BDD and suicides

Is BDD one of the risk factors of suicide? BDD expert Katharine Phillips found that in the US, the suicide rate in patients with BDD is 45 times higher than the general population!

‘I can’t do this anymore, I can’t wake up in my bed in the morning and do this all over again,’ BDD patient Nathaniel Asselin told his mother before deciding to kill himself and put an end to his agony. (read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2152345/Body-dysmorphic-disorder-Judy-Asselin-tells-heartbreak-son-Nathaniel-24-killed-himself.html)

BDD is closely associated with poor Quality of Life (QOL); in severe cases, BDD causes malfunction in occupational and academic aspects, and even suicidal ideation. In Kay et al’s study “Suicide Ideation Associations with Attitudes toward Suicide, Quality of Life, and Attitudes toward Death and Dying among Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese High School Seniors” (2012), analysis revealed that student suicide ideation was significantly associated with QOL in all four countries. Studies also found that approximately 80% of individuals with BDD experience lifetime suicidal ideation and 24% to 28% have attempted suicide.

BDD has a high co-occurence with substance use disorders, social phobia, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), personality disorders, and depression. Among all, depression (mostly caused by impairment in social, occupation, and academic functionality) has the most significant impact on suicidal attempts.

That being said, BDD brings about devastating psychological consequences to the diagnosed individual. Sadly, as suggested by Dr. Phillips, ”B.D.D. remains vastly underrecognized and vastly underdiagnosed, [and] most people probably know someone with B.D.D. but just don’t realize it.”

References:

Kay, N. S., Jantaraweragul, S., Kanungsukkasem, V., Li, K., Jones, M. R., & Huang, Y. (2012). Suicide Ideation Associations with Attitudes toward Suicide, Quality of Life, and Attitudes toward Death and Dying among Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Vietnamese High School Seniors. Journal of Education and Learning, 1.

Philipps, K. (1999). Quality Of Life For Patients With Body Dysmorphic Disorder.European Neuropsychopharmacology, 9, 219.

Phillips, K. A., & Menard, W. (2006). Suicidality In Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Prospective Study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(7), 1280-1282.

Phillips, K. A., Menard, W., Fay, C., & Pagano, M. E. (2005). Psychosocial Functioning And Quality Of Life In Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 46(4), 254-260.

Phillips, K. A., Coles, M. E., Menard, W., Yen, S., Fay, C., & Weisberg, R. B. (2005). Suicidal Ideation And Suicide Attempts In Body Dysmorphic Disorder.The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 66(06), 717-725.

Mirror Checking

This morning when I was in my office’s lift with my colleagues, I found that the first thing we all did was to mirror-check ourselves as soon as we stepped into the lift. By ‘we’, I meant both the ladies and the gents. Oh well, just to make sure the make up didn’t smudge, or the lips needed any chap-stick, or a deviant hair sticking out, or the concealer clogged, or the acne gone bad, or the suit and tie were straight and neat. You know, just in case.

Do you remembering quick-checking yourselves at department stores’ glass doors? Or during the split second when the elevator came across a mirror surface? I had a friend who mirror-checked herself on my shades (what?)!

Various researches show that excessive mirror checking is an alarm for BDD, and that majority of BDD patients have this obsessive-compulsive relationship with mirrors. Frequent self-checking also indicates low self-esteem, anxiety, and perfectionism. Next time you find yourself mirror-checking compulsively, think twice!

Found these cute little guys and had to share it with my fellow bloggers :3

A Living Doll from Japan: Vanilla Chamu

The question from the previous post has its answer. Yes, the effect of Barbie is worldwide.

Having spent $100,000 on plastic surgery to look like a doll, Vanilla Chamu underwent 30 procedures that made her wish came true. From the radical transformation, Chamu looks like a westerner more than a Japanese.

