News

Webinar Series – Accessing NHS Services for Adults with BDD

Join us for the second webinar of our Autumn Webinar Series!

Register Here

Navigating the NHS for an adult with Body Dysmorphic Disorder can be tricky. In this webinar, Professor David Veale will highlight the different care pathways and streams of funding in the NHS, how to be referred to a specialist service and the different types of services available. He will point to various resources that you can use to improve your chances of referral or if necessary, complain about your current treatment. It is possible to get good treatment and to recover… sometimes you just have to persist.   

📅 Wednesday 9th October 2024

⌚ 7-8pm (BST)

Meet the Speaker

Professor David Veale is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, where he directs a national specialist service for people with BDD & The Nightingale Hospital London in Marylebone. He is a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. He has co-authored a self-help book on Overcoming Body Image Problems including BDD and a treatment manual for BDD for professionals. He has been researching BDD for nearly 30 years and has published about 40 scientific and teaching articles in BDD. He was motivated to improve the care of people with BDD after the suicide of one of his in-patients with BDD in 1991. David is a long standing and highly valued Patron of the BDD Foundation.

Register Here

Webinar Series – Film Screening & Muscle Dysmorphia Discussion

Join us for the first webinar of our Autumn Webinar Series!

Register Here

We’re excited to announce a screening of ‘I-Adonis‘, a powerful and raw film that explores the experience of living with Muscle Dysmorphia.

Following the screening, we’ll host a discussion with Angelo Raaijmakers (Writer & Director of ‘I-Adonis’ ), Dr. Rob Willson (Expert Clinician in BDD) & George Mycock (Founder of MyoMinds, sharing his lived experience with muscularity-oriented issues).

📅 Wednesday 2nd October 2024

⌚ 7-8.30pm (BST)

CONTENT WARNING: This film contains graphic images of self-surgery, disordered eating behaviours, and shots of muscular male bodies; all of which we are aware may be triggering for individuals suffering with Muscle Dysmorphia. ⁠The film’s purpose is to raise awareness and understanding of the severity and pain experienced for those living with Muscle Dysmorphia. ⁠

Meet the Speakers

Dr Rob Willson is a CBT therapist based in North London, with a special interest in BDD, OCD and Health Anxiety. He currently divides the majority of his work time between seeing patients, conducting research, writing and teaching. He is chair of the BDD Foundation. Rob has co-authored several books, including the bestselling ‘Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Dummies’ and ‘Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder’. His main clinical interests are anxiety and obsessional problems, and disseminating CBT principles through self-help. He has featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles and had made several TV and radio appearances.

Angelo Raaijmakers is a Dutch writer and director. He graduated in 2015 from ST. Joost – School of Fine Arts and Design with his short film SAD SPIRIT. In 2017, he directed the porn film CORN for VPRO’s DIRTY FILM documentary series, viewed by over 500,000 people. After that, Angelo directed the short films WHEN I EXPLODE and I, ADONIS. His work screened at festivals such as Uppsala, Nashville, Toronto After Dark and Grimstad, was featured on Omeleto and nominated in competitions like the Silver Lynx Competition at FEST – New Directors, the Méliès Competition at Imagine Film Festival and the F3 competition in Bogotá. Angelo recently completed his short film A PERFECT NIGHT, which was part of the CineSud ‘Talents to Cannes’ program at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. 

George Mycock has lived experience of muscularity-oriented issues, is the founder of MyoMinds, and is a PhD student at the University of Worcester investigating men’s access to care for eating, exercise, and body image concerns.

Register Here

Blue Chrysalis Presents…

We are pleased to support @blue_chrysalis_prod in their new theatre production ‘Look at Me’.

‘Look at Me’ will be featured at The Lambeth Fringe, offering a powerful narrative that explores the suffocating pressures many women face due to unrealistic body expectations, often leading them to consider drastic measures. The piece explores the topic of body image and incorporates elements of the experience of BDD.

