www.freakyplasticsurgery.com

Do I have a serious problem...?

Sometimes I'll never want to go outdoors or visit a family member because I feel ugly. People have deemed me as ''pretty'' and ''attractive'' but I don't see this I just feel like my facial features are messed up and I have to look in the mirror in a certain way or at a certain angle five times before I go outside. But when I look in the mirror I HAVE to look only in a certain mirror, I avoid anything where I could see myself (reflections, mirrors, photos) somedays I'll just feel like my nose is too big, my eyebrows look weird, my lips look too red and big (I've considered plastic surgery but never got around to it) when I see a picture of myself I just feel ashamed of myself..I'm not fat, I'm 5'4 and 107 ib - but I always feel like my face is fattening up or becoming less feminine and im becoming uglier and uglier each day so on weekends try I'll eat very little to thin down my face before seeing my schoolmates. My mom back when she was young was beautiful and pretty, and she looked really feminine whilst I look boyish and awful, even with makeup. Apart from school I almost never go out anywhere because of this. I'm 16 years old and in the 10th grade. Do I have a problem?? I have OCD but I don't think thats my problem

Public Comments

1. Yes, you do. Please get your mom to make you an appointment with a psychologist right away. I mean it. You seem to have a lot of body image problems. And, by the way, not eating to not look so fat in your face, will only make your face more boyish. Please don't do this to yourself anymore. Get help now!!!!
2. You suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a preoccupation with a minor or imaginable defect in ones appearance, causing significant distress. With BDD, one compulsively checks mirrors, asks others for reassurance, touches to feel the imagined defect, seeks plastic surgery. The thing with BDD is the suicide rate is a high as Bipolar, it's a serious condition and it needs treatment. Serotonin Re-upatake Inhibitors (SRI's) commonly known as antidepressants help with ones perception of their self-image. Cognitive Behavioral therapy may help also. People usually develop this condition in adolescents, a time where your most self-conscious. Certain personality traits play a role, for example, perfectionism, sensitivity to criticism, and introversion. The thing which I think, is you tend to see this condition in males and females. They either have good insight about there image, or bad insight. Somebody with good insight realizes it's not a valid concern, but can't stop thinking about it. It becomes an obsession. Cover-up techniques are used when the individual uses make-up to hide their imagined defect, some people might avoid sitting next to a window where it's light because it may draw attention to their perceived problem. Many people undergo plastic surgery before they gut help, they don't realize that maybe it's not their appearance and maybe it is their brain. You should be relieved that your not ugly, your not a monster and your not hideous, it's just how these perceptions are controlling you. With anti-depressants some people even report a 90% rrecovery rate, some people recover so much that they don't even fall under the diagnostic criteria. It's a rare condition but many people suffer with it, find a support group and seek people who will help you with this problem. "I have OCD, but I don't think that's my problem", IN response to that. You fit the criterea for BDD, I mean all the signs are there, believe me
3. Yes