Body Dysmorphic Disorder Treatment Scotland

What is body dysmorphia?

Body dysmorphia is an anxiety-related condition, where obsessive outlooks are pinned on one’s image. It can in fact affect all genders, age groups, and backgrounds, but is more common among teenagers and young adults due to societal pressures and standards of beauty.

Worrying about our body image is normal, to a degree. Self-care and hygiene are key focuses for many of us, to present ourselves in a way that promotes self-confidence and worth. However, obsessively worrying over such efforts differentiates average outlooks and those caused by body dysmorphic disorder.

Someone who’s suffering from body dysmorphia may be branded as self-obsessed, when in fact they are obsessing over areas of their body or face in they deem as ugly, unattractive or abnormal. With such outlooks, the desire to change will commonly follow the impacts of BDD, while comparing to those who are highlighted as attractive.

For onlookers, it can be difficult to understand body dysmorphia and also accredit it as a mental health diagnosis. Yet, it is firmly a condition that is causing significant suffering, which is distorting and deteriorating self-love, image and confidence and is increasing further life-limiting risks for sufferers.

Through such suffering, addiction and body dysmorphic disorder treatment will be recommended to tackle triggers and psychological responses of BDD.

What causes body dysmorphic disorder?

Body dysmorphia can be caused by genetic vulnerabilities and chemical instability in the brain. Resembling alternative mental health issues, the causes of body dysmorphic disorder are uncontrollable.

However, with the rise of social media, active comparison, indispensable content, and with even more defined exposure to unrealistic beauty, causes of BDD are forming through societal expectations and taught behaviour.

Trauma surrounding bullying and online trolling are prevalent motivators of negative body image, which if consistently exposed, can deter mental health stability and outlooks.

Pressures around social media and the image that it reflects have also contributed to the materialisation of body dysmorphic disorder, as comparison can be easily done.

As BDD is usually encountered by those with pre-existing susceptibilities of anxiety and OCD, such pressure is found to cause fixation on the obsessive comparison, increasing the development of BDD.

Body dysmorphic disorder treatment

Cognitive behavioural therapy is a prevalent treatment that delves deeper into emotional responses, suitable for those who are experiencing both BDD and anxiety/depression.

Mindfulness and well-being therapies may also be personally recommended as body dysmorphic disorder treatment, as for those suffering, a distorted image of reality is common.

Mindfulness, along with the positives of improved wellbeing can promote greater presence, clarity and gratitude of oneself.

In tandem with therapy, prescription medications may be used to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, while offering greater chemical stability in the brain. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors will usually be prescribed as a management tool through moments of anxiety.

As body dysmorphic disorder surrounds emotional and psychological responses and outlooks, sourcing credible treatment is a must, which focuses on improving such outlooks.

At Nova Recovery, we’re here as a specialist residential rehab for addiction and mental health rehabilitation, offering appropriate dual diagnosis programmes which can offer body dysmorphic disorder treatment.