Body Dismorphic Disorder
MTV Essay
Bodily Dismorphic Disorder: Pamela and Mandie’s story
Mia
Professor Benson
Psychology 1010
Fall 2012
Mon/Wed 7:30 pm
Due: 12/03/12
Bodily Dismorphic Disorder: Pamela and Mandie’s story BDD, also known as Bodily Dismorphic Disorder is a mental condition in which the affected person obsesses endlessly about perceived defects of their physical features. In the MTV True Life episode “I Hate My Face” 26yr. olds Pamela and Mandie, both suffer from this debilitating illness. Pamela spends hours a day focusing on her face, under the ideal impression that a nose job will cure all her insecurities, while Mandie, a lingerie model believes that her body often distracts people from looking at her ugly face. Mandie is certain that having reconstructive surgery on her chin will give her the confidence to get married to her fiancé Dan and pursue more modeling gigs. Sadly, both of these women are trapped by warped images of themselves. Pamela, who often refers to her disorder as, imagined ugliness, sprays the mirror while getting dressed to distort her facial image. Applying as much make-up as possible, she adds a singled jeweled stone in the center of her forehead to finish her look. She believes this jewel will divert the attention away from her face, particularly her nose. This disorder has impaired Pamela’s life style. Due to her BDD, Pamela did not graduate from high school and has never had a job. She spends most of her time at home, obsessing over her face. Although the thought of therapy scares Pamela, she has been seeing a Psychiatrist for ten years. Her Psychiatrist has prescribed her multiple anxiety medications, in which none of them are providing Pamela with any relief from her sickness. She is almost certain that having a nose job will cure her condition. Pamela’s wish finally came true, she not only had her nose repaired she also had work done on her breast. This change in her personal appearance made Pamela happy;
Bodily Dismorphic Disorder: Pamela and Mandie’s story
Mia
Professor Benson
Psychology 1010
Fall 2012
Mon/Wed 7:30 pm
Due: 12/03/12
Bodily Dismorphic Disorder: Pamela and Mandie’s story BDD, also known as Bodily Dismorphic Disorder is a mental condition in which the affected person obsesses endlessly about perceived defects of their physical features. In the MTV True Life episode “I Hate My Face” 26yr. olds Pamela and Mandie, both suffer from this debilitating illness. Pamela spends hours a day focusing on her face, under the ideal impression that a nose job will cure all her insecurities, while Mandie, a lingerie model believes that her body often distracts people from looking at her ugly face. Mandie is certain that having reconstructive surgery on her chin will give her the confidence to get married to her fiancé Dan and pursue more modeling gigs. Sadly, both of these women are trapped by warped images of themselves. Pamela, who often refers to her disorder as, imagined ugliness, sprays the mirror while getting dressed to distort her facial image. Applying as much make-up as possible, she adds a singled jeweled stone in the center of her forehead to finish her look. She believes this jewel will divert the attention away from her face, particularly her nose. This disorder has impaired Pamela’s life style. Due to her BDD, Pamela did not graduate from high school and has never had a job. She spends most of her time at home, obsessing over her face. Although the thought of therapy scares Pamela, she has been seeing a Psychiatrist for ten years. Her Psychiatrist has prescribed her multiple anxiety medications, in which none of them are providing Pamela with any relief from her sickness. She is almost certain that having a nose job will cure her condition. Pamela’s wish finally came true, she not only had her nose repaired she also had work done on her breast. This change in her personal appearance made Pamela happy;
References: MTV True Life. (2010, April 19). Retrieved from MTV: http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/503302/this-will-never-go-away.jhtml#series=2214&seriesId=5232&channelId=1&id=1635943 Kihlstrom, J. F. (2012). Searching for thr self in the mind and brain. Social Cognition, 367-379. Scott O. Lilienfeld, S. J. (2010). Psychology: A framework for everyday thinking. Boston: Pearson.