BDD tips & advice from the members of Psychforums.

Hi all,

We get a lot of people browsing the BDD forum every day and many of them I suspect are people with BDD who are just looking for some answers or someone who shares their experience. While it would be fantastic if you could join up and interact with the members on this fantastic forum I realise some may not want to or may feel uneasy with it and that's ok.

So this thread is in mind for people with BDD to get some snippets of the great advice people have been saying on this forum collated together on an easy to reach thread.

Please do realise you are not alone in this fight. Every person with BDD is a brother and sister in a battle to rid yourself of your own personal bully. It's a fight you can win but one that is easier with people standing behind you all the way. A common cause that unites all of us from all around the globe into a group of people determined to make a difference.

We are the BDD family.

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'keep a list of achievements and compliments compiled on a piece of paper and put it in your pocket. Whenever times are hard and you begin to struggle get it out and read it. Because we are so embroiled in the negative we often forget about the positive or completely ignore it altogether. Having it there in front of you can help you combat the bad thoughts that try to work their way into your brain.'

Bilbo Baggins

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'This is something I have taken a long time to understand, but there is a concept in Jainism (it's a religion similar to Buddhism) that states there are no absolutes in the world and there is always more than one way to view a situation or problem. That's actually a pretty big statement and takes some time to think about the true meaning of it. I have found, as I have experienced more things in life, that it is very true. So no matter how down you are feeling, you have to remember that there is always another way the situation can be viewed. A change in perspective can sometimes mean everything. You might be feeling awful today, but tomorrow could bring something really great.'

Satintaupe

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'Realise You Have a Problem - If you keep insisting that you really are ugly and there's nothing wrong, what will that ever do for you? You have to be open to the possibility that you're not seeing yourself as a whole.'

Somegirl845

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'Be Determined - Nothing can stop you if you want to get better. You have to want to change, want to move forward.'

Somegirl845

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'Care About Something - Get a pet that you have to take care of, find a hobby, or connect with a family member or friend. Do anything that makes you happy or makes you feel needed. You need something or someone that gives you a reason to wake up and keep going even on your worst days.'

Somegirl845

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'Well, I think the most important advice that i think you can give to someone who has BDD , is to not always believe what you see . Many times your mind will play tricks on you and show you something that is not real . As BDD sufferers your mind works differently , and many times it shows us things that we come to believe and that are not really the truth .This is when you have to close your eyes , and tell yourself that your mind is not showing you the truth , its showing you a false view of things, it is lieing to you. I know it may be hard to not trust what you see, because it is right in front of you, but sometimes you have to tell your mind to take the back seat and believe you are beautiful no matter any of your flaws.'

Aavillon

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'My piece of advice would be to seek help as soon as possible and to not be afraid of doing so! No ones going to laugh at you or tell you there's nothing wrong with you or whatever else you are worried about, people will want to help!'

Katrinas-x

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'Document feelings and thoughts that occur during the day - If your going to the doctor or a therapy session sometimes what you want to say under the watchful gaze of another person can make reciting and articulating things a difficult prospect. Having notes documenting your thoughts, your feelings and behaviours you have noticed in front of you can give you easy access points from which to relate to the person in question things that may otherwise have escaped your mind. It doesn't even have to be in essay format, even just simple buzzwords that mean something to you like 'mirror at different lengths' or 'daylight' can trigger a whole host of additional info that will come to you upon recollection of the word. Help yourself out. With access to notes it leaves more space for your mind to work on emphasising the thoughts and feelings.'

Bilbo Baggins

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'Never get plastic surgery.'

Raul-7

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'Don't give up-Don't ever give up.'

Duarte2014

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'Find a psychologist and psychiatrist that specializes with the OCD spectrum( even better if they specialize in BDD.) and request from your insurance company to find someone who specialises in BDD. If they don't have any, request out of network. Don't take no for an answer.'

Duarte2014

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'You have an illness which is not your fault at all,all you can do is your best to get help with it&try to be deservedly kind to yourslef&understand that you're worthy of all the love&help,support in the world from everybody.'

CR7

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Body Dysmorphic disorder is where the person becomes obsessed with a minor or imagined flaw in your appearance. I am proof it is possible to overcome BDD. Don't Give up. Don't ever give up.

Duarte2014

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'I think it's very important, when you doubt you have BDD to just repeat over and over in your head that "this isn't what I look like, this isn't what everyone else sees". If you can convince yourself of that, even if you do think you look bad, it will be easier to get out of the house.'

Somegirl845

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'Building on what Somegirl has said, I think it is very important to understand this disorder as a thought disorder rather than one of appearance.
All of us have less than stellar looks in some area. People with BDD are constantly being bombed by their thoughts that something is wrong while people without the disorder are not.
The BDD brain is firing off deceptive messages that create anxiety and panic. These messages are not generated from the logic centre so they come with this added element of confusion and doubt. So the person tries to make sense of what is heard. A mirror check is generated to overcome the doubt and give certainty. But there can never be certainty because it is never based on fact. The BDD thought has been generated by the bully who just checked in on that filing cabinet you keep in your brain that tells you what you fear.

Ah hah! says the bully in the brain, "They fear being ugly....I'll send them an thought that they are ugly..." So BDD is born.
The thought says nothing about you in reality but only what you fear. You respond always with anxiety.
So all the horrible things you say to yourself are being generated by your own bully. They say nothing truly about you or what others think of you. You/ or the bully you live with, is just saying nasties to you. Your problem to overcome is to stop believing it. You are feeding into what you hear with your belief and what you fear. You recall what you want to recall from past hurts. Let go of all this. You are creating a life based on your fears. This is so much less than all that you are. So pay no attention to those nasty thoughts when they come.

BDD stories say nothing about you. They are your fear stories. Say No, I will not listen and focus on having a better day.'

Margharris

Hello all,

If you have a piece of advice that you think would be helpful to people with BDD and would like to share it please don't hesitate to send me a message and I will see to it that it gets added in with the others. You can be credited with your quote or even be left anonymous if you'd rather. Please specify if you wish to be uncredited.

Many thanks,

Kyle