We are aiming to raise £2,500 this week and the Big Give will match fund this, doubling our total.
15th – 22nd May 2023
Help us reach our goal by donating today – follow this link
This ‘Big Give’, we are fundraising for our Overcoming BDD Programme, and we need your help.
BDD is still very poorly understood and a severely debilitating condition. Over 1.1Million UK people live with BDD. The condition can be managed with therapy (CBT) but NHS waiting lists can be 2 years long (it also takes an average 10 yrs to get an official medical diagnosis). Which is a potentially fatal wait; suicide rates for BDD sufferers are 4500% more than the national average.
To reduce suffering and waiting times for treatment of BDD, our clinical practitioners have developed the ‘Overcoming BDD Programme’, which enables up to 30 individuals to join a 20-week programme of specialised CBT based treatment in a group context online – it has proven to be effective in measurably reducing BDD based anxieties and motivating behaviour change. For £5K we can get 30 people onto our program, giving them a chance at engaging in life saving and high quality treatment. If we over achieve, we will fund even more rounds of the program.
This is why further funding for this program is more important than ever.
The Big Give has promised to match fund £2500.
Benefits of the Program
So far, we have seen such fantastic outcomes for individuals who have taken part in previous iterations of this program.
“The online programme has given me my life back! I struggled to receive the correct help on the NHS. This debilitating and misunderstood condition has held me back and made my life a misery. Now I am better able to manage my BDD and live a more fulfilling life.”
The program has given BDD sufferers the opportunity to function day-to-day, re-enter the workplace, engage with family or social events, reduce their pre-occupations, manage anxieties, develop effective coping skills and support one another on the journey.
“I am less anxious about going out, I haven’t had one panic episode before leaving the house, I’m able to get dressed and start my day, even if I am not happy with how I look – I think the main tool the course helped build was resilience to these thoughts.”
So how can you get involved? Get your thinking caps on and roll up your fundraising sleeves! Any funds donated on to this page during the week of 15th – 22nd May will contribute to our overall goal. We need to raise at least £2500 and we are looking to our community to come together in a collaborative effort to make this happen.
If you have an idea you’d like to chat through with us, please email volunteers@bddfoundation.org. We’d LOVE to hear from you.
