Product Description

Jane is an attractive woman in her mid-thirties, tall, thin and stately. She believes she is breathtakingly ugly. Tormented by what she sees as her huge nose, crooked lip, big jaw, fat buttocks, and tiny breasts, she hasn't left her house in six years. Though she lives in the same house as her mother, she once went two years without seeing her. When relatives come over, she avoids them, hiding in her room, even on Thanksgiving. The one time she left the house - forced to see a doctor - she covered her face with bandages. Eventually, she attempted suicide. "I can't imagine any suffering greater than this," she said. "If I had my choice, I'd rather be blind or have my arm cut off. I'd be happy to have cancer." Jane has body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD. In this revised and expanded edition of The Broken Mirror, Dr Katherine Phillips draws on years of scientific research, clinical practice, and detailed interviews with patients to bring readers an updated and expanded book on this troubling and sometimes debilitating disorder, in which sufferers are obsessed with perceived flaws in their appearance. Phillips describes severe cases, such as Jane's, but also milder cases, such as Carl, a successful lawyer who uses work to distract him from his slightly thinning hair. Many sufferers function well, but remain secretly obsessed by their "hideous acne" or "horrible nose", sneaking constant peaks at a pocket mirror, or spending hours redoing makeup. BDD afflict millions of people. It isn't an uncommon disorder, simply a hidden one, since sufferers are often embarrassed to tell even their closest friends about their concerns; one woman, after fifty years of marriage, still kept her appearance worries a secret from her husband. This revised and expanded edition of The Broken Mirror provides updated information from recent research that sheds new light on this serious illness. Besides the fascinating story of the disorder itself, The Broken Mirror is also a lifesaving handbook for sufferers, their families, and their doctors. Left untreated, the torment of BDD can lead to hospitalization and sometimes suicide. With treatment, many sufferers are able to lead normal lives. Phillips provides a quick self-assessment questionnaire, helping readers distinguish between normal appearance concerns and the obsession of BDD to determine whether they or someone they know have BDD. She includes common clues to BDD - such as frequent mirror checking, covering up with clothing, and excessive exercise. Four new chapters on treatment contain updated information and recommendations on how to effectively treat BDD - as well as frequently obtained treatments that should be avoided. A revised chapter offers helpful advice and reassurance for friends and families of BDD sufferers. Profoundly affected by the disorder themselves, those who care about someone with BDD will find both helpful advice and reassurance in this indispensable book. The revised and expanded edition of The Broken Mirror is the most comprehensive book on BDD and is written by the leading expert on this disorder. It is essential reading for psychiatrists, other mental health professionals, dermatologists and plastic surgeons; for the friends and family concerned about a loved one who won't believe their reassurance; and for the millions who suffer from BDD in silence and secrecy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85975 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Review
Dr. Phillips' book is a landmark in the recognition and treatment of imagined uglyness. This book. beautifully written, provides a great deal of hope for patients with body dysmorphic disorder and their family members and should help speed recovery for countless sufferers of this common, fascinating, and disabling illness. Eric Hollander MD, Professor of Psychiatry, USA

Eric Hollander MD, Professor of Psychiatry, USA
"Dr. Phillips' book is a landmark in the recognition and treatment of imagined uglyness. This book. beautifully written, provides a great deal of hope for patients with body dysmorphic disorder and their family members and should help speed recovery for countless sufferers of this common, fascinating, and disabling illness."

About the Author
Katharine A. Phillips is Chief of Outpatient Services and Director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Body Image Programme at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University School of Medicine. She is internationally known for her pioneering work on BDD.

Customer Reviews

You too can lead a normal life
BDD is such a bizarre disorder and affects people in so many different ways that it can not be adequately summed up in a few paragraphs.
As a sufferer, just reading this book helped me to recognise that BDD was behind many of my own behaviours and that the shame of being obsessed with something so 'trivial' is shared by many. BDD sufferers are not vain and many would just like to consider themselves normal. The treatments covered in this book have helped me to lead a normal life.

The definitive book on BDD by the world expert.
To some extent we are are concerned about some aspect(s) of our appearance but BDD develops when that concern becomes an obsessive preoccupation. The suffering and torment can range from mild to severe. At the extreme, to turn your attention inward against yourself in such a negative fashion, can lead to very serious consequences which should never be ignored. BDD is a hidden disorder, often misdiagnosed because the real problem is invariably not presented to medical professionals due to guilt or the fear of misunderstanding, but associated problems such as anxiety, depression and social dysfunction are usually treated. However, treatments tend to be ineffective because all these conditions are underpinned by BDD which, as a core belief, needs to be targeted before the attachments can be tackled.

The good news is that, however serious the problem, BDD is treatable and improvement is possible. A combination of medication, usually SSRI anti-depressants, and psychological treatment, cognitive behaviour therapy, can chip away at those entrenched beliefs. Progress, however slow, is still progress and worth pursuing.

For the BDD sufferer, this book is a godsend. You come to realise that you are not alone, you are not mad and that there is a reason for your seemingly peculiar thoughts and behaviours. In the UK alone, it is thought there are about 400,000 sufferers. Read this book by Dr Katherine Phillips who has carried out extensive research into the disorder and is its most authoriative expert. The knowledge the book imparts is the first prerequisite on the road to recovery. This book could save your life no less.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR DIAGNOSIS
Being diagnosed is the first step to getting better from any disorder- reading on the internet and reading books like this allow you to understand your diagnosis better and start to be healed. As a BDD sufferer myself I was very interested to read up about the disorder and found this book very helpful. I am not a complete loony- I have an illness that is understood and treatable. This book left no questions unanswered- it is the best self help book I have read and did not confuse with long scientific jargon. It inspired and helped me to write my memoir about suffering BDD 'Suicide Junkie' that is also available from Amazon. Read these two books if you are a sufferer or are trying to understand a sufferer better- they are invaluable.