and I have OCD. Does that elevate my chances of having BDD? This BDD stuff didn't start that long ago. Could it just be an OCD phase, or am I developing BDD? It seems like some days I think I'm pretty, and other days I think I'm terribly ugly. Like some days are better than others.
No mean comments please :) Thank you!!
Answers:
What you are describing sounds very much like BDD, but really only you and your doctor can say for sure.
I think the most important thing to look at here is the fact that you've realized that something is off, and that it is affecting your life in a negative way - and that is a great first step to take! The next step would be possibly talking to your family and/or a doctor and to start working towards relieving your symptoms.
There isn't a magic cure that's going to make you not care about what you look like, but there are definitely things that you can do to make it easier to deal with.
I also think it's fairly common for BDD to appear with other things like OCD, Social Anxiety, Depression, Eating Disorders, etc.. so I would say it's important to get in control of it as soon as you notice.
Even if you don't have Body Dysmorphic Disorder, I think it would still be helpful to you to talk to someone, a professional, about what you described here - they could really help to give you some answers. :)
Also, when I first was trying to do some research on BDD for myself, I bought a book called "The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder" (here - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195167… ) and it really helped give me a lot more information that made me feel a lot less alone, and also gave steps I could take to make things better.
Good Luck and stay strong! :)