What does it represent?
So there is
Body dysmorphophobia is a mental disorder in which a person believes that he has not just an imperfect appearance, but a downright defective one.
Which is why any attempt to take a photo of him ends in a panic attack. After all, then his “deformities” will not only be noticeable to everyone who sees the photo, but will also remain as evidence for an indefinite amount of time.
Therefore, even if he undergoes plastic surgery and forgets about his defects formed at birth and growing up, then, having accidentally come across a photograph, he will again remember what he was like before.
Autogonistophobia is the direct fear of the camera lens. This phobia mainly occurs among members of the older generation; they begin to literally choke with horror if you even just point a camera in their direction.
Photophobia is the mildest compared to the others, as it involves a fear of the flash itself. Therefore, if you turn it off, a person will be able to take pictures without experiencing panic and anxiety.
The above three forms of mental disorder are often observed simultaneously, which significantly complicates a person’s life.
After all, now it’s difficult to meet someone who doesn’t like to take selfies, who doesn’t try to capture a beautiful landscape or just part of the city, people passing by on camera.
Plus, there is a need to take photographs for documents. If at a holiday you can still try to avoid a group photo, then after graduating from college or school - no way.
Types of dysmorphophobia
Experts distinguish two types of painful conditions: muscle dysmorphophobia and penile dysmorphophobia. These mental disorders vary, but have much in common.
Characteristics of the species:
Muscle dysmorphophobia, according to some experts, is the opposite of anorexia. People with this phobia believe that their physical fitness is less than ideal. They are obsessed with constantly improving their body - they spend all their free time in the gym, and are obsessed with enhanced nutrition. For such people, skipping a workout means cheating on yourself. Bodybuilders often suffer from this phobia. They try to hide their “imperfect” body under loose clothes and work out intensely. A painful condition can be successfully treated if it is not advanced and the patient is aware of his problem.
Reluctance to show imaginary shortcomings
The term “penile dysmorphophobia” has recently appeared in the dictionary of andrologists. This is due to the fact that there are more people who are unhappy with the shape, appearance or size of the external genitalia. Among these patients there are also women who do not like the appearance and size of the labia minora. Penile dysmorphophobia is not included in the classification of mental and behavioral disorders adopted by the World Health Organization. This term is taken from clinical psychiatry. It denotes a painful attitude towards a real, but small defect, which even specialists may not notice if you deliberately do not pay attention to it. Fears about their appearance prevent such patients from living a full life. A phobia can cause dysmorphomania, and this is a serious deviation.
People with this phobia try to hide from everyone, hide at home. They are afraid that others will notice their imagined inferiority.
Symptoms
As soon as the phobe notices that they want to photograph him, he begins to have a panic attack. Which is usually characterized by symptoms such as:
- Difficulty breathing, it becomes frequent, resulting in hyperventilation of the lungs. It seems to a person that his throat is narrowing, and at any moment he will simply die from suffocation;
- Dizziness, loss of consciousness;
- Pain in the chest area, reminiscent of a heart attack;
- Those who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract also experience pain in the stomach area. Vomiting and diarrhea may be present;
- Tremor of the limbs;
- Increased blood pressure, rapid pulse and heart rate;
- Narrowing of consciousness. A person loses the ability to adequately perceive the surrounding reality. When he panics, he does not see anything around him, so most often, if he tries to hide in a safe place, he risks getting into an unpleasant situation. That is, crash into a door, wall, jump out onto the roadway, fall out of a window or fall through a hatch.
At first glance, it may seem that the photophobe is simply flirting, declaring that he does not want to be photographed. But the very thought of this can bring him to panic.
So he’s not able to pull himself together and calm down like that with willpower alone. How to force him to pose. And attempts to put pressure on him will cause the opposite effect - a desire to distance oneself and minimize contacts.
How to photograph a person with body dysmorphic disorder
In such a situation, the photographer must win over the model by first talking with her, but without touching on the topic of his shortcomings. Only a professional photographer can take photographs that will turn a person’s shortcomings into his strengths. You need to convince the model to trust a professional.
Everyone knows that a disease is easier to prevent than to cure, and body dysmorphic disorder is no exception. This syndrome usually appears in adolescence, and to avoid the disease, it is necessary to explain to the teenager that beauty is a relative concept.
Each nation has its own concept of beauty, but the natural beauty of each person is unique. It is important to explain to a teenager that external and internal beauty are halves of one whole. It is also important for a teenager to build relationships with peers correctly and to be able not to react painfully to criticism of external data.
