Body dysmorphia? Therapy

[Happyfeet82]

I wonder if someone could help me. Around 2 months ago I developed a cyst on my eyelid. I got it surgically removed and my eye has resolved, it is still red but I cover it with makeup. Since this all started, I developed an unhealthy obsession with my eye, I mirror check multiple times an hour, take multiple photos of my eye a day, I am convinced there is still a lump, despite everyone around me telling me there isn’t. The thing is, no one else notices my eye, but It’s all I can see when I look in the mirror. I am 25 and I have always been an anxious person, I consider myself to be attractive and I’ve always taken pride in how I look. The compulsion to look at my eye has taken a huge knock on my mental health, it’s all I think about, I have lost half a stone and I am often tearful, my family and boyfriend are supportive but they don’t see why I am so upset, for me, my eye just doesn’t look the way it used to. I am thinking about seeing a therapist, as I’m starting to think this is body dysmorphia, does anyone have any experiences with talking to someone, and did it help? I am desperate to get back to my old self, I just want to be happy again and not consumed by how I look. I’m not a vain or superficial person but this is now consuming my life.

Hi @Happyfeet82 it does sound like BDD. You can access your local NHS talking therapies service who work with this (or the should do). There's a good self help book 'overcoming body image problems including BDD' by David Veale, Rob Willson and Alex Clarke. It's a while since I've worked with anyone with BDD but there was quite a bit if stuff on line, especially the BDD foundation. David Veale and Rob are pretty much the leaders in this in terms of CBT therapy so anything that is by them is pretty sound. Hope this helps! BTW CBT can be really effective but make sure its specifically tailored to BDD and not a generic CBT therapy.