Dysmorphophobia: from neuroticism to psychoticism

• Autores: Batirtze Artaraz Ocerinjauregui, Leire Celaya Azcoaga, Eider Zuaitz
• Localización: Psychopathology in women: Incorporating gender perspective into descriptive psychopathology / coord. por Margarita Sáenz Herrero, 2015, ISBN 978-3-319-05869-6, págs. 185-202
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Dysmorphophobia is a concept that challenges psychiatric epistemology. Throughout history it has varied from psychosis to neurosis, from symptoms to syndrome. In the present work we broach the pathoplasty disorder according to sexes and describe its symptoms from a gender-based perspective. This point of view demonstrates that psychopathological symptoms are useless attempts to thoroughly identify oneself with gender stereotypes and beauty ideals.

    Anthropological investigations and history have brought to light the esthetic and symbolic importance that a human being has given to his body since ancient times. Since men/women have become self-conscious, they have suffered baseless fears about deformity or ugliness, especially when specular surfaces began to abound.

    Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) or dysmorphophobia is characteristically defined as an excessive preoccupation with a perceived physical defect or with an overestimation of a trivial existing defect. An interference caused by the symptom is produced; the anxiety is very time-consuming and finally damages the psychosocial functioning of the individual, which is what distinguishes BDD from normal or �physiological� preoccupations with physical appearance.