E-Book Overview
In a world obsessed with appearance, it is not surprising that body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD -- an emotionally painful obsession with perceived flaws in one's appearance -- has manifested itself as a troubling and relatively common problem for many individuals. In The Broken Mirror, the first and most definitive book on BDD, Dr. Katharine A. Phillips provided a comprehensive manual for patients and their physicians by drawing on years of clinical practice, scientific research, and professional evaluations of over 1,000 patients. Now, in Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder: An Essential Guide , the world's leading authority on BDD reaches out to patients, their friends, and their families with this concise and updated handbook. BDD causes sufferers to be obsessed by perceived flaws in their appearance and may afflict as much as two percent of the population, or nearly five million people. Many sufferers are able to function well in society, but remain secretly obsessed by their "hideous acne" or "horrible nose," sneaking constant peeks at a pocket mirror, or spending hours at a time redoing makeup. Others find their lives disintegrate because of their appearance obsessions. It is not an uncommon disorder, simply a hidden one, since sufferers are often embarrassed to tell even their closest friends about their concerns. Using stories and interviews to show the many different behaviors and symptoms of BDD, and a quick self-assessment questionnaire, Dr. Phillips guides readers through the basics of the disorder and through the many treatment options that work and don't work. With Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder: An Essential Guide, sufferers will find both helpful advice and much needed reassurance in a compact, down-to-earth indispensable book.
E-Book Content
UNDERSTANDING BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER This page intentionally left blank UNDERSTANDING BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE K ATHARINE A. PHILLIPS, M.D. Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Alpert Medical School of Brown University Director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Program Butler Hospital, Providence, RI 1 2009 3 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2009 by Katharine A. Phillips Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Phillips, Katharine A. Understanding body dysmorphic disorder : an essential guide / Katharine A. Phillips. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN-13: 978-0-19-537940-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Body dysmorphic disorder—Popular works. I. Title. RC569.5.B64P483 2009 616.85’2—dc22 2008031527 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper For my patients and for everyone who has participated in BDD research; your courage, trust, and generosity have immeasurably increased understanding of BDD and have made this book possible This page intentionally left blank Dr. Phillips is a member of the DSM-V Task Force and Chair of the DSM-V Work Group on Anxiety, Obsessive-Co