With a commitment to authenticity, ‘Look at Me’ seeks to champion the body acceptance movement and raise awareness about the mental health challenges arising from body image pressures, ensuring that those affected feel seen and represented.

📅 29 September at 9pm
🏦 The Bread and Roses Theatre, London
⌚ 45 minutes
❗14+ Themes of body image, forms of self harm, mental health struggles, strobe lighting

🎟️ Tickets available here 🎟️

JLR Company Fundraiser

Team Vogue Gone Rogue

We are incredibly grateful to JLR for their remarkable support through their JLR Challenge ‘Team Vogue Gone Rogue’ happening this September. With the involvement of 85 people, plus dedicated organisers and support staff, this is a truly massive effort, and we are honoured to be the chosen cause for their company fundraiser.

The challenge, taking place in the beautiful Elan Valley, will see participants give up their weekend to tackle tough outdoor tasks across a 15-25 mile cross-country route. This event highlights the spirit of unity and collaboration whilst also bringing vital awareness and funds to the BDD Foundation.

Thank you, JLR, for your dedication and commitment to helping us make a difference! 

Fundraising Round Up

So far this year, we’ve had a really positive response to our call out for more community fundraisers, with individuals taking on various challenges in support of the BDD Foundation!

A huge thank you to Joey Millburn for completing his extraordinary ‘Budgy Smuggler Trek’ challenge in support of the BDD Foundation. Joey trekked an incredible 52km from North to South of Dartmoor, navigating rugged and boggy terrain. This demanding journey, typically taking 12-15 hours, was a true test of endurance, and Joey’s determination shone through as he raised both vital funds and awareness for our cause. Joey raised an incredible £720 to support our core services. We’re so grateful for Joey’s commitment to breaking the stigma around BDD. Thank you, Joey, for your remarkable efforts!

We would also like to express our gratitude to our trustee, Dr. Amita Jassi, for completing her first half marathon this September in support of the BDD Foundation. Amita’s dedication to our cause was clear, as she trained and fundraised with passion, helping to raise awareness and break the stigma surrounding BDD. Her efforts not only supported the foundation financially but also inspired others in the BDD community. Amita also exceeded her target, raising an amazing £1225. Thank you, Amita, for your incredible commitment and for being a true leader in our mission!

✨Inspired? Get in touch on fundraising@bddfoundation.org! ✨

Autumn Webinar Series

Coming very soon…

This autumn, we’re hosting an online webinar series featuring talks on a range of BDD related topics, presented by individuals with both lived experience and clinicians in the field.

Webinars will be running on Wednesday evenings (UK time).

💻 Stay tuned for more details. We can’t wait to share more!

Media Opportunity

We are urgently seeking individuals willing to speak about their challenges in accessing BDD treatment on the NHS or currently going through treatment.

We are urgently seeking individuals willing to speak about their challenges in accessing BDD treatment on the NHS or currently going through treatment. We’d also like to hear from parents or carers who are supporting someone trying to access treatment.

This is for a BBC documentary. Individuals must be willing to speak openly about their experience and possibly on camera. If this is not possible, we can look at anonymisation options.

👀 Who are we looking for?

  • Individuals living in the North of England
  • Willing to speak about your experience ideally on camera
  • Currently in treatment or trying to access treatment

📩 Please email us on media@bddfoundation.org with the following info:

  • Your age & location
  • The NHS trust you are accessing/ trying to access treatment from
  • A short description of the difficulties or failures you have experienced

Volunteer Facilitators Needed – Overcoming BDD Programme

We are looking for volunteers to facilitate on our Overcoming BDD 20 Week Programme

About the organisation

The BDD Foundation is the UK’s only charity dedicated exclusively to raising awareness and alleviating the suffering caused by Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD is a serious mental disorder, which causes devastating distress and interferes substantially with the ability to function in life. It affects about 1-2% of the population and causes many unnecessary cosmetic treatments as well as a high rate of suicidality and self-harm.

