Too Ugly for Love

I'm not really referring to you, net chick, but I'll use what you said as a jumping-off point...



Of course. I'm sure all sufferers of BDD would agree that their problems are less important than life-threatening or terminal disease, but it shouldn't be forgotten by some people that the "healthy sense of perspective" you feel you've gained is exactly what has been lost in these people's lives.

It is amazing that so many people seem unable to grasp the concept of irrational thought and behaviour and continue to treat it as if it is a matter of choice. One girl on the program said something like "I'd rather not be here than look like this anymore"; surely people can't gloss over that without concern? 25% of people who suffer BDD attempt suicide as a direct result of it and it is a condition that is estimated to effect about 1% of the population. These are fuzzy numbers, of course, but just do the math there for a second. That's a lot of people. And I know some people might say, "but they're not really trying to kill themselves...it's just a cry for attention", but is has been found that the rate of completed suicide for BDD is double than that of people with clinical depression and three times higher than that of people with bipolar, indicating that when these people try to kill themselves, it is generally a pretty genuine attempt. Is that not a big deal? Is it not a problem worthy of address?

The funny thing is I'm sure many of these people, with razors to their wrists or atop the ledge they intend to plummet from, would still tell you in that moment that their problems are less serious than cancer patients etc.

The point is not just that they feel ugly, but that they feel defective and weak compared to "normal" people in coping with it. They know deep down it is crazy to let it dictate their lives so much, but they just cannot summon the strength it takes to deny their irrational thought and behave normally.

Indeed, it is all about perspective. It would be a terrible shame if certain people continue to keep theirs so narrow in the face of a genuine disorder.
 
i wonder if the ''illness" would continue if a more aggressive, life threatening physical illness or situation manifested itself. Would the condition be relegated?
 
I have read and re-read this post with increasing disbelief :eek: "You and your family have clearly been lucky enough..." LUCKY!!? Like weedledeedle I have watched my Mum deteriorate through cancer going through unimaginable agony every day and wasting away in front of my eyes with myself and my family going through the absolute torture of being unable to relieve her suffering :cry:

What weedledeedle is saying is t hat an expereince like this and the sights you see on the cancer ward do not preclude you from having sympathy for others but it DOES give you a healthy sense of perspective

I also have mental health issues and a "hidden" disablity so yes my life is difficult in a way that its hard for others to understand and relate to like those featured in the programme BUT after what I have endured with my mums devastating illness and eventual loss I dont the problems I have as the worse thing in the world

Please do try and think twice and not be so offensive and insensitive as to use the word "Lucky" to those affected by cancer in the future
*gets off soapbox*
 
For someone who's read and re-read my post i'm surprised you don't seem to understand what i was saying. I didn't say he was lucky that his mum had cancer, of course that's horrible and incredibly unlucky. I said he was lucky that he hadn't suffered from BDD or any other mental disorder like that. That's a totally unrelated statement to his mum's cancer.
 
Oh, if only it were as cut and dried as that - and it isn't 'disgusting' either.

'Attention seeking' should not be confused with somebody who is genuinely suffering from what can be a debilitating mental disorder.
 
That's not actually a terrible question, and I believe the answer varies depending on the severity of the person's condition. Doubtlessly there are some people whose condition is so severe that they would fail to seek medical advice on a more serious condition because the immediate prospect of confronting their disorder is more worrying to them than the seemingly distant prospect of something like cancer. And I am sure there are those who knowingly fail to seek advice in a sort of passive suicide. Likewise I am sure there are those for whom the condition would be relegated to a lesser level of concern. Perhaps temporarily, or perhaps permanently.

The whole point is that just because there are plenty of people for whom it is much less severe, it doesn't mean it is easily to handle for everyone. There are plenty of people for whom it is a very serious matter and dismissing that is dangerous, selfish and heartless.
 
What a sad thread.

People with BDD obviously arent attention seekers. So many won't even leave the house so how could they be seeking attention. They're not the same as those who do that "oh my bum is sooo fat" etc and are just fishing for compliments.

