Natasha
11-12-02, 06:17 AM
I just posted this on a TS and a TG support group. I think it may also be helpful to some here as well.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder is not a condition peculiar to Transsexuals. It is far more common than many would guess, affecting all genders, and at every stage of life also. I am offering this information here because I believe considering it's probable psychological cause, it is likely to be a problem for even very passable, pre or post-op TS and non-op TG women. Yet because insecurity about ones appearance is mistakenly assumed to be narcissistic in nature, many are reluctant to talk about it or seek treatment for it.
One can feel less than confident about their facial appearance or other parts of their body, regardless of how good one looks objectively. Yet when a lack of confidence progresses to a firm belief that you look truly bad, odd or even ugly, and such feelings progress to an obsession which adversely affects your life. It is very likely that you have Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
BDD is treatable by psychotherapy and can be overcome, and it is not something to ignore, because 86% of BDD suffers consider suicide, and 36% attempt it. Because of the stigma attached to this condition, most choose to suffer in silence never seeking treatment.
Onset of this condition often begins in adolescence during pubertal development. Resulting from ridicule from peers or family members, of minor defects common to all of us, e.g. prominent ears or nose, etc. BDD can also occur at any point later in life, and appears to be related to latent and unresolved issues of self image which finally manifest during stressful life transitions, i.e. divorce, or say, gender transition. From personal experience I am convinced that Trans women are particularly at risk for developing this disorder.
If you are preoccupied with an imagined defects of appearance, or excessively concerned about a slight physical anomaly, which becomes a preoccupation causing you distress which impairs your ability to function socially and or at work. Then you may have Body Dysmorphic Disorder
BDD has certain other symptoms associated with it, such as depressed mood, guilt or obsession, and a generalized feeling of anxiety and fear. Which impair or hamper sexual, social and personal function.
Clinical observation has made it clear that encouragement and validation from outside sources, have little or no positive effect on BDD suffers, and my own experience with it bears this out. But rather a change in belief about oneself through psychotherapy, is the only effective treatment. Medication has been shown to help some with severe BDD, but is not always necessary. Biological causes and certainly predisposition, has been shown to be more than likely. I wonder if perhaps such could be related to Transsexuality, Transgenderism, and Intersexuality. Yet such seems to me to be beside the point right now, but treatment to relieve suffering is more important surely.
If you would like to learn more about BDD, please use any or all of the links below.
You can overcome BDD, and live a richer and fuller life. It all begins with accepting the fact that you are not wrong or at fault, and that doubts about your personal appearance do not mean you are narcissistic, or in any way deficient in character. In fact if anything, it means that you are just like millions of other men and women.
Best of luck to all of you.
Natasha
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/bdd.html
http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Eating_Disorders/peacelovehope/bdd.h
tml
http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/body_dysmorphic_disorder.htm
http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/psychneuro/bdd.htm
Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder is not a condition peculiar to Transsexuals. It is far more common than many would guess, affecting all genders, and at every stage of life also. I am offering this information here because I believe considering it's probable psychological cause, it is likely to be a problem for even very passable, pre or post-op TS and non-op TG women. Yet because insecurity about ones appearance is mistakenly assumed to be narcissistic in nature, many are reluctant to talk about it or seek treatment for it.
One can feel less than confident about their facial appearance or other parts of their body, regardless of how good one looks objectively. Yet when a lack of confidence progresses to a firm belief that you look truly bad, odd or even ugly, and such feelings progress to an obsession which adversely affects your life. It is very likely that you have Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
BDD is treatable by psychotherapy and can be overcome, and it is not something to ignore, because 86% of BDD suffers consider suicide, and 36% attempt it. Because of the stigma attached to this condition, most choose to suffer in silence never seeking treatment.
Onset of this condition often begins in adolescence during pubertal development. Resulting from ridicule from peers or family members, of minor defects common to all of us, e.g. prominent ears or nose, etc. BDD can also occur at any point later in life, and appears to be related to latent and unresolved issues of self image which finally manifest during stressful life transitions, i.e. divorce, or say, gender transition. From personal experience I am convinced that Trans women are particularly at risk for developing this disorder.
If you are preoccupied with an imagined defects of appearance, or excessively concerned about a slight physical anomaly, which becomes a preoccupation causing you distress which impairs your ability to function socially and or at work. Then you may have Body Dysmorphic Disorder
BDD has certain other symptoms associated with it, such as depressed mood, guilt or obsession, and a generalized feeling of anxiety and fear. Which impair or hamper sexual, social and personal function.
Clinical observation has made it clear that encouragement and validation from outside sources, have little or no positive effect on BDD suffers, and my own experience with it bears this out. But rather a change in belief about oneself through psychotherapy, is the only effective treatment. Medication has been shown to help some with severe BDD, but is not always necessary. Biological causes and certainly predisposition, has been shown to be more than likely. I wonder if perhaps such could be related to Transsexuality, Transgenderism, and Intersexuality. Yet such seems to me to be beside the point right now, but treatment to relieve suffering is more important surely.
If you would like to learn more about BDD, please use any or all of the links below.
You can overcome BDD, and live a richer and fuller life. It all begins with accepting the fact that you are not wrong or at fault, and that doubts about your personal appearance do not mean you are narcissistic, or in any way deficient in character. In fact if anything, it means that you are just like millions of other men and women.
Best of luck to all of you.
Natasha
http://www.biopsychiatry.com/bdd.html
http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Eating_Disorders/peacelovehope/bdd.h
tml
http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/body_dysmorphic_disorder.htm
http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/psychneuro/bdd.htm