Causes
- Religious Beliefs. Among some believers, there is a theory that when a person is photographed, a part of his soul remains on the film, which can now belong to the devil. Or simply deprive him of a certain period of life, happiness, and so on.
- Negative experience. Mainly found among children. When they turned out poorly in some photo, they became the reason for ridicule among classmates or even relatives. The fear of being ridiculed comes into play, so the child begins to avoid camera lenses and categorically refuses to pose.
- Low self-esteem. As already mentioned, dysmorphophobia manifests itself in the form of fear that other people will notice flaws in appearance. This, naturally, occurs due to low self-esteem, complexes, and psychological traumas that the psyche could not cope with, which is why they affected self-identification and self-perception.
- Features of education. If parents overly criticize their child, then gradually his attitude not only to the world, adults, but also to himself is distorted. He may become too shy and as critical of himself as his family. Or if on the contrary, mom or dad sought to emphasize their status as having a talented or beautiful child, which is why they forced him to constantly demonstrate his strengths and abilities. This provokes an acute rejection of everything related to attention. Therefore, at first, dysmorphophobia arises as a protest to pose, and then feelings of disgust and fear become so intense that they provoke the development of a mental disorder.
What is the fear of being photographed called?
The fear of being photographed is a phobia called dysmorphophobia. This pathology occurs in 1% of the planet's inhabitants. It is not as safe as it might seem at first glance.
People with this pathology are dissatisfied with their appearance, have low self-esteem and a habit of criticizing themselves. In most cases, there are no obvious flaws in their appearance. But the fear of photography and videography haunts them throughout their lives. If you discover such a phobia in yourself or your loved ones, you should seek help from a psychotherapist.
The danger is that people with dysmorphophobia are prone to a sharp deterioration in health, hallucinations and even suicide.
Fear of camera flashes and video recording are phobias, the causes of which are different. The irritants that provoke the occurrence of these disorders are also different.
Fear of the camera is accompanied by the following manifestations:
- when remembering a camera or filming, a panic attack begins;
- a person is afraid not only of the process of photography itself, but also of the equipment, and even the film for developing frames;
- beliefs about the harm of photography;
- study of esoteric literature, which contains evidence of the validity of fear.
Treatment
Naturally, at the first symptoms of a phobia, you should consult a psychotherapist, as well as a psychiatrist.
To receive advice and specialized treatment. After all, phobic disorders usually do not go away on their own.
In the absence of the inclusion of specialists in the recovery process, on the contrary, they tend to intensify and become more complicated, leading to more serious consequences.
For example, a person may well stop leaving the house, lose sleep and peace.
Contacts with the environment will be so limited that it will lead to his degradation, that is, the loss of knowledge and skills that he previously possessed, as well as to a feeling of total loneliness, which usually ends in prolonged depression.
Which is characterized by a tendency to commit suicide. People get so tired of being afraid and experiencing mental pain that they decide to take extreme measures just to make it all end sooner.
A psychiatrist will be able to prescribe sedatives, antidepressants and tranquilizers to relieve anxiety, which simply cannot be eliminated by meditation.
Also a sleeping pill, because the body needs to restore its resources, the nervous system, working for wear, only worsens the general condition. Therefore, it is extremely important to relax, calm down at least for a while and get enough sleep.
A psychotherapist will help you figure out exactly what reasons provoked your fear of taking photographs. Will provide support and, if necessary, share ways that will allow you to achieve a sense of inner balance.
In addition, when a person realizes exactly why he got sick, this already alleviates the condition and allows for the recovery process.
Body dysmorphomania
Dysmorphophobia and dysmorphomania - these mental disorders have the same causes, but the second disorder is more serious. The patient’s belief in the presence of a physical defect is delusional and cannot be completely cured. Delusional dysmorphomania may indicate the onset of schizophrenia and manifests itself as an obsessive belief in the presence of an imaginary or extremely aggravated physical defect in visible parts of the body (nose, ears, lips, mouth, etc.). The painful condition is accompanied by delusional ideas, hallucinations, signs of mental automatism, panic fear, etc. Psychotherapists call criticism or name-calling in childhood the main cause of dysmorphomania.
Signs of a painful condition:
- gloomy mood;
- desire to hide true feelings;
- desire to correct physical defects.
Patients convince doctors that they are right. They use the services of plastic surgeons.
Plastic surgery for dysmorphomania
Even the most successful surgical intervention does not bring relief - they continue to suffer. This is manifested by a state of increased anxiety, panic attacks, signs of persistent depression and thoughts of suicide.
An obsession with correcting an imagined flaw forces a person to undergo a