Summer 2021 Publication

THE NEUROSCIENCE BEHIND
BODY DYSMORPHIA
CHINEDUM AGUWA
Body dysmorphic disorder (or BDD) is a times later in life. The effects of
mental illness that is unknown to several developing BDD are alarming. For
people. Body dysmorphic disorder is
commonly observed as an obsessivecompulsive
disorder (similar to eating
disorders and OCD). It is defined as when
individuals “have persistent unwanted
thoughts about a perceived defect in their
physical appearance. Common obsessions
include concerns about parts of one’s
body being misshapen, abnormally sized,
instance, there is a large suicide attempt
rate in the BDD community (about 25% of
those with
BDD).³ In addition, there are risks of an
increase in depression, social anxiety,
drug and alcohol use, as well as other
reported symptoms from patients with
BDD. The many risks associated with this
disease warrants more research on this
or otherwise unattractive.”¹ These serious psychiatric illness.
“abnormalities” could be scars, body
weight, face shape, skin color, and so Symptoms
much more. These emotional reactions
There are many indicators of body
vary from one person to the next, but
dysmorphic disorder. One of them is
most people suffering from BDD refer to
ritualistic behavior which are persistent
these emotions as invasive to their
actions a patient performs to manage the
everyday lifestyle. This disorder impacts
anxiety of having the body part which the
approximately 2% of the world
patient dislikes. Some examples include
population,² but many health
skin picking (also called dermatillomania)
professionals believe it is frequently
and/or routine makeup processes.
misdiagnosed with depression and other
Additionally, another symptom of BDD
mental illnesses. This condition usually
includes the act of hiding the feature that
emerges in early adolescence and somethe
patient does not find “attractive”.
This can be by using makeup, specific
types of clothing, or covering the feature
with other body parts. According to
scientists Emily Jane Willingham,
“camouflaging [or hiding] appears to be
the single most common symptom among
Anxiety & Depression Association of America persons with BDD, occurring in 94% of
patients.”⁴ Another symptom includes
abnormal behavior around certain objects
like mirrors or other reflective surfaces.
A majority of people with BDD tend to
frequently check their appearance;
however, some BDD patients try to avoid
mirrors altogether. Lastly, some other
symptoms include frequently asking
others about appearance, comparison of
one’s appearance to others, and avoiding
public events with large groups of people.
Neurochemical causes
There has been limited evidence that
there are lower levels of serotonin in
individuals that are diagnosed with BDD.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is a
“chemical produced by the brain that
helps to transmit nerve impulses across
the junctions between nerve cells.”⁴ Low
amounts of serotonin have been linked to
an increase in obsessive-compulsive
disorders like BDD and depression. Due to
a lack of research on body dysmorphic
disorders, it is not clear if serotonin is
the cause or the effect of BDD.
Psychological Causes
Like many anxiety and post-traumatic
stress disorder (or PTSD) many develop
this mental illness in early
childhood/adolescence. Some common
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