Psychology: body dysmorphic disorder

Self-tutoring about psychology and perception: the tutor mentions body dysmorphia.

Body dysmorphia, aka body dysmorphic disorder, means the person perceives a flaw in their body’s appearance and fixates on it. The sufferer can be anyone, at any age. They can believe they are too fat, or too slim. They might believe their nose is too big, or whatever.

People strongly afflicted with body dysmorphia may avoid socializing, or else try to cover what they believe to be their body flaw.

When I was a kid, I was definitely made fun of for being too skinny. Being picked on like that was very common: back then, men were idealized to have big muscles, which even teen-aged boys were expected to start developing. Getting belittled for being too small bothered some boys, while others couldn’t have cared less.

My observation is that for every person who fears they have a “flaw”, there is someone known to be very attractive who definitely does have it. Hence, body dysmorphia is a psychological problem.

Source:

mayoclinic.org

nhs.uk

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.

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