Body disorder often goes under-treated

(WPRI) - It’s an illness that most of us know little about. But, it impacts the body image of millions of Americans; sometimes with devastating results.

It’s called Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a condition that causes people to think they’re disfigured or ugly, when in reality they look normal. Doctors call it an under-treated illness with severe consequences.

“I knew there was something wrong, but I didn’t know what it was,” says Doug Tyrrell, a patient who has been battling Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) for over 20 years.

• What is BDD?

He says the condition ruined his marriage and cost him his job because of the crushing anxiety.

“I wake up in the morning, I get all panicky, I can’t look in the mirror. I get really nervous, I avoid people,” Doug says.

BDD causes a person to view parts of their bodies as deformed, even though there’s nothing wrong physically.

• Local Body Dysmorphic Treatment Resources

“When I look in the mirror,” Doug says, “instead of looking at the overall face, I’m fixing on one spot. When I see that one spot, I go into panic mode.”

This illness affects millions of Americans, men and women, from adults to children as young as five-years-old.

• Recognizing Signs of BDD

Dr. Katherine Phillips, the director of the Body Dismorphic Disorder Program at Rhode Island Hospital says, “BDD can be extremely debilitating for people who suffer from it. It can even lead to suicide.”

“I have seen people who have not been able to leave their house for the last five or six years,” says Dr. Phillips. “A young woman I saw dropped out of high school because of BDD and she basically stayed in her bedroom for about ten years.”

But there is hope. Dr. Philips says the first step is recognizing the signs of BDD. These signs can range from spending hours per day fixating on perceived flaws in the mirror and excessive grooming, to allowing concerns about appearance to interfere with day to day life.

“Encourage them to get professional help because it’s very treatable,” says Dr. Phillips.

That is a message that Doug echoes after several years of treatment with Dr. Phillips.

“I say don’t be ashamed,” Doug says. “Go on the website, there’s information about everything. It can be treated. I’m a lot better since I’ve seen Dr. Philips. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know where I would’ve ended up.”

Experts tell us it’s especially important for parents of teens and younger children to address signs of BDD early on. The illness often starts during adolescence. A new study found that 20 percent of kids with BDD drop out of school because they don’t want people to see them.