Obsession with perfection: Body dysmorphia

The deeply rooted fascination with beauty penetrates society worldwide. The indulgence to look and feel beautiful pervades all ages, genders, and nationalities, with research conferring a remarkable tendency to agree on measures of attractiveness among these disparate groups. Research has found that beautiful people do, in fact, receive more desirable outcomes in life and job satisfaction, family formation, and overall happiness. Humans have a tendency to respond to attractive persons more favorably, driving many patients to our clinics. Although some dissatisfaction with one's appearance is common and normal, excessive concern with certain facial or body attributes can be sign of an underlying disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a disorder of self-perception. It is the obsession with perfection. Defined as the impairing preoccupation with a nonexistent or minimal flaw in appearance, BDD affects 0.7-2.4% of the general population and a much larger percentage of those attempting to receive aesthetic treatments. Clinicians should be aware of this disorder and remain vigilant because such patients will not be satisfied with corrective procedures. Although not involving cosmetic intervention, the treatment of BDD does involve psychiatric referral and psychopharmacologic therapy, with patients receiving these having a much better prognosis.