Tag Archives: body dysmorphic disorder

Body Dysmorphic Disorder Claims The Life Of 24-Year-Old Man

Julie GersteinMay 31, 2012 //
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
One woman's experience battling this disorder. Read More »
Mirror, Mirror
A size zero's lament on the changing body "ideal." Read More »
Mirror, Mirror
guys
One study says men are more vain than women. Read More »
Watch Video

Body dysmrophic disorder (BDD) is typically thought of as a problem affecting women, but men also suffer from the disease. Nathaniel Asselin, of Cheyney, Pennsylvania, was one of those sufferers. “A shaving nick or a small blemish, or even just a bump under the skin would keep him in front of the mirror for hours, applying small pieces of Band aid to cover up the marks,” said his mother Judy. 

Nathaniel spent hours and hours staring in the mirror, poking at pores and worriedly examining non-existent imperfections.  Starting in the fifth grade, he began missing school, too tormented by his perceived imperfections to get out of bed. Keep reading »

An Open Letter To Thinspiration Blogs

Winona Dimeo-EdigerJanuary 18, 2012 //
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
One woman's experience battling this disorder. Read More »
Kate "Thinspiration"
kate middleton photo
Kate Middleton is "thinspiration" on pro-anorexia web sites. Read More »
Secret Eating
One writer talks about being a secret eater. Read More »

Dear Thinspiration Blogs,

At first I didn’t really understand you. I mean, I’d heard of the “pro-ana” blogs that lurked in dark corners of the internet, encouraging starvation and promoting anorexia. But thinspiration blogs are more mainstream. You show up on the Pinterest homepage in the form of “diet plans” that allow nothing but lemon water for a week. You show up on my Tumblr dashboard in the form of photos of concave stomachs and protruding rib cages, or food diaries with 500-calorie totals. The phrase “thigh gap” is actually a popular blog tag now, shorthand for pictures of skinny legs that don’t touch. The gist of it? You are getting harder and harder to avoid.

Keep reading »

I Have Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Jayme CykApril 21, 2010 //

When I was a kid, I wasn’t allowed to have a full-length mirror in my room. My Jewish mother loathed hearing me complain about how fat I was and refused to invest in one. I never made the purchase for myself until I was a freshman in college—and even then my mom questioned whether or not I should buy it. Now, I’m a 22 year-old fashion student and while I own a full-length reflector, I keep it at a slant. The incline makes me appear slimmer. But it’s never enough.

See, I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder. I look at my reflection and see something that just isn’t there. You could say I have an eating disorder, but I’ve never been able to fully starve myself or binge and purge. I am 5’3” and weigh 115 pounds. But when I look in the mirror, I see a girl who is 150+. Keep reading »

Anorexic And Bulimic Woman Says Beauty Pageant Changed Her Life For The Better

Jessica WakemanAugust 6, 2009 //

You know those articles where a woman writes that something that’s generally considered to be shady is really friggin’ fantastic? Yeah, us Frisky ladies tend to be skeptical. Maybe being a mail-order bride really did turn out well for that woman featured in Marie Claire last month! But don’t kid yourself that you’re not an exception to the rule.

We’ve got similar “meh” feelings for the way Terri Graham, a member of More.com’s reader community, confronted her anorexia, bulimia and body dysmorphic disorder: competing in “countless” beauty pageants and strutting across the stage in a swimsuit and heels caused Graham to stop hating her body. [More.com] Keep reading »