Disclaimer: The views and experiences shared in this article are based on Devi Gaddam’s personal experience and perspective. This article is intended for general awareness and supportive purposes and should not be considered professional medical, psychological, or clinical advice. Readers experiencing significant emotional distress or a mental-health crisis should seek help from a qualified mental-health professional or appropriate emergency service.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Refers to a strong belief that you are unattractive or deemed ugly based on certain standards.

These standards are either set by you or you received the message from someone else early in your life. Childhood experiences such as discrimination, rejection, favoritism, and unfair treatment contribute to this disorder. It is also characterized by minimizing your positive qualities and magnifying your negative or perceived negative traits.

Everyone experiences these feelings about themselves at times. It becomes a disorder when you become obsessed with these feelings. The following indicate that you might have body dysmorphic disorder:

1) Being preoccupied with your appearance or flaws all the time, which affects your daily functioning.
2) Researching ways to fix your perceived flaws and obsessing over them.
3) Feeling like you are discriminated against or disliked by others based on your looks.
4) Avoiding looking in the mirror altogether or spending excessive time scrutinizing your flaws in the mirror.
5) Avoiding taking pictures, social activities, or participating in events.
6) Feeling depressed or anxious, along with low self-esteem.
7) Tolerating mistreatment or abuse from others because you believe you are not worthy due to your appearance.

Remedies for Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

1)Accept who you are. It won't be easy, but you need to remind yourself that you are a worthy person. And you are valued.
2) Understand that no one is perfect. Everyone goes through this at some point in life.
3) Try to pick up a trade, hobby, or volunteer work that will help you shift your focus and remind you that you are a better person. There are other less fortunate people than you.
4) Remember that there are people who value you for who you are, and you need to put your energy into finding them.
5) Get professional help if you feel depressed or you feel unworthy. Or if you feel you can't function in day-to-day activities.
6) It is not your fault, and you can make your life worthy in other ways.
7) Check your environment or the people you are surrounding yourself with and try to identify where these messages are coming from.
8) Read former biographies and understand that people are valued for what they contributed to society and not for how they look.
9) Understand that life is short, and we need to utilize our time meaningfully. Anything can happen at any given time.
10) Try not to fixate on social media, movies, and what trends are going on, as they are not real. Being healthy is more important.
11) Try to get professional help to determine if any underlying health or mental health issues are causing this disorder.
12) Journal your feelings. Try to share or discuss them with a professional, trusted family member, or friend. Only share with them if you feel you can trust them.
13) Understand that as you age and look back, these feelings or worries don't matter.