As a charity we are committed to providing support and services for people with BDD, ensuring that those with lived-experience are central to this provision to encourage hope and recovery through the essence of peer-support.

About the project

The BDD Foundation (BDDF) has successfully delivered 7 iterations of the Overcoming BDD Programme, where self-guided Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (CBT-BDD) was delivered in a peer support group context.

Outcomes from the groups – which ran firstly via a face-to-face group and then via an online group – were positive, with participants experiencing both a decrease in scores on the Appearance Anxiety Inventory as well as an improved overall quality of life.

For the next iterations, we are looking at increasing our volunteer base so that we can run multiple online groups at the same time.

About the role

We are looking for 2 new volunteers to co-facilitate the online sessions. The time commitment is 2.5 hours per week, for 20 weeks (October 2024 – March 2025), plus 2 training sessions before the role commences.

We invite applications from people with lived-experience of BDD, as well as people who have received CBT or trained in the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and who have skills in group facilitation or peer-support.

This is a unique and rewarding role, with the opportunity to support and guide individuals through the 20 week group therapy programme. You will have the chance to work alongside some amazing facilitators who have delivered the programme previously, and develop your own skills in peer support.⁠

What do previous Facilitators say?

  • “It’s overall an incredibly rewarding process. In particular it can be heartwarming hearing about individual recovery ‘wins’ that people have as a result of the programme. E.g. Being able to go swimming with son for the first time ever.”
  • “I am confident that I learn as much from attendees as they do from me. Their honesty, insight, openness and support to one another is like nothing else, and I’ve had moments that bring up a lot of emotion because their experience resonates with me so much. I feel genuinely humbled and honoured to be a part of their BDD journey. It’s challenging at times, but so rewarding.”
  • “Hearing so many success stories about changes they had made, hearing so much positivity around them being with other people with the same MH condition as them. Plus from a personal point of view, learning so many ways for me to manage my own BDD, and working with some other amazing facilitators!”

How to apply

Please submit a CV and a personal statement (max 600 words) to gem@bddfoundation.org which highlights the following:

  • Your (direct/indirect) experience with BDD
  • Why you would like to apply for this position
  • Your relevant experience (either as an expert-by-experience, an expert-by-training or both)
  • What relevant skills and qualities you have

Please submit your CV and personal statement to gem@bddfoundation.org by 11.59pm on 1st September 2024

Please note, this post is open to those based in the UK, age 18+ and is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Seeking Media Volunteers with Muscle Dysmorphia

We are looking to engage with individuals who are open to speaking about their experience with Muscle Dysmorphia on our social media and for national news publications.

No media experience required, but it’s helpful to be comfortable speaking on the topic, willing to have a photo of yourself shared, and consider the responsibility of representing both yourself and the BDD Foundation in the online space.

We support all our media volunteers through the process of speaking with the media and ensure you feel comfortable and supported for each opportunity to may engage with.

Please reach out to volunteers@bddfoundation.org if you are interested in being involved!

I, ADONIS; A powerful film on Muscle Dysmorphia

I, Adonis paints an excruciating vision of the poorly understood condition known as Bigorexia (Muscle Dysmorphia) in this visually striking short film. 

I, Adonis, written and directed by Angelo Raaijmakers, offers a gripping and unfiltered look into the reality of living with Muscle Dysmorphia. This powerful film draws from personal experience to shed light on a condition that is often misunderstood and overlooked.

With a mission to increase awareness and empathy, I, Adonis reveals the intense struggle and profound pain endured by those affected by Muscle Dysmorphia. The film delves into the hidden world of sufferers, uncovering the obsessive behaviours and rituals that dominate their lives behind closed doors.

Muscle Dysmorphia is a severe and often debilitating condition, one that can be difficult to recognise in loved ones until it reaches a critical point.

Don’t miss the premier —visit Alter on the link shared below.

Watch Here

The Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation. Charity no. 1153753.