Dysmorphophobia is ... Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment

Most of us would like to change something in our appearance. Many do not like legs, nose, ears, even the complex may develop due to the hated part of the body. Usually, with age, the individual takes on the characteristics of his appearance, and the acuity of perception passes. But it happens that a person is overly concerned about the defect of his body, the state becomes obsessive ideas. Such obsession can develop into a mental disorder, which is called "dysmorphophobia." The disease is dangerous for its consequences in the absence of the necessary treatment.

About the disease

Dysmorphophobia - this (in Greek) means the obsessive fear of deformation of the body. The negative state concerns the lack of appearance, to which the sufferer has increased attention. There is also a painful perception of body odors: sweat, urine, intestinal gases and so on. This is also a form of the disease.

Syndrome of dysmorphophobia. Psychiatry

Mostly suffer from this disorder in adolescence and in adolescence. Violation captures the whole process of a person's social life. The sufferer is plunged into depression, which can degenerate into deep apathy. In severe cases, there may be delusions, loss of self-control, suicide attempts are not uncommon. In 2006, a number of studies were carried out, and found that the incidence of suicide in dysmorphophobia is two times higher than among patients with depression. With painful dissatisfaction with their biological sex, the so-called gender identity, the development of mental illness accelerates.

What is the reason?

Many scientists are inclined to conclude that dysmorphophobia is a mental disorder that depends on biological factors. Surveys of patients showed that the content of the neurotransmitter serotonin is at their low level. The same limit for dopamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid. These are the so-called "pleasure hormones". Their minimal production can give impetus to the development of dysmorphophobia. This theory is supported by the fact of a positive reaction to a class of antidepressants that allow serotonin to be available to all nerve cells. But there were cases when the symptoms of the disease increased with the use of drugs.

Mental disorder is often found in individuals who suffer from obsessive-compulsive syndrome, expressed in obsessive adherence to individual rituals. Studies carried out with the help of magnetic resonance imaging support this fact, showing that patients with dysmorphophobia and this syndrome have the same anomalies in the brain regions. There is an assumption that the sufferers have violations in the perception and processing of visual information.

Psychological factors in the development of the disease

Children's age is often remembered by peers ridiculing the victim's appearance. In the period when self-esteem of a person is laid , a complex can develop under the influence of teasers, which does not give rest in adult life. Dysmorphophobia is a mental disorder that occurs mostly in people who are extremely insecure, withdrawn, sensitive to others' disapproval, and are worried about anything. Sufferers consider themselves to be the most ugly, think that their shortcomings are visible to everyone, and people around look only at the ugly part of the body.

The painful perception of external data affects the excessive attention of parents to the aesthetic beauty of the body. Dad and mother unconsciously make an emphasis on the non-standard part of the child's body, thereby developing an inferiority complex. Adds "oil to the fire" and the press, showing on television and in magazines of famous people, promoting an ideal appearance. The epithet "beautiful" becomes synonymous with such concepts as smart, successful, happy. The syndrome of dysmorphophobia is often associated with the presence of a basic mental illness. This may be a sign of schizophrenia, nervous bulimia, anorexia, trichotillomania, muscular dysmorphia.

Symptoms of the disorder

The syndrome of dysmorphophobia is manifested in the excessive concern of the individual with his deficiency. The sufferer tries to hide it with the help of clothes or accessories. Surrounding people sometimes perceive a veiled person, as rather strange or trying to stand out among all. Dysmorphophobia is characterized by a "mirror symptom". It is expressed in the constant scrutiny of its mapping in all reflecting surfaces. This is done in order to find the most successful position, in which the defect will not be visible.

Using the mirror, the sufferer evaluates where to make the correction. Patients usually do not like to be photographed, so as not to "perpetuate" their defect. Periodically, there is an obsessive touch of the location of the defect. The sufferer can manipulate his relatives, focusing on his frustration. He can demand for himself increased attention, pleasing his desires or voicing threats of committing violence against himself. Because of the constant concern with his appearance, the patient is not able to concentrate on something not touching the defect, and this greatly affects the educational or labor activity.

Sufferers often visit plastic surgery clinics, are excessively zealously engaged in fitness centers, plagued themselves with diets or spend many hours in beauty parlors. At the last stages of dysmorphophobia, it strengthens its symptoms and becomes dangerous. The patient may injure himself, trying to get rid of the hated lack himself, or commit suicide, simply losing faith in positive changes.

