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Get startedBody Dysmorphia:
Understand, Manage and Overcome
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), or body dysmorphia, is a mental health condition where you become excessively concerned with perceived flaws in your physical appearance. These flaws may be minor or even imagined, but they cause significant distress and interfere with daily life.
Reviewed by Phillipa Brown, AHPRA-registered Psychologist
Understanding body dysmorphia.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), or body dysmorphia, is a mental health condition where you become excessively concerned with perceived flaws in your physical appearance. These flaws may be minor or even imagined, but they cause significant distress and interfere with daily life.
Recognising and addressing body dysmorphia is key to improving your quality of life and emotional wellbeing.
What Causes Body Dysmorphia?
Body dysmorphia can develop from various factors, including:
- Genetic predisposition
- Neurochemical imbalances
- Environmental influences, such as societal or peer pressure
- Experiences of bullying or trauma
- Low self-esteem and perfectionist tendencies
Recognise the Signs of Body Dysmorphia
Common symptoms include:
- Obsessive concern about specific body parts or overall appearance
- Frequently checking mirrors or avoiding mirrors entirely
- Constantly comparing yourself to others
- Excessive grooming or cosmetic procedures
- Seeking reassurance about appearance repeatedly
- Social withdrawal due to appearance anxiety
- Severe distress or anxiety linked to appearance
Myths about Body Dysmorphia
Myth: Body dysmorphia is just vanity or attention-seeking. Truth: BDD is a serious psychological condition causing intense emotional distress and disruption in life.
Myth: Cosmetic surgery or procedures can solve body dysmorphia. Truth: Cosmetic procedures rarely help and often worsen symptoms by reinforcing obsessive thoughts.
Importance of Professional Help
Untreated body dysmorphia can lead to depression, anxiety, social isolation and severe impairment in daily life. Professional help can:
- Reduce obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours
- Build healthier self-perceptions
- Enhance self-esteem and social functioning
- Teach effective coping strategies
How MeHelp Psychology Can Assist
Our psychologists at MeHelp Psychology offer specialised treatments for body dysmorphia, including:
- Personalised Therapy: Individual treatment plans addressing your specific concerns and goals.
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Techniques to challenge distorted thoughts and behaviours.
- Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP): Gradual exposure to triggers to reduce obsessive behaviours.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Building acceptance and improving psychological flexibility.
Real-Life Example
Olivia, 24, experienced severe anxiety over perceived flaws in her appearance, avoiding social interactions and obsessively checking mirrors. With support from a MeHelp psychologist, Olivia engaged in CBT and ERP therapy. Over time, she learned healthier coping mechanisms, reduced her anxiety and gradually re-engaged socially with confidence.
Practical Steps You Can Take Today
- Limit Mirror Checking: Gradually reduce how often you check your appearance to break compulsive habits.
- Practice Mindfulness: Regular mindfulness exercises can reduce anxiety related to body image concerns.
- Challenge Negative Thoughts: Learn to question negative self-perceptions by considering objective evidence.
- Seek Support: Talk openly with trusted friends, family or support groups.
- Avoid Excessive Comparisons: Reduce exposure to social media or situations that trigger appearance anxiety.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can body dysmorphia be effectively treated online?
Yes. Online therapy is effective, convenient and accessible for treating body dysmorphia using evidence-based approaches.
Do I need medication for body dysmorphia?
Medication can sometimes help reduce severe symptoms, but therapy is typically the primary treatment. Consulting with a psychologist or psychiatrist can clarify your best treatment options.
Are Medicare rebates available for body dysmorphia treatment?
Yes. With a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP, Medicare rebates apply for psychological services related to body dysmorphia.
Start Your Journey to Self-Acceptance
You don't have to struggle with body dysmorphia alone. MeHelp Psychology offers compassionate, effective support to help you reclaim your life.
Book your first session today and begin your journey towards healthier self-perception and greater confidence.
What causes body dysmorphia?
There's rarely one single cause. Most of the time, body dysmorphia develops from a mix of life experiences, biology, and the environment a person grew up in. Stressful events, family history, and how someone learned to cope with big feelings as a child all play a part.
Understanding the "why" doesn't make the experience smaller — but it can take some of the self-blame out of it. What you're going through makes sense, given everything that came before it.
A psychologist can help you join the dots between what's happened in your life and what you're feeling now — and start to shift the patterns gently.
Supporting someone going through body dysmorphia.