Chamu’s procedures included:
– double-eyelid surgery
– nose job
– liposuction
– eyelash implants
– dimple creation
– breast implants

Still not satisfied with her current look, Chamu claims that she is considering height lengthening surgery. Will this put an end to her plastic surgery obsession?

Check out the BDD symptoms that Chamu fits in:
– Obsessive thoughts about perceived appearance defect.
– Obsessive and compulsive behaviors related to perceived appearance defect.
– Delusional thoughts and beliefs related to perceived appearance defect.
– Repetitive behavior (such as constantly applying make-up; regularly checking appearance in mirrors).
– Perfectionism (undergoing cosmetic surgery).

Real life Barbie

No, this is not photoshopped.
Many women who are obsessed with plastic surgeries claimed that they wished to look like Barbie. We all know that Barbie’s figure is not as appealing if it’s converted into a reality size. However, the “Barbie Flu” spread crazily in Ukraine last year.

Click on the picture and it brings you to the Forbes article – Barbie Flu Spreading in Ukraine, which featured one of the Barbies called Anime.

“Anime seems to be a young girl who’s not completely comfortable in her skin and experiments with styles. Anime’s body image doesn’t radiate Barbie’s sexiness. She says the world is cruel and is full of unhappy people and it’s easier to live the way she does, creating a fairy tale for herself.”

Do you think only Caucasian BDD patients wish to look identical to Barbie? Is the effect cross-cultural? What do you think is the reason?

Time (2006)

I recently watched a Korean movie named Time; directed by Ki-duk Kim, the movie depicts a complicated relationship of a couple that involved numerous plastic surgeries. Seh-hee, a girl blinded by jealousy and insecurity, was convinced that her boyfriend would get sick of her face and leave her one day. Seh-hee was insanely obsessed with her boyfriend, and began to hate the face she had. One day, she disappeared, went under the knife and re-approach her boyfriend with a new face…

I hope you guys like the intro. Here is a link to the movie (with english subtitles):
http://www.1channelmovie.com/watch-movies/2006/watch-shi-gan-9178/

Some afterthought  (*spoilers alert!!!!!*):

• Does Seh-hee show any BDD symptoms throughout the movie? Why did she feel so sorry for having a ‘boring face’?
• No matter how many times she changes her face, will her paranoid personality every change? Did it get even worse after the surgery (when she was actually envious of her old self)?
• She was very reluctant and disgusted before her first surgery, but showed no fear at the later sessions. Did she not fear the pain or the heartache and desperation covered the physical suffering?
• Do you think it is ethical for the surgeon to “suggest” plastic surgery as a solution to his clients’ personal relationship?

Korean Girl Removes Make-up after Two Years

A 20 year-old girl Bae Dal-mi from Korea was made popular when she was found to have her make-up on her face for 2 years (!). The make-up was never removed and she applied new concealer and base on the existing make-up everyday. Dermatologists found that after removing her make-up, the teen’s skin status was similar to that of a 40 year-old lady.

Bae claimed that she was addicted to cosmetics as they covered her flaws and she felt insecure without her make-up on. Not satisfied with only cosmetics, she admitted her wish of wanting 10 more plastic surgeries in pursuit of her definition of “beauty”.

From what you learn in the previous post about BDD, do you think Bae share the symptoms?

P.S: Sorry I could only fetch a vid in Cantonese.

More about Hang Mioki

More about Hang Mioki

Click on the title to learn more about Hang Mioki. Featured in yesterday’s post, Hang Mioki is a Korean model with a severe obsession in plastic surgery. After being rejected my surgeons to perform additionally procedures on her face, she injected cooking oil into her face out of desperation.

Some commented, “Aesthetic Plastic Surgery should be illegal. Everywhere. With a valid medical reason such as physical pain or scarring – it should be PRESCRIBED. Shame on the medical institutions cashing in on demented people’s warped self-images… These people need a Psychiatrist, not a Plastic Surgeon.”

Do you agree with the comment?

