{"id":1551,"date":"2011-07-29T09:11:00","date_gmt":"2011-07-29T09:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.medic8.com\/news\/?p=1551"},"modified":"2011-07-29T09:11:00","modified_gmt":"2011-07-29T09:11:00","slug":"cosmetic-surgery-and-mental-illness-8554","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medic8.com\/news\/cosmetic-surgery-and-mental-illness-8554\/","title":{"rendered":"Cosmetic Surgery and Mental Illness -8554"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists in Belgium believe that a large proportion of people who request rhinoplasty<\/a>, also known as a nose job, suffer from a mental illness, in particular body dysmorphic disorder.<\/p>\n

Body dysmorphic disorder is a condition in which a person has an unnatural obsession with any slight defects in their appearance. These defects don\u2019t have to be real, just imagined.<\/p>\n

The finding is based on research carried out by Belgium scientists, who examined 266 patients evaluated by cosmetic surgeons over a 16 month period. Prior to any rhinoplasty operation the patients were given a questionnaire specifically designed to assess whether or not they possessed signs of body dysmorphic disorder.<\/p>\n

Discounting a small number who were having a nose job for medical reasons (but did show signs of the disorder) researchers found a massive 43% of \u2018cosmetic patients\u2019 were also displaying signs of the problem.<\/p>\n

Overall, 33% of those who took part in the study showed signs of the mental disorder.<\/p>\n

This is a very high figure considering previous studies only showed that about 10% displayed signs of the mental illness.<\/p>\n

However, despite this research doctors have been at pains to stress that people who are genuinely distressed at their misshapen nose or other defect are not necessarily dysmorphic.<\/p>\n

Commenting on the results one psychologist in the USA, David B. Sarwer said: \u201cWe know body image dissatisfaction falls on a continuum, and there has to be some degree of dissatisfaction that leads us to see a plastic surgeon in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIt\u2019s when it begins to interfere with daily functioning. Patients with more severe B.D.D. struggle to maintain social relationships and have difficulty getting to work or staying employed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost all of us will get up in the morning and look in the mirror and see something in our appearance we may not like or wish looked different.<\/p>\n

But for patients with B.D.D., that thought never leaves their mind. They are chronically thinking about their nose, checking in the mirror or a reflective surface, or they avoid situations where people can see their profile. You can see that is a distraction and can make it hard to focus on jobs or studies or family.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scientists in Belgium believe that a large proportion of people who request rhinoplasty, also known as a nose job, suffer from a mental illness, in particular body dysmorphic disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder is a condition in which a person has an unnatural obsession with any slight defects in their appearance. These defects don\u2019t have to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":888008809,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[72,980,981,202],"class_list":["post-1551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cosmetic-surgery","tag-body-dysmorphic-disorder-bdd","tag-nose-jobs","tag-rhinoplasty","tag-survey"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t