I'm unfortunate enough to have experience with mental health problems and it is truely difficult to understand sometimes but that shouldn't stop anyone having sympathy.

I watched the first couple of minutes, had it been a repeat? I'm sure I'd seen it before.
 
I agree.

As I've said, I believe in this illness 100% and pity anyone who is a genuine sufferer.

But on the flip side of the coin, there are people who really, honestly DO use things like this for their own selfish gains. Just saying. :)
 
Until you have lived with someone who is like this (and my relative has always been surrounded by love, she's never really gone through any harRABhips that should trigger her "feelings") you have NO IDEA what hell it is.

Obviously, there are people who genuinely have this...illness? (is it right to call it an illness?) and I really do feel very much sympathy for the poor things. But you need to understand that there ARE people out there who will use stuff to attention seek and manipulate. Unless you've been around me or my family you can't really judge, I was just offering a different point of view on the subject. Believe it or not, not everybody who claims to have something wrong with them is telling the truth.

I didn't mean to offend, sorry if I did.
 
As someone has already mentioned, people with anorexia still think they are fat, when they are infact a bag of bones. It's exactly the same thing. I was shocked to read some of the comments on here.

It certainly isn't attention seeking either. And as for "would they forget about it if they had cancer" - no they wouldn't.

Does an anorexic worry about the fact they are actually dying? Well they probably do, but their skewed view of their body is still very high on the list.
 
Another thing. Some people here are saying people who suffer BDD are attention seekers and 'desgusting'? Well then, how do you explain the ones that are housebound for years on end? Huh?? :mad:
 
This was a repeat - has been shown previously on BBC3 a few times. A good friend of mine is a serious sufferer of BDD and following the previous showing of this it triggered her to get in touch with the shows therapist Rob Wilson, and another top Doctor in the area of BDD; David Veale. It was advised by Dr Veale that she get immediate help and she required intensive. Unfotunately due to the nature of the illness she won't leave the house and therefore will not go to get help - not that help is readily available anyway. Her GP won't do anything more than prescribe her anti-depressants and she can't afford the private treatment that Dr Veale or Rob Wilson give. Its a very very sorry situation and her very lonely life is a misery. If only it was a made up illness that she could free herself from.

In regard to some of the comments on here - No one could possibly say one illness is worse than another but there are 2 awful things about mental health problems. One is that you can't 'see' mental health problems which adRAB to the battle a sufferer faces - half the battle is accepting it and understanding it themselves, the other half is geting others to accept it. And following on from this the other issue is the nasty comments such as the ones on this thread. You would never read such things about most other illnesses, illnesses that are widely understood and seen.
 
Can I just add that on top of the condition itself, BDD sufferers also have to deal with the fact that yes - as so many of you have kindly pointed out - their problem does not compare to something such as cancer. This multiplies their feelings of self hatred tenfold for being such an irrational idiot and letting such a condition rule every second of their lives. I know this because I suffer myself, I am not as afflicted as the people in the programme, not anymore anyway, but I can completely understand the thought processes which have led them to where they are.

In truth, you can't compare it to cancer, cancer is a physical illness, BDD is mental - they operate on completely different plains but can inflict equally large amounts of trauma on a persons life. I can't stand it when people belittle someone elses problems, they may seem small to you but they can be devastating to the sufferer.
 
Thanks for being brave enough to post exactly what I wanted to say:)

Many of the posts in this thread are indicative as to why subjects like this are not talked about - mental illnesses are hidden and therefore not regarded as serious or indeed real in some peoples eyes:(
 
I saw the show and thought the blonde chick was ok.

She was pretty, blonde and had a nice body. wouldn't u?

She also had a job and was not house bound - I don't think she had to be on the show or the guy with the sun glasses.

The girl who was house bound had the real problem - they should have had people in her situation on the show.

They should do a follow up - like where are they now.


Imagine looking like the elephant man? He didn't have it but then u can't control how u think.



Good point - It's no good hearing people say to you, "Cheer up, u'll meet someone else" or "there's plenty more fish in the sea".
 
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