Eating Disorders and Body Dysmorphic disorder

Hi there,

I think finding a therapist or doctor of some sort would be a good start. Have you had a chance to see one before?

Dear Readers,

In my late teens and early twenties I suffered from an eating disorder and BDD which hijacked my life. I was lucky enough to have supportive parents and siblings and a healthy sense of humor which helped with coping with the debilitating inner world I lived in. I made plans to get surgery and ruminated many hours a day on what I though at the time was a 'deformity'. Around my early twenties I started practicing Yoga which I can credit as saving both my mind and my life. I found classes with teachers who I admired and who I saw as inspirations because they embodied a real love for themselves and others and provided me with an opportunity to re-educate my mind b/c the mind is an evolving entity. You can literally rewire your brain to work WITH you. There is no panacea for dealing with the 'noise' in this life. There are constructive ways and destructive ways. When we feel overwhelmed by the noise in our minds we turn on ourselves and hurt ourselves b/c well, our own person is right there, an easy target. Often times though, our sense of anxiety and pain involves much more than just ourselves.
I highly recommend attending yoga classes, attending meditation classes, or joining a prayer circle. They can all help to give you a sense of control over your mind so that your mind doesn't control you.

I'm really glad that I read this.
I was diagnosed with BDD in my early teens and later on a mood disorder. Once I had been given the Bipolar label all of my treatment has revolved around this even though the reason i was becoming depressed always seemed to be the same. Hating my appearance.
I had periods where I would become very angry at being kept in hospital and not allowed to save money for the plastic surgery I wanted but this was seen as a mixed state.
I am not claiming that I don't have a mood disorder and am prepared to take the medication but feel that the BDD has just been left to it's own devices.
Being in a teenage unit as the only female without an eating disorder and at a healthy weight I probably picked up an unhealthy attitude towards food but have resisted it for years after seeing the torment my friends went through every day.
I never wanted food to become an issue but the medication I was put on for Bipolar didn't do my weight any favours. I know this is just an excuse but since coming off it and onto a different one I have found losing weight is so much easier and have kind of become hooked.
Has anyone else had BDD for a long time before it focused on their weight and they suddenly felt the need to restrict excessively?

I eat just one very small meal each day. Example: today I had half a burger, half a bun, 1 egg and 2 muchrooms, and gave some of it to the dogs because I just couldn't finish it. No breakfast, no lunch, just that all day, and 8 hours later I still feel absolutly stuffed. I have never felt I have a problem with my weight, I'm 5'2 and about 110 pounds which is probably about right, so I certainly don't try to cut down on what I eat. But when I mentioned this to a friend recently she called it a starvation diet and said it was very unhealthy. Is it? I rarely feel hungry and when I do, I usually ignore it and half an hour later I'm not hungry any more. Is this an eating disorder or what? Is it unhealthy? I just don't know

lynsey1986 wrote:But when I mentioned this to a friend recently she called it a starvation diet and said it was very unhealthy. Is it? I rarely feel hungry and when I do, I usually ignore it and half an hour later I'm not hungry any more. Is this an eating disorder or what? Is it unhealthy? I just don't know

Hi lynsey,

Yes it is unhealthy. To eat that little food your body won't be receiving an adequate amount of nutrition for your body's cells to function properly. Even if you are a weight that is normal for your body size, eating too little food to sustain your body functions is a problem, it could lead to things like you passing out from having low blood sugar (risking head trauma on the way down) or you ending up with an imbalance of electrolytes which can lead to things like a heart attack. You do not need to have been engaging in eating little food for a long amount of time in order to have these consequences either; a day or two can be more than enough to have some pretty bad consequences if your levels of things (such as potassium) weren't great to begin with. You can't tell how healthy you are simply by your weight either, so it's not like you can look in the mirror and think that you will be immune from these consequences if your weight is ok. Have you considered going to the doctor and speaking to them about this? It would be beneficial for you to get a health check up and to speak to them about how to go about recovering from your eating restriction.

For your interest, here is the list of eating disorders: https://www.eatingdisorders.org.au/eati ... sm-5#arfid
You might also find it helpful to search health consequences of anorexia if you want to know more about how a restrictive food intake can harm your health.

Pinkdaisy wrote:Instead of asking friends and family, I would bring your concern about your tummy to your doctor. It could be hernia or just normal anatomy. I have a friend who has something where her tummy protrudes because of how her uterus is positioned in relatio to her small hips. I wouldn't worry about that, but you can always ask a doctor and they can reassure your anxiety.

I also have a friend and i agree with you

This is my first time posting on this board, but I can relate to all of this. I've been anorexic for 32 years now. I'm 43 now. When I was 11 I remember starting odd behaviors and obsessions about food. It's turned into bulimia at times as well. I'm either starving or bingeing and purging. There's simply no middle ground with me. I suffer from Body Dysmorphic Disorder as well. I was also sexually abused from the time I was 5-6 years old til I was 17 and then again for 5 years when I was married from ages 25-30. I've never really admitted it until just recently that I need help. I have several other Mental Health Dx as well. My Dx include: Anorexia, Bulimia, Chronic Depression with Psychotic Features, Anxiety, PTSD, Factiscious Disorder, Bipolar, and now possible DID. Like I said, I'm new to Psych Forums, and I feel really encouraged. I love this board.

Me

I also am realizing that I look really bad. I'm too thin. My face is really skinny. I'm ugly. None of this is making me feel better about myself. I too do not have periods. Never have with the exception of being on birth control for a few years. My belly is round and protruding too. My daddy calls me his Ethiopian. It hurts my feelings. I did get some xrays and ultrasounds done and it's full of gas/air. I have ruined my entire digestive system. What I do eat/drink puts gasses off because my body doesn't know how to digest stuff. It's simply not use to it. Maybe that's something you could look into having. (xrays/ultrasounds) Just a thought. You're not alone though....Thanks for posting that because I thought I was alone too.

I'm starting to get over this distorted thinking and beginning to realize that being skinny isn't going to make me feel better about myself. I feel that my body is not normal - and there is objective evidence to support this - I have been on birth control for several years now because I have NEVER gotten my period naturally, even though I maintained a normal weight for six years. I also have a round stomach which protrudes disproportionately to the rest of my body (this is not an illusion of mine, friends and family who I have shown it to agree. I started to notice it around age 17 and it's gotten worse recently. It was there before I lost weight, while I was underweight, and after I returned to a normal weight. Nobody knows what's causing it) I am afraid that I somehow permanently stunted my growth at age 12, because even now, at age 20 and a healthy weight, I don't menstruate and don't have the figure of an adult woman. This doesn't seem possible, because even at age 12 my anorexia was not severe (I wasn't hospitalized), but I can't shake the notion that all of these medical problems are somehow my fault.

I was just wondering, can anyone comment on/relate to my experience? Does anyone else have issues with their stomach? Has anyone else been recovered for a very long time but still not menstruated?