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According to Dr. Harrison Pope, a psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, more and more Americans are having negative perception of their bodies. In one study, researchers found that not only women have poor body image but more and more men are having the same problem. The men seemed to have a distorted view of what women prefer. Added to this, the media created a really wide gap between reality and expectations, which left many people feeling inadequate.

Some people do not merely have an attitude problem, they can be afflicted with a psychiatric condition called body dsymorphic disorder (BDD). It is a condition which affects 1-2% of the population and occures mostly in women than men. These people have a distorted view of their bodies and they uncontrollably think about their appearance flaws for about 3-8 hours a day. It can sometimes lead to major depression and eventually, suicide.

People with this disorder are often obssessed with their skin, teeth, face or being muscular. This could lead to steroids abuse. They are most likely to use steroids excessively to achieve bulging muscles. However, they can be so fixated with their body that they never become satisifed even if they already look muscular.

Researchers are looking into serotonin-uptake inhibitors and cognitive-behavioral therapy as potential treatments for this condition.

From NIH News in Health:

BDD is a psychiatric condition that affects about 1-2% of the population. It occurs slightly more often in women than in men. “People with BDD frequently think about an imagined defect in their physical appearance. The thoughts are difficult to resist or control,” Phillips says. “On average, these patients report that they think about their perceived appearance flaws for about 3–8 hours a day.”

Because of their imagined flaws, many people with BDD avoid going out in public or shun friends and family. About three-quarters have had major depression, and about 1 in 4 attempt suicide.

Category: Anabolic Steroids | Tags: body dysmorphia, body dysmorphic disorder, psychological disorder