As a person that’s a little bit more on the bigger side of the spectrum, I have had severe body dysmorphia and a very negative body image ever since I was 11. (I think.) I’m almost 16 years old and my body image hasn’t improved that much. So obviously, a negative body image isn’t that easy to discard or get rid of. It honestly sucks. A lot. Especially if they’ve been bullied or have had a traumatic experience when they were little. It’ll drain you mentally, and emotionally. It’ll also cause pain mentally, physically, and mentally. Thus, I will be talking about the main things to focus on about Body dysmorphia. Specifically, how it can start, some symptoms, where and how to get help for it, how to get the most out of their treatment, and the “preventions”. I should give people a fair warning! This does involve talk about suicide and stuff similar! So if those things trigger people, DO NOT READ THIS! I’m giving people a warning in advance. 

Firstly, How it can start could be many things actually. But the Mayo Clinic Staff basically states that the first common way to gain body dysmorphia is from their family's genetics. It could’ve been passed down from one of their older relatives or from their parents. The following common way to gain it is from like I’ve said before, It could happen from a traumatic experience they’ve had. Seriously. It can really affect them after a traumatic experience. And lastly, it could happen from unusually high amounts of Serotonin. if they start feeling like that, please go talk to someone they really trust or talk to their doctor.

In addition, people may possibly be wondering, “What are the symptoms of body dysmorphia?” I only have a few, but according to John Hopkins Medicine, the first symptom that’s commonly gathered is people constantly trying to avoid mirrors. Many people hate looking at themselves in the mirror when it comes to their negative body image. Moving on, This one is a pretty big and common one, Always comparing yourself to others. You’d possibly look at someone skinnier or bigger than them, and their self-esteem will go downhill as their Serotonin will increase. Furthermore, avoiding social activities is pretty common, but avoiding it could just be them not wanting to see someone there, they have more important stuff to focus on, or they’re just lazy. Don’t worry if they’re avoiding them to be lazy or they just don’t want to go, I do that too. Feeling ashamed of themselves or whatever they think they did is a less common one, but feeling a sense of depression is pretty common when it comes to body dysmorphia. This one kinda relates to the depression one, but it’s thinking about suicide or having suicidal thoughts that could very much lead to success. Basically, depression and body dysmorphia technically tag team on them to make people feel that sort of way. Picking at their skin is one of the rarest symptoms, but it’s also sort of involved with those suicidal thoughts, so they just kind of sit there, blanked out/staring off into space as they pick at their skin without even knowing.

Obviously, where and how to get help for it is very important to do. This website called Mind Is a very helpful source for people to search for help. People can actually get help from the people on the website if they call (855) 978-3379. But this website has seven different ways to help someone with body dysmorphia. The first way to help is to work on guiding conversations away from how they look or anything involving something they might be insecure about when it comes to their looks. This can be pretty important, but it kind of depends on the person, at least try to avoid making someone feel better by talking about your own flaws that you don’t like about yourself. I relate to that one quite a lot, I’ve had friends that talk about them being insecure about their flaws when I’m telling them how I feel, It honestly makes the person feel even more upset. Not at you, but upset that they couldn’t help you out. Bring them somewhere comforting where they’ll be able to talk to you alone and where no one else can hear them talk about how they feel. That really makes them feel more comfortable and safe around them in order to talk to them. Also, if they don’t really understand how they feel, PLEASE try and work on understanding their feelings are absolutely real when it comes from them. If they’re a person who has some trust issues and their possible friend that has body dysmorphia talks to them about it, PLEASE try to understand that their feelings are real. Another thing, if their taking baby steps to get better from body dysmorphia or anything like that, celebrate them! It’ll brighten their mood a bit better every time you do that. Lastly, Get a loved one of theirs to get help for them or mention online therapy sessions to them. 

We’re getting close to the end, but we’re going to move on and talk about how to get the most out of their therapy session. According to the writers on Ineffable Living, The first practice to do is to become mindful of their body image. They can do simple baby steps for it, but it would be very helpful to identify what the problem is and how badly it’s affecting them. Another thing to do is to focus on what’s most significant to them at the moment. Some people tend to forget what’s important to them as soon as think about their appearance negatively, or when they compare their looks to others. So, for those of who have body dysmorphia, just be mindful to think about what’s most important to them currently. Thinking about their goals in life. They can get really creative with what you want to do with your goals. For example, they could write it down in a journal, they can plan it out on a document, whatever it is, make it fun! This one’s going to be a bit of a challenge but try and alternate their negative thoughts. I know it sounds very unlikely, but try to imagine them as just pictures in their head that they can easily throw away. And finally, Exposure. I really recommend baby steps for Exposure, especially if they take exposure to its’ max. Just adjust to their level of exposure. 

And lastly, the “preventions” of body dysmorphia. The Mayo Clinic Staff also discovered that there’s no KNOWN way to prevent body dysmorphia. Although, the only “known” way to “prevent” it is to start treatment as soon as they figure out they have body dysmorphia. Even if you start to have symptoms, get treatment as quickly as you figure out your symptoms to “prevent” them. Another thing, provide them with an understanding and supportive habitat. 

As a result, I’ve talked about a lot of things involving something like body dysmorphia. My resources and such have proven that body dysmorphia is VERY effective for their mental health mentally, physically, and emotionally. Body dysmorphia will take quite a journey to get improved. I’m still currently struggling with, said, body dysmorphia. It’s been like 4-5 years since my body dysmorphia symptoms have gained. Except it’s gotten a bit better, not a lot, but it has. And a little better is better than not all or it getting worse. This concludes my essay on body dysmorphia.