In this current society in which we live, beauty is an important part of our lives. From the advertisements on television to the television series, all the people we see are beautiful and perfect, but is that real?

Both in TV series and in social networks people look flawless using make-up and filters, which make us think that perfection exists but it is not so. We all have imperfections that we should accept and love regardless of what others think, and seeing so much false perfection can lead us to become obsessed with those imperfections.

If you have an obsession with any defect you have, it could be that you have body dysmorphia. Body dysmorphia or BDD is a mental illness in which you can’t stop thinking about one or more perceived defects or flaws in appearance, a flaw that seems minor or that can’t be seen by others. This mental illness affects about 2% of the world’s population and symptoms usually begin to appear in adolescence or early adulthood.

The most common things that people obsess about are usually the face, such as nose, complexion, acne and other imperfections, hair with respect to baldness and the appearance of hair, the appearance of skin and veins, and muscle size and tone.

This psychological disorder is often influenced by teasing or criticism or humiliation about physical appearance. Although teasing is unlikely to cause dysmorphia by itself, extreme levels of child or youth abuse, bullying and psychological torment sometimes lead to post-traumatic stress disorder in the person. 60% of people with BDD report having experienced repeated episodes of humiliation in their childhood and youth.

Another possibility for the onset of this disorder may be parenting, as parents who place excessive emphasis on aesthetics, appearance or contempt at all, may act as a trigger for genetic predisposition.

Several celebrities have acknowledged having this mental disorder which has affected them both in their private and public life. Celebrities like Megan Fox and Robert Pattinson have suffered from this disorder, the same as people in the world of sports.

Bodybuilder Phill Heat, one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time, admitted to suffering from this mental illness for over 20 years. “I’ve always had body dysmorphia for 20 years, but in the last two years I’ve learned to deal with it,” he said.

90% of people who suffer from muscle dysmorphia tend to use dietary supplements to improve their physical condition, as they do not see any progress without the use of these.

This problem can lead to Vigorexia, cause depression for those people who take this obsession with their body to another level, creating complexes for not looking the same as other people or making them put their health at risk in order to achieve their goals.

If you feel that you are starting to have symptoms of this mental illness, see a psychologist to help you to stop obsessing about it and to start loving those defects that make you unique in the world.

Some good tips for coping with this disorder may be to keep a diary, not to isolate yourself, to take care of yourself, to join a support group to learn to live with it and to learn to relax and manage stress.

And remember that perfection only exists in fairy tales and not in real life.

Ivàn Sevillano

Sources: 

• El culturista Phil Heath: “La dismorfia corporal es real” – Men’s Health
• El 90% de los usuarios de gimnasio que presentan síntomas de dismorfia muscular o vigorexia consumen suplementos nutricionales – BioTech
• Trastorno dismórfico corporal – Wikipédia
• Megan Fox, su dismorfia corporal y otros famosos que no aman su cuerpo – El mundo