Plastic Surgery and BDD in Korea

South Korean is well-known of its plastic surgery industry, a research shows that the asian country has the highest per capita rate of plastic surgery operations done in the world. Most of the non-invasive surgeries focus on the skin and hair, while the invasive ones focus on face and hair. With its reputation, annually, more than 80,000 of tourists who openly express undergoing plastic surgery as a travel purpose visit Korea.

What exactly makes Korea the plastic surgery mecca?

K-POP
The rise of K-POP is a powerful Korean consumer culture that equates Korean women’s beauty with professional and economic success. K-POP has created a completely new beauty aesthetic that “nods to Caucasian features but doesn’t replicate them.” A 16 year-old school girl from South Korea, huge fan of Girls Generation and WonderGirls,  claims that “pretty is a small head, big eyes, and high nose and forehead”.

Culture
South Korea is a place where changing the shape of your nose or eyes is as common as ordering a burger. Clustered in the Gangnam district, before-and-after advertisements can’t be unseen in subways and billboards. As reported, it is very common for parents give their daughters cosmetic surgery as a graduation and birthday gift.

Price
The booming market has made procedures more affordable for consumers than ever. “An average — not excellent — face-lift in the United States will set you back about US$10,000,” a Korean surgeon told CNN. “But in Korea you can get the same service for US$2,000 or US$3,000.”

BDD in Korea
Research from the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows that body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) appears in about 33% of patients who’ve undergone plastic surgery to alter the look of their noses. In Korea, rhinoplasty is one of the most popular procedures, as the Koreans believe that a lifted nose is a sign of attractiveness. Many patients with BDD expected that plastic surgery is the way out, but ultimately, it worsen the illness with even more obsession and dissatisfaction.

Korean model Hang Mioki underwent so many procedures that doctors refused to perform further operations on her face. Frustrated and desperate, the model injected cooking oil into her face for the skin’s smoothness and tenderness. Leaving her with a disfigured face, she then decided to seek help from psychologists, who later diagnosed her as having severe BDD.

***This link shows the disturbing image of her distorted face, be prepared:
(http://www.entremujeres.com/belleza/estetica/Hang-Mioku-desfigurada-Fotos-DailyMail_MUJIMA20130516_0040_6.jpg)

South Korean beauty pageant faces controversy

Do they all look alike to you? Is the plastic surgery culture in South Korea leading to the convergence of a same face?

Here are some comments in response to the plastic surgery trend in South Korea:

“This is called the Korean plastic face look. In certain areas of Seoul, you would think all the women are sisters because they look so similar due to same surgeries.”

“I live in Korea and older women complain how girls don’t look Korean anymore because of all the plastic surgery.”

“Girls here consider eye surgery just like using make up.”

What do you think?

Anxious need for makeover in China

Not only does China bloom in economy, with higher living standards, the Chinese are literally experiencing an anxiety that their faces do not fit.

According to Chan Kin-man, Deputy Professor of Sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, “the increasing popularity of plastic surgery in China is closely linked to economic development. As China moves to a post-industrial from an industrial society, in which most people work in factories, looks become more important.”

With the dramatic economic, political and social changes in China these few years, women are more accepted by the job market. However, the stress and anxiety come with the opportunities. According to National Institute of mental health, women are 60% more likely than men to experience an anxiety disorder over their lifetime.

Chinese women’s obsession in plastic surgery is caused mainly by jobs, love relationship, and self-image. Undergoing extreme stress, many thought that surgery could ease their distress. Little did they realise that the surgery itself is found to be one of the stressors that impairs one’s psychological health. Rankin and Borah’s research in Anxiety disorders in plastic surgery (1997) explores the expectations, risks, and disappointments brought by plastic surgeries.Psychological assessments that are case-sensitive can be an effective tool to identify the risk group that is more prone to anxiety disorder regarding to plastic surgeries.

Further readings:

China Gets a Facelift

China Faces Up to the Danger of Plastic Surgery

Anxiety Disorders in Plastic Surgery