Body dysmorphic disorder

<B>Body dysmorphic disorder:</B> A psychiatric disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation with imagined defects in physical appearance.

People with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are obsessed by the idea that some part of their body -- their hair, nose, skin, hips, whatever -- is ugly or deformed, when in truth it looks normal.

BDD may focus on moles, freckles, acne, minor scars, facial or body hair, or the size and shape of their breasts or genitalia.

People with BDD may spend an excess of time looking in the mirror, be forever fixing their hair, or wear heavy makeup or sunglasses inside as a form of camouflage.

They may make multiple medical visits or have surgical procedures to correct the imagined defect.

Treatment of BDD may involve cognitive behavioral therapy or medications, usually those used in obsessive-compulsive disorder to which BDD may be related.

Also called somatoform disorder, dysmorphophobia.