OCD Action

subha
Member

Hi. I discovered this website today and dont feel entirely sure how I use it. I have suffered with BDD (I think, it may be just that I look wierd, but people tell me I dont, so there is something odd going on) for about ten yeas. I am 42 and it started when my face began to age in my thirties. It is very bad at the moment and I find going out pretty anxiety provoking. I often wake up and wonder what the point of struggling on with all this insecurity and anxiety is as I cant see life getting any better. But on other days I feel more optimistic.

The worst thing is when I am in a public space and I think people are staring at me. If I am with a friend at the time I find it really hard to concentrate on what they are saying as I am so distracted by whether people are staring at me or not. But am too embarrassed to tell them what I am worried about. If I do manage to tell them and they say I look fine I feel even worse and more isolated. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I have never met anyone with BDD and would love to be able to have contact with anyone who can understand what it is like.

Any tips on how to use this forum would be appreciated too.

Tue Jan 4 2011 19:21:16 #
aishah
Member

Hi Subha,

I don't have BDD so am unable to offer any advice, I have OCD, but hopefully there will be someone on the forum that can help.

Welcome to the forum
Bridget

Wed Jan 5 2011 0:18:05 #
Nimrod
Key Master

Hi Subha,

Welcome to the forum. As Bridget said hopefully there will be someone along soon who can offer advice. We do have forum members with BDD. In the meantime click here http://www.ocdaction.org.uk/about-us/trustees/dr-david-veale/ to find out about Dr David Veale who is one of our trustees and a leading UK BDD specialist. The link gives his website and he can be contacted via that.

Best wishes,
Caps

Wed Jan 5 2011 9:34:27 #
AmeliaLouise
Member

Hey Subha

Although my primary reason for being on this forum is my OCD, I also suffer with BDD as part of this and I'm sure you will find other members who suffer with BDD also.

I relate a lot to what you are saying about worrying what others are thinking of me when in public, as it can become very distracting. I know I have a number of flaws, but other people do not seem to be appreciative of this and simply dismiss it with a quick 'you look fine'.

I often spend a long time staring into a mirror before leaving the house - trying to fix my make up to make my skin a little bit less awful (and disguise my awful nose ) but others also find this very bizarre and distressing.

I am relatively new to the forum to, but people here seem very friendly. You can post here at any time as you did with this. We might not always have perfect advice to offer, but everyone is very welcoming here and it is sometimes helpful to at least know there are others who feel the same way as you do

Sun Feb 6 2011 11:49:36 #
Tess
Member

Hi subha
I don't have BDD, I have OCD but there is a lady in our OCD support group who has BDD and what you are describing is exactly the same as she says she feels. It is natural to want to reassure people with BDD that their fears are unfounded, as indeed they are, but I have realised it only seems to make the problem worse for the sufferer. So yes, what you say sounds extremely familiar to me, you are by no means alone.

Sun Feb 6 2011 12:43:59 #
ZeroG
Member

Hey Subha,

I'm completely new to the forum and this is my first post, but I wanted you to know that your not alone in how you feel. I suffer/ed from BDD, it starting about 6 year ago - it was much worse in the beginning, I spent about two years as a total nutcase on the verge of suicide because I couldn't see how it would ever get any better. Similar to you it started with noticing my body aging and I became convinced that my skin was aging too fast and that I was a freak, that I'd caused it because I wasn't healthy enough, and it was only going to get worse, it was like I could see my body changing everyday, noticing every little winkle or crease in my skin. I was disgusted by my body and thought that it would be better to be dead than to continue trying to live my life in such emotional pain when it would only get worse and I would have to spend my life alone because I was such a freak no one would ever love me or want to be with me.

But things changed, I'm no longer a nutcase and, although I'm not completely better I am no longer obsessed with my body to such a degree. I didn't realise that BDD existed until about 3 years ago and that was a huge step for me realising that it was a condition that people have, that other people are like me, so that fact you know this and understand that you have a disorder is really positive.

I'm sorry this is such a long ramble, I guess I wasn't really sure what I wanted to say, just that I totally get where you're coming from and I want you to know it can get better so don't give up or loose hope.

I'm also not really sure how the site works yet but I'll keep an eye on this thread if you want to talk about anything.

Mon Feb 28 2011 17:01:38 #
kittyglitter
Member

hi i have bdd too and want tomake friends with people like me .. ive tried sending u both private messages but it wont allow me ..do u know why that is?

Fri Aug 12 2011 12:35:01 #