Comments on: Dr. Katharine Phillips on Oprah – Body Dismorphic Disorder (BDD)

By: lisa s.

lisa s. — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:41:22 +0000

hi, this is for grim and soho. i am very upset about your statements on how you feel towards Dr. Kathleen Phillips book. i am 28 yrs old and have suffered bdd since 16. you must know that it is psychological and it must be a chemical imbalance or perhaps life experiences that added to this imbalance. you think it’s funny or belittling and it is not. the fact is there is no serious way about explaining this disorder and whether a person has a facial defect or not it doesn’t change the symptons of the disorder. i think that your statement is cruel to those that don’t like their looks and who might have a slightly large nose or big forhead. are you saying that everyone has BDD. you clearly don’t know about this disorder and how it effects people. i know you were trying to defend it, but what you did was just encourage those who are not diagnosed with it to believe maybe they have it because they don’t like their big nose. next time watch how you say things.

By: McKayla

McKayla — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:31:55 +0000

Lisa,
my name is McKayla. I suffered from BDD from age 13 to age 18. I don’t know what happened or how it was possible. I am cured. I am trying to back track to see what saved me from this because I never thought it would go away. Doctors didn’t know of any cases where it went away and I was so scared that I would never be able to go to school like a normal child or have a job or leave the house. I just wanted to stop existing and for the monster in the mirror to go away. My nose moved on my face my head looked disproportioned and I would get upset when people told me I was just seeing things and that it wasn’t true, because I knew more than I had ever known anything that they were just lying to me. I spent most of my life in front of mirrors. I wanted plastic surgery so bad I would cry and plead and beg. I remember standing in front of the mirror ready to do it myself. My mom never gave up on me. She brought me to a psycologist named Juliana who was able to help me. I was hospitalized for a while previous and that didn’t help because they didn’t know anything. However out of that came a psychiatrist who put me on fluvoxamine. It works. It takes a while so don’t give up on it. I almost did. I don’t know if you want to talk but if you ever do let me know. I will help the best that I can. Cases of BDD seem to differ in some ways among those that suffer from it. There are a lot of similarities though. I still am never completely happy with my pictures, and I am self consious and anxious at times but I can live my life now. I no longer have to take medication. I also take Shaklee products so that could have helped. I am 21 now and able to do things I never thought I would be able to do. I want to help if I can.

By: Lisa Michel

Lisa Michel — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:11:55 +0000

I am 39 and have suffered from Bdd since I was 19. I have been in and out of hospitals suffering from breakdowns. I self medicate to stop the suicidal feelings. It’s like no doctor in Canada knows anything about this disorder. I would love to talk to someone who is suffering from this horrible illness. Maybe we can comfort and help eachother since no doctor can help.

By: Penny Loving

Penny Loving — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:44:47 +0000

I have a daughter who is 37 and desperately needs help. She has gone to several therapists and none of them really deal with BDD. She lives in Nashville, Tn. and now wants to go to a clinic for help. Is there one where she could live or are they all outpatient? She is getting worse by the day and we just don’t know what to do. Does anyone know a doctor in Nashville that deals with this? Thanks for the help.

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 12:50:21 +0000

In response to SoHo- I worked for a plastic surgeon for years and the people i have encountered with BDD weren’t “truly ugly”.
The disease is related to low serotonine (depression) and OCD.

Sometimes they might have a legitimate case. For example they were usually men. They would think that there chin receded to much. Aesthetically speaking they may have been right but their thoughts about it were out of proportion. They would think they were hideous and wouldn’t leave the house.

The disease strikes who it strikes. It is usually not someone who’s truly disfugured. That is the problem.

By: Soho

Soho — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:15:18 +0000

I agree with the previous poster, Grim. What if you have a truly LEGITIMATE “defect” that others, random strangers perhaps, have ridiculed you for? What if you are, in simple terms, truly ugly?

What irks me is that Dr. Phillip’s book almost belittles the disease in a way. For example, showing a girl with a TINY nose (anybody would say it is tiny) who obsesses that her nose may be too big. Why can’t you show a person who ACTUALLY HAS a big nose as an example? Many people have large noses, hooked noses, bumpy noses… they have a LEGITIMATE right to feel self-conscious about that feature. Perhaps a rude stranger pointed it out to them.

What do people think when they see a person with a TINY nose acting scared that their nose is too big. They think it’s a JOKE. They think the problem is purely psychological. It BELITTLES it!

Why don’t you show overweight people who are legitimately self-conscious about their weight, because others have insulted them for it? Or show some ugly people who have severe BDD, because they’ve never been asked out on a date?

The problem is at least 50% PHYSIOLOGICAL in most cases, not purely psychological. I’m sick of this, because it’s really belittling the disease.

(If you agree, or even just wanna talk with me about your personal BDD experiences, feel free to e-mail c.soho@ymail.com.)

By: s hicks

s hicks — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:46:28 +0000

bdd is ruining who i am on a dailey basis i obsess in the mirror how horrible i look,iv felt like this since school i am now 32 i realy do believe im ugly iv been told so on many occasions iv kept this secret for many years but its eating me up to the point i dont want to go out i feel sad n lonenly and sad to think all i think of is how i look i try to think of people less fortunate than me;ie an accident n not to b petty as theres more to life sometimes il get dressed up n think hey u look ok then catcth a glimpse or pic n think who am i kiding im too embarssed to go docs cos they l think im looney but seiously i dont kno what to do im stuck

By: shelley

shelley — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:49:08 +0000

Please, when you are still young, GET HELP. Im 52 yrs old & am realizing this is the root of my dpression bsides very low selfesteem.Ive been made fun of my whole childhood & thought Id grow out of it.But it has affected every area of my life I still have a very hard time holding a job & when i do, my confidence in my abilities just goes downhill.I am still very shy this embarrasses me. im ruining my marriage i never want to be around people. im either numb or crying.ive been in counseling & feel totally hopeless. good luck to you, though.

By: George Pratsinak

George Pratsinak — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:56:46 +0000

I am assisting a priest with one of his parishioners who has BDD. They have been on Zoloft with PRN Respiridone and having monthly sessions with a psychiatrist but everyone says he is getting worse. He recently stated he hatred seeing this psychiatrists, threatened suicide and left the home, only to return feeling much better-like he took control of his life. He still needs help and resides in the Philadelphia area. I need a good referral to someone familiar with this disorder.

PLease Help.

Dr. P.

By: grim

grim — Fri, 02 May 2008 23:52:58 +0000

I’ve read part of Dr. Katharine Phillips book and I find it frustrating, for most of it deals with people whose body issues don’t really exist…i.e anorexia, bilemia, and people who actually don’t have what they think they have.

So how do you treat somebody with legitimate problems? i.e.ugliness, deformed face, big ears, big nose….and anything that is legitimately unatttractive.

Why are these two types of people put in the same category???