Watching someone you care about struggle with body dysmorphia is hard. You might feel helpless, worried, or unsure of what to say. That's normal.
You can help by:
- Listening without trying to fix or rush them
- Taking what they say seriously, even when it's hard to hear
- Asking what kind of support would actually help today
- Looking after your own wellbeing too — you can't pour from an empty cup
- Encouraging professional support without pressuring them
If you're the one supporting them, you're allowed to seek your own therapy too — it doesn't take anything away from them.
The emotional impact is real.
The feelings below are common with body dysmorphia. They're not signs that something is wrong with you — they're signs of what you've been carrying.
Anxiety and feeling on edge. Always scanning for the next thing to go wrong. Hard to switch off.
Self-doubt. Second-guessing your decisions, memory, or read of the situation.
Low mood and tiredness. Tasks that used to feel easy take far more effort than they used to.
Shame. A sense that other people are coping better than you are. Shame eases in the right company.
Numbness or distance. Feeling foggy, disconnected, or like you're watching life from a step back.
Sleep changes. Trouble falling asleep, waking at 3am, or sleeping far more than usual.
You don't need a formal diagnosis to take what you're feeling seriously. The impact is real.
Why recovery takes time.
Healing from body dysmorphia is rarely a straight line. It moves in waves — clear one week, harder the next, then quieter again. That isn't a setback. That's the shape of healing.
Good therapy won't push you faster than you're ready to go. Pacing — not pressure — is how this work moves. Small, steady steps add up.
When to seek help.
You might consider seeing a psychologist if you notice any of the following:
- Body Dysmorphia is affecting your work, study, or relationships
- You've been trying to cope on your own and it isn't shifting
- Sleep, appetite, or energy have been off for weeks
- You're using alcohol or other things to take the edge off
- A friend, family member, or GP has suggested you talk to someone
- You just want a space to make sense of what's going on
If you're in crisis right now
Call 000 if you or someone else is in danger. Lifeline on 13 11 14 is open 24/7. For family or domestic abuse, 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Treatment that works.
The most evidence-based help for body dysmorphia is talk therapy. Different approaches suit different goals — your psychologist will tailor things to you.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Works with the thoughts and behaviours keeping things stuck. Strong evidence across many conditions.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Helps you make room for hard feelings while still moving toward what matters to you.
Trauma-informed therapy
EMDR, schema therapy, and IFS help process past experiences gently, without re-traumatising.
Mindfulness-based approaches
Builds the ability to notice what's going on inside without getting swept up in it.
Schema and psychodynamic therapy
Works with longer-standing patterns from early life that show up in adult relationships.
Medication where helpful
Sometimes prescribed by your GP alongside therapy. Always your choice.
Talk to an Australian psychologist about body dysmorphia.
Every MeHelp psychologist is AHPRA-registered and Australian-trained. Sessions are online, bulk billed under Medicare where eligible, and available evenings and weekends.
AHPRA-registered
Every psychologist is Australian-trained and regulated.
Bulk billing available
Under Medicare with a Mental Health Treatment Plan.
Same-week appointments
Not three months on a public waiting list.
Evenings and weekends
Sessions fit around your schedule, online from home.
How to access support.
Most clients use a Mental Health Treatment Plan and signed referral so sessions can be bulk-billed under Medicare. NDIS, DVA, and private options are also available.
Book a GP appointment
Ask your GP for a mental health consultation. A longer appointment is best so there's time to talk through what's going on.
What do I do at the GP?Get your plan and referral
Your GP can prepare a Mental Health Treatment Plan and signed referral letter. MeHelp needs both before bulk-billed sessions can begin.
See documents requiredSend it to MeHelp
Upload your documents to our secure folder, email them, or ask your GP to fax them. We'll match you with a psychologist.
Send my planFrequently asked questions about body dysmorphia.
Ready to talk to a psychologist?
Same-week appointments. Bulk billing available. Online across Australia.
With a referral, or without.
Both get you to the same place — an AHPRA-registered psychologist, online. The difference is cost and a GP visit.
With a Medicare referral
Bulk billed — nothing to pay.
- Up to 10 sessions a calendar year
- Needs a GP Mental Health Treatment Plan + referral
- We bill Medicare directly
Without a referral
Pay privately — no GP required.
- No GP visit, no referral
- No session limit — go at your pace
- Often a first session this week
- Completely private — nothing shared