Muscular dysmorphophobia

This is a mental disorder in which the sufferer, despite the high level of his physical form, believes that he still has a small body size. Disease is defined as an obsession with one's own external perfection. It is believed that this disease is the opposite of anorexia. Often this disorder affects bodybuilders. Symptoms are fixation in training, strict adherence to rigid diets, uncontrolled use of anabolic drugs, lost interest in all topics not related to this sport.

The patient is always dissatisfied with his appearance. He spends almost all the time in the gym, does not miss a single training, or under any pretext. If the sufferer could not visit the rocking chair, he becomes irritable. The most progressive phase is manifested in the fact that the patient hides his "imperfect" body under the clothes, begins to study at home, so that no one has seen it.

Dysmorphomania

With this mental disorder, the patient is convinced that he has a defect that can be removed surgically. This conviction is delusional and can not be corrected and criticized by the sufferer. The disease is accompanied by a depressive mood, disguise of experiences, and most importantly - the desire to get rid of any shortage. The patient can come up with a special hairstyle that will hide his "huge" ears, or always walks in a hat, constantly appeals to doctors with a request to change the hated part of the body.

Sometimes sufferers try to correct their defect themselves, for example, they file teeth, refuse food and so on. The syndrome of dysmorphophobia, dysmorphomania in the absence of treatment leads to disastrous consequences. The sufferer, in addition to problems with his health and psyche, usually remains completely alone.

Manifestations of the disease in adolescence

Dysmorphophobia of adolescents is manifested in a depressed state due to its inconsistency with the ideal. A person is afraid of speaking in front of people, experiencing that the environment will see his shortcomings. Young people with excessive preoccupation with their appearance begin to suffer from insomnia, they lose the desire to learn and spend time with friends. The patient is in a sad mood, it is often possible to see his tears. Increasingly, there are cases of using drugs to get rid of lack, as well as alcohol. In severe cases, anorexia and bulimia are added to the mental disorder.

Treatment

To get rid of the disease it takes a lot of patience, therapy takes time. But we must remember that dysmorphophobia is a curable disorder. Various methods of recovery are used, for example, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. It takes place in several stages. First, the doctor helps the sufferer realize that the defect does not need to be evaluated, but it is necessary to accept and live with it. Gradually, the patient is led to the idea that there is no need to hide their shortcoming when dealing with people. The result of therapy is the cessation of the painful perception of its lack, the sufferer begins to calmly perceive obsessive thoughts.

In the treatment of mental disorders, the method of imaginary stories is used. In this case, the doctor tells a short story, which is based on obsessive ideas and fears of the patient. After the voice acting there is a discussion. Thus, situations that are close to the suffering are experienced anew, and there are ways out of them. Cognitive restructuring is applied, which is expressed in training to challenge the validity of their fears, which force them to perceive their body in a distorted way. Another successful method in the fight against the disease is hypnosuggestive psychotherapy. With her help the achieved results of treatment are fixed in the patient in the subconscious. In addition to direct immersion in hypnosis, the patient is taught the basics of self-hypnosis, which allows replacing negative ideas with productive thoughts.

Additional ways to restore

Dysmorphophobia, the treatment of which is important to begin with the first symptoms, requires a comprehensive study. Actively used methods of physical therapy, breathing exercises, auto-training. The use of cosmetic surgery is undesirable, since a mental disorder in this way can not be cured, and a habit of constantly changing one's body may appear. At the same time, discontent with oneself remains. Treatment in the hospital passes only in cases of the propensity of patients to self-harm or in severe depressive states. When restoring mental health, antidepressants and antipsychotics are used. Disease of dysmorphophobia does not provide for self-management. Postponing a visit to a doctor can have serious consequences.

Conclusion

If the syndrome of dysmorphophobia develops against the background of schizophrenia, then this case is extremely difficult, since the existing methods of treatment with this combination are ineffective. Relatively easy to recover patients, in which dysmorphophobia occurs on the basis of a real appearance defect, but with which you can reconcile. For example, a large, but not too ugly nose.

For the prevention of mental disorders, it is important to educate the child not to focus on his external shortcomings, but to teach him to fight them or take them. You can not make offensive remarks, for example "what kind of fat you have", "short-legged" and so on. It is necessary to maintain self-esteem in a child at a high level, to believe in his strength and pay attention to his dignity. When suspicions about the presence of negative obsessive thoughts, depressive states it is better to turn to a psychologist, a psychotherapist.