this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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Body Dysmorphic Disorder

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This is a support community for people who have Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance.

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So this was an absolute game-changer for me, but it was also something I didn't even consider as a potential option until about 4 years into my BDD.

When I look back, I find it really surprising I didn't at all consider it, but by the chance I'm not an outlier, I'd like to make men aware that this is a something they can consider.

On the website dermnetnz.org on the Cosmetic camouflage page, it says this:

'Cosmetic camouflage has been shown to improve the quality of life significantly. It improves patient self-esteem and creates a sense of personal well-being.'

This is when I first had the notion that this was something I could try, and I haven't looked back since.

At least for me, getting my skin to look initially better was really not much effort and surprisingly not one person noticed I had anything on my face.

However I am still getting better and better at using it. I recommend allowing yourself some time to learn how to do it before giving up on it, as does DermNet: 'It may take some practice to achieve a satisfactory final appearance.'

Also I highly recommend dermnetnz.org. It's a reputable, non-profit dermatology resource with guides for people with any kind of skin-related questions, and it was recommended to me by my Doctor.

And if you'd like confirmation that this can be effective treatment for BDD, see this video, a video brought to my attention by @Sora@feddit.ch (thank you Sora!) which is made by the BDD Foundation (you can see the community sidebar for details on this organisation but in short it's a very helpful BDD support charity). And here is a screenshot of the part of the video with the confirmation: A table with the heading 'SOME DIFFERENCES IN APPROACH'. In the second row down and third row across 'Can be helpful e.g. concealer for scars' is circled

Thanks for reading, and I hope this might be of use to someone :)

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[–] Sora@feddit.ch 4 points 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing what personally helps you with your BDD as a male. I'm sure that many others out there still aren't in the know about the technique, so it's great on you to try to change that by speaking about it here! What's more, it's backed by the experts too, I made sure to bookmark DermNet myself.

Thank you for the shout out too in your post, it makes me happy that the video could help you make your points.