Body Dysmorphic Disorder & Impact on Social Anxiety Development
Mental Health Diagnosis
Body image issues are not uncommon among teens and often stem over into adulthood, adversely affecting the long term mental health. If you are concerned about your body image, and if you believe you are suffering from body dysmorphic disorder, it is important to seek out treatment as the condition can lead to social anxiety complications later in life.
Social anxiety is a health complication that can be treated effectively with psychotherapy and, where appropriate, the use of medications. Because it typically develops in response to some type of emotional abuse or bullying, individuals who have social anxiety may need aggressive treatment to overcome the condition the longer they wait to get therapy.
If you are struggling with social anxiety and body dysmorphic disorder, the body image issues most often pre-dated the anxiety and, as a result, must be treated as the underlying cause of your mental health issues. Alleviating anxiety with medications may be necessary as the therapy used to treat body dysmorphic disorder often requires cognitive-behavioral therapy and exposure therapy - two types of treatment that can cause anxiety in and of themselves.
As with any form of treatment, especially when addressing co-morbid disorders, it is important to find the psychologist, physician, and psychiatrist team that is best for you. Never settle for treatment with a healthcare professional who, you feel, does not have the best treatment for your particular needs. In the long term, working with a team you have an affinity for will improve your treatment outcomes.
Understanding the cause and origin of your social anxiety can help to overcome the condition with proper treatment. Simply treating the anxiety symptoms, in most cases, will not alleviate the complication long term. If you know you have a concern about your body image, always consider this as an opportunity to address the complication and you will see that your social anxiety will be minimized as well.
Sources: A Life Less Anxious, by Steve Pavilanis
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Published by Christine Cadena
Working on a graduate degree in psychology, Christine has both professional and educational background in health, wellness, insurance, and health finance. Finance expands to all facets of health and insuran... View profile
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