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BDD - Body Dysmorphic Disorder
More than one-third of all females between the
ages of 15 and 39 suffer from BDD. This disorder is evident
when preoccupation with body appearance (especially when the
preoccupation is specifically with one area) interferes with
social, career, sexual, and personal relations and activities.
BDD is a body image disturbance about self-loathing and body
intolerance. All of these conditions put a person at high
risk to develop eating disorders.
The whys and wherefores? Various elements in
the individual's external and internal environments come together
in the context of genetic susceptibilities and temperament.
In these cases, the whole can be greater and more devastating
than the sum of its parts. The question why is far less significant
than what to do to alleviate the emotional pain that BDD carries
with it.
Here are three pivotal ways to diminish and
alleviate BDD problems:
- Become aware that problems with one's outer appearance
symbolize internal emotional problems that have yet to be
addressed. Identify the underlying driving factors and address
them in therapy.
- Learn to know and love your body in ways that you never
knew existed. Experience the elegance of optimal bodily
function through yoga, or the Feldenkrais Method of bodily
awareness and re-imaging. Form soon begins to pale next
to the sensation of optimal bodily function.
- Expand the universe of your mind's eye to see beyond your
own borders. Become involved in volunteering or community
work that creates goodness and well being on a broader scale
beyond the self. Learn to love yourself, even as others
will begin to love you and the positive impact you make
on their lives.
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About the Author:
Abigail H. Natenshon, MA LCSW has been a psychotherapist in
private practice specializing in the treatment of eating disordered
individuals and their families for the past 28 years. She
is co-founder and director of Eating Disorder Specialists
of Illinois; A Clinic without Walls, and the author of "When
Your Child Has an Eating Disorder: A Step-by-Step Workbook
for Parents and Other Caregivers" (Jossey Bass, San
Francisco, October, 1999). Visit her web sites at www.empoweredparents.com
/ www.empoweredkidZ.com
and www.treatingeatingdisorders.com
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