News

Volunteers Needed!

Come and join us! We are looking for new volunteers to facilitate on our BDD Support Groups. This is a really rewarding role, with the opportunity to work alongside experienced facilitators, support individuals recovering from BDD and develop your facilitation skills.

Support Groups

Our support groups play an important role, alongside treatment, in recovering from and managing BDD. They provide a safe environment where people can talk openly about their BDD, as well as giving support and encouragement to others. Many attendees find comfort in shared experience, knowing they are not alone, and hearing stories from individuals at different stages of their recovery. More information can be found here.

The role of Facilitator

For this role, it’s important to have a good understanding of BDD and the impact it has. We look for individuals with strong listening skills, an ability to make others feel welcome and comfortable, and empathy for others. We encourage applications from those with lived experience of BDD since these groups are peer led – an approach we have found to be particularly effective in supporting those experiencing BDD.

Training and induction will be provided. We require a minimum commitment of 1.5-3 hours per month.

What do our current volunteers say?

“I found facilitating groups incredibly meaningful. Having suffered with BDD for most of my life and finding myself in a stable place of recovery, it felt really rewarding to support those who were at different stages of their journey with empathy and understanding.”

“I am confident that I learn as much from attendees as they do from me. Their honesty, insights, openness and support to one another is like nothing else, and I have 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 incredibly rewarding.”

How to Apply

Download the Application Form below, and send completed applications to volunteers@bddfoundation.org

BDD-Foundation-General-Volunteers-FormDownload

Applications will be reviewed and responded to by 18th August.

Help OCD Action Improve Access to Services

If you are a person of colour with lived experience of OCD or a related condition, or a relative of theirs, we would hugely appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete OCD Action’s survey.

OCD Action have a vision of a time where OCD and related conditions (such as BDD) are well understood, and everybody can access the treatment they need, when they need it. However, they recognise that achieving this vision is impossible without addressing the significant barriers, prejudice, and discrimination that global ethnic majority groups frequently face within mental health settings in the UK. OCD Action have shared with us their deep concerned at the clear evidence that people of colour are underserved by OCD services, and their determination to see this change. 

OCD Action has recently established a co-production panel, who are collectively working to ensure OCD Action provide the best support possible for people who face intersectional disadvantage, in particular people of colour living with OCD and related conditions (such as BDD). The panel is made up of volunteers from Black and Asian backgrounds who have lived experience of OCD, as well as OCD Action staff members across all areas of the organisation.

To help improve OCD Action services and understand barriers to wider NHS services OCD Action and their co-production panel have created a short survey to gather the opinions and experiences of people of colour living with OCD and related conditions (such as BDD) regarding their experiences with mental health services. 

If you are a person of colour with lived experience of OCD or a related condition (such as BDD), or a relative of theirs, we would hugely appreciate you taking a few minutes to complete OCD Action’s survey.

Your voice, lived experience and ideas are so important in ensuring change is realised, and that in the future, everyone gets the treatment they need, when they need it. The findings from this survey will also contribute to improving BDDF services and understanding where we can better serve those facing intersectional disadvantage.

Complete the Survey

NOTE from OCD Action: We acknowledge that the terms ‘people of colour’/’POC’ and ‘Global Ethnic Majority Groups’ are far from perfect terms as they group together of people who have a wide variety of very different experiences. We know that this needs to be broken down so we can understand the experiences, challenges and barriers each group experiences and we aim to do this over the life course of this work. Our co-production panel thought carefully about language and could not identify an inclusive term that better reflected the diversity of our lived experiences. If you have views on our use of language, please do share this as part of our survey or email us at info@ocdaction.org.uk. Thank you.

Canadian Research Study – Participants Needed

The purpose of this visual processing study is to help understand how individuals with BDD perceive themselves and how to best address their differences in visual processing.

Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the University of Toronto are looking for participants between the ages of 18 to 40 years who answered yes to any of the questions displayed on the poster, in addition to controls. Participants will be compensated for their time.

All participants must reside near and be able to travel to Toronto, Canada. The purpose of this visual processing study is to help us understand how individuals with BDD perceive themselves and how to best address their differences in visual processing.

If you fit these criteria and would like to participate in our study, please contact us at: bdd.empac@camh.ca 

The Brain, Body, and Perception laboratory’s clinical neuroscience research seeks to understand the brain basis of perception, emotion, and reward across conditions involving body image as well as obsessions and compulsions. Additionally, they study gender identity, own body perception, and the effects of hormone treatments in individuals with gender dysphoria in the interest of improving health outcomes of gender-affirming treatments.

If you would like to learn more about the Brain, Body, and Perception laboratory and their research, visit: https://bbp.lab.utoronto.ca/ You can also learn more about the laboratory on Instagram (@bbplab) or Twitter (@BDD_anorexia).

46 Mile Fundraiser

A walk from Machynlleth to Montgomery, in memory of Morgan-Rose

At the end of June, the wonderful Michelle is embarking on a 46 mile walk to raise crucial funds for the BDD Foundation.

She will be completing Rotary Across Wales, walking across all of Wales in a day, from Machynlleth to Montgomery, in memory of her daughter Morgan-Rose.

The walk follows a mix of public rights of way, Glyndwr’s Way National Trail, country lanes and the meandering Montgomery Canal. Along the way passing through characterful communities and the settlements of Staylittle, Trefeglwys, Caersws, Newtown and Abermule.

It’s an admirable challenge and we are extremely grateful to Michelle for her fundraising efforts to the BDD Foundation.

Please support Michelle through her sponsorship page.

Being At Peace with Oneself

by Ulrike Behrendt

For Ulrike’s master’s project at university, they have created a collection of six artworks focused on the theme of Body Dysmorphia. Ulrike would like to share their work with fellow sufferers to find out if their work resonates with you and receive some feedback.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a body image problem that is marked by an intense preoccupation with one’s physical appearance. It can result in extensive gazing of one’s perceived flaws or – as in my case – in avoiding looking at oneself all together. For me, my body is an alien shell that carries me around and not something I can identify with. I cannot actually look at myself neither in the mirror nor in photos. The body of work created explores different approaches to visualise the tension between me and my body. Photographs were digitally manipulated, worked into and written upon. The object is the subject and vice versa. Initially connected by aversion, they show an attempt to be at peace.

Acceptance and Self Love (featured below) use my eyes perspective’s view of my body creating a neutral distance. It is not always possible to think positively during moments of struggle with BDD. Peace is found in admitting the negative thoughts.

Shadow Dance (featured below) confronts my body indirectly by its shadow, hereby creating enough distance and abstraction to allow looking at myself. Poses explore the interplay between the observer, the arranger, and the ‘me’. Twelve shadows are arranged as a group describing a story of curiosity, instability and peace.

The series Almost Within Reach (featured below) transport the idea of ‘making contact’ with a blurred image in the mirror. My hand is reaching out to the person on the other side offering peace. An impressionistic feel to it transfers the artwork to somewhere between dream and reality. Almost Within Reach III is covered with unfiltered thoughts about me, my art and my body. The text forms a veil and middle ground between the observer and the image. I am almost at peace with myself.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my artwork. Would you be willing to provide me with some feedback?

Does the work resonate with you?

What are thoughts going through your mind when seeing the images?

Would you say it conveys what a struggle with BDD can feel like?

Does the work highlight the frustration with the condition as well as giving a sense of hope?

Please connect with Ulrike to share your responses and feedback on ulrike.behrendt@student.nua.ac.uk

Call for Research Proposals

We are delighted to announce the launch of the first research stream at the BDD Foundation 2023 conference, taking place Saturday 4th November 2023!

Be part of this exciting conference and the launch of the research stream.

The BDD Foundation 2023 Conference is the largest, international event focused uniquely on BDD, bringing together attendees and presenters from a range of backgrounds: BDD sufferers, family members, friends, researchers, clinicians, and other professionals. Keynote speakers for the conference include Prof. David Veale, Dr Rob Wilson, Prof. Roz Shafran and Prof. Paul Gilbert.

This year, we are thrilled to be including a research summit, offering a platform for researchers to share their latest findings on BDD and network with colleagues in the field.

We are inviting researchers to submit a proposal to present at the BDD Foundation 2023 Conference.

Deadline for submission is 7th July 2023 and outcomes will be shared in August. Be part of this exciting conference and the launch of the research stream.

Complete this form to submit your proposal

Beating BDD Podcast #29 – Arie Winograd

“Trust your psychotherapist. They have a much more objective perspective than your BDD.”

A psychotherapist and the founder and director of the Los Angeles BDD & Body Image Clinic, Arie has dedicated his career to working with people with BDD. In this
episode, he shares some of the fascinating insights he’s gained from those thousands of hours of experience.


You can download the transcript for this episode here:

Arie-Winograd-show-notes-Download

It’s Big Give Week – donate now!

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.

BBC Morning Live features BDD Foundation

Ben West speaks with Kitty Wallace & Danny Bowman on the devastating consequences associated with BDD, specifically in men

On 11th May 2023, BBC Morning Live ran a feature on BDD and body image issues in men. Through speaking with our lived experience volunteer Danny Bowman, they highlight some of the common symptoms and the impact this has on someone’s home life, school, work, relationships and family life.

“It started with spending an extra hour in the mirror, but very quickly got to the point where it took over my entire life. I became 6 months house bound.”

Danny speaks on the CBT treatment he received, and how this helped him recover from BDD. He is now 10 years down the line and able to lead in a functioning and fulfilling life.

“Luckily I got support from the Maudsley in London. Getting me out and recognising that people weren’t horrified at my appearance was a huge thing for me.”

Kitty Wallace, Head of Operations at the BDD Foundation is interviewed, sharing knowledge and expertise on BDD, and specifically Muscle Dysmorphia, the key symptoms to look out for and the impact this has on quality of life.

“We know that from onset to getting the correct diagnosis is an average of 10 years delay. That is particularly huge in the context of BDD, where the suicide rate is 45 times higher than the general population, so it’s so crucial that people realise that help is out there, and they can get better.”

Watch the BBC Feature

GQ Highlights Dangers of Muscle Dysmorphia

GQ talks to experts and sufferers, including Ex-TOWIE star Charlie King, and BDDF Charity Chairman Rob Willson, about how to catch the signs and help those at risk

Muscle Dysmorphia is a type of BDD which lead to excessive weightlifting, overtraining even when injured, restrictive diets, disordered eating, and often steroid abuse. It can often cause an individual to prioritise working out over other commitments such as relationships, work or family life.

“If you have Muscle Dysmorphia you are preoccupied by one or more perceived flaws in your appearance, and these will occupy you for several hours a day. They are causing clinically significant levels of distress, anxiety and depression and they are interfering with your everyday life. It’s not subtle.”

It affects men more than women and causes significant distress, with devastating consequences on someone’s life. Sadly, it appears to be on the rise.

The condition is poorly understood, and therefore ‘brushed off’ and not recognised as being severe. However, it’s seriousness should not be underestimated, and tragically, suicidal ideation and completion for those with MDD is common.

Dr. Rob Willson, who has treated people with the condition since the 90s, explains it’s not the physical side that it the main concern. Sufferers will choose the gym over a social event or their career.

“Where you have someone who has over trained and injured themselves and is at home feeling devastated, that’s a real worry. We’re not mucking about here.”

” I ended up retreating from people and making excuses as to why I didn’t want to be around people.”

Charlie King, one of our ambassadors at BDDF, speaks with GQ on this topic and shares his experience of Muscle Dysmorphia. He explains that he was exercising through injury, and withdrawing from social events which would interfere with his training.

After engaging in CBT, to support him in cutting back on checking and comparison behaviours, he is now finding a balance and has reached a kinder relationship with his body while still being a fitness enthusiast.

Charlie now speaks openly about BDD and MDD on his social media platforms, encouraging others to seek support if they are struggling, opening up the conversation and raising awareness of the condition.

“If you’re noticing that you’re becoming obsessive and the enjoyment factor is starting to dwindle that’s the first sign.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with these symptoms, please reach out to our helpline on support@bddfoundation.org or find out more on our Muscle Dysmorphia information page.

Read the GQ Article

The Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation. Charity no. 1153753.