A Psychological Disorder Created by Modern Patriarchy
Many of us, in some way or the other, are dissatisfied with our body or appearance. If it were up to us, perhaps we would have preferred to be born with a different skin tone, height or body shape. This too leads us to keep checking ourselves in the mirror and put on make-up. This feeling of discontentment towards our body is quite normal because it encourages us to improve and refine ourselves. However, for some people, the displeasure towards their body or appearance became acute and turns out to be a hindrance in living their life normally. In its extreme form, this displeasure can result in a mental disorder known as Body Dysmorphia or Body Dysmorphic Disorder. A person suffering from body dysmorphia is preoccupied with the belief that there is a defect in his/her body, due to which he/she looks ugly.
According to an estimate, every year India reports 1 million new cases of Body Dysmorphia. It’s patients ranging from middle-class people to film actors and celebrities. In many cases, this disorder may seem just an unharmful habit, but it tended to drive people to commit lethal actions.
The discontentment towards their bodies is present in many people in some form or the other, which is why it is necessary to recognize and diagnose this problem as soon as possible.
Looking at oneself in the mirror, again and again, is a major symptom of Body Dysmorphia. However, not every person looking at themselves in the mirror is a patient of Body Dysmorphia.
Body Dysmorphia is quite opposite to narcissism or self-obsession. Where self-obsessed people stare for their beauty in the mirror for hours and it gives them pleasure, the person suffering from body dysmorphia keeps looking and worrying about minor or imaginary shortcomings in the mirror. Actually, Body Dysmorphia and Narcissism are two sides of the same coin, People who pay excessive attention to their body can become victims of any of these in a state of emotional imbalance.
Body Dysmorphia can cause to obsess on anything ranging from a person’s skin colour or their hair to the shape and size of their nose, lips or any body part. A patient suffering from Body Dysmorphia thinks that a particular part of their body is ugly or misformed and that everyone they meet will notice it immediately.
An important point to note here is that obsession can be focused on something as insignificant as a pimple or, it could be a complete misconception. For example, a Body Dysmorphia patient may think of their nose as awkward even if it quite normal in size. The more they look at it, the worse it gets.
With the help of an honest examination, this disorder can be recognized. A person suffering from BDD repeatedly looks at any part of his body from different angles in the mirror or takes a careful look by taking a photo of that part. The person tends to focus on and compare that concerned body part with others. They’re quite insistent that other people are only looking at their body to find their flaws. Covering that part with clothes and make-up, constantly seeking other’s approval on their looks, actively dismissing compliments, constantly applying different beauty products and remedies to correct that flaw is some of the common symptoms of this Disorder. 8-15% of Body Dysmorphia patients seek cosmetic surgery, but unfortunately, 90% of them are still dissatisfied with the results. In some cases of Dysmorphia, the person tries to avoid watching a mirror or can completely quit it.
Some of the symptoms of Body Dysmorphia Disorder are quite similar to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, especially the stress and the obsession of repeatedly doing the same thing, however, in Body Dysmorphia only one particular point on the body is the centre for obsession.
In its beginning phase, the Disorder looks quite unharmful but as it progresses, it can take a dangerous form. Since the stress of looking ugly completely occupies the mind, the disinterest from everyday activities become a norm. The person starts keeping a distance from being in other people’s company and only gets out in the dark if possible. Consequently, relationships suffer, depression follows and sometimes, suicidal thoughts enter their head. According to a study, 80% of Body Dysmorphia patients have suicidal thoughts and one-fourth of them even take the unfortunate step. According to Psychologists, hormonal imbalance in the brain or genetic causes can also lead to Body Dysmorphia in people. However, societal causes are deemed more consequential than anything else.
excess alertness towards physical beauty and, perfectionist approach are the main reasons for the disorder, however, most of the cases are related to the bad experience in past. Body shaming, physical or mental abuse, absurd comparisons and discrimination within the family or society, and failure in a relationship can also give birth to Body Dysmorphia. The sad thing is that the person starts believing of the consequence as the cause, I.e. they do not feel that they are searching body flaws due to their failure, but they feel that they are rejected due to their physical imperfection.
Psychologists have recognized that different societies have different types of body dysmorphia, according to their beauty standards. For example, in Japan, eyelid’s shape is known to have caused dysmorphia widely, whereas in America this happens only as an exception.
Likewise, in Western societies ‘ muscles’ are a common cause of dysmorphia but in Eastern Asian Societies, it’s not. Nowadays, owing to the obsession over Body- Building in India there’s an increasing possibility of finding Muscles Dysmorphia in the younger generation. From this, it is quite safe to say that those societies that have strict criteria regarding body shape, instead of qualities more the importance would be placed on individual’s physical appearance, the more the pressure of looking beautiful would be, the more cases of Body Dysmorphia would appear. Obviously, we are also living in a likewise society.
Watching a person with Body Dysmorphia can be quite irritating, but one can only imagine the stressfulness and the horror of living with such a grave illness. How can a person perform best in any field, if he/she overwhelmed with shame and stress about their own existence! This disorder can even progress to the condition when doctors and medication became inevitable, but it’s quite easy to treat in it’s beginning phase.
Thus, the sooner you identify the problem, the better it can be treated.
Since it is largely based on misconceptions, so it is the best situation if the victim themself identify the problem and want to get rid of it.
For the treatment of this misconception, It is necessary to stop idolizing others or comparing ourselves to others. Stop asking for other people’s opinions about yourself and try to understand that human eyes don’t function as mirror or zoom lens.
Sensitive people not only look at a person’s appearance but beyond that to their behaviour and feelings. Paying too much attention to our body is akin to not understanding our own worth.
It is important to understand that there are billions of people in the world with different skin colour, body type etc. and every one is unique. the world’s beauty lies in this diversity only.
There can not be a single standard of beauty. Five and a half feet height, or spotless fair skin or a figure with the measurements of 36-24-36 are not the standards instructed by any sacred text, nor they have any scientific basis. These standards have constructed by the cosmetic industry with the help of media because of profit only. The success of this industry depends on the thing that you must feel imperfect. so you would be tempted to use their miraculous products. The feeling of imperfection ruins many lives but it doesn’t bother this industry at all.
If you do not like the tone of your skin or your face, or you think you’re too short or too tall, or that your appearance is less masculine or less feminine, or that you’re not attractive, then the problem does not lie in your body, but in the mentality that gives more importance to these things over your talent, qualities and personality. It is this mentality that has to change because when this changes only then will you see how decent and beautiful person you are.
