Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a condition where sufferers, usually adolescents, spend hours a day worrying that perhaps their skin is scarred, their nose too big, their body too large or their hair is thinning. It’s often dismissed as simple youth and vanity. But researchers at Brown University’s Body Dysmorphic Disorder Centre in Providence Rhode Island, say BDD is anything but trivial.

People with BDD will shun social contact, miss school, avoid dating and even visit plastic surgeons as a result of their condition.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder Warning Signs

There are several symptoms of Body Dysmorphic Disorder, including:

* Excessive grooming
* Compulsive mirror checking
* Excessive dieting
* Measuring or frequently touching the perceived defect

Marshall Robinson, a research assistant at the BDD Centre says the condition is often misdiagnosed – mistaken for other disorders like social phobia or agoraphobia.

“A lot of people do tend to treat it like subset of OCD,” says Robinson. “In fact, it has more in common with depression.”

The treatments that appear most effective are cognitive-behavioral therapy and promising medications include serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SRIs) like Prozac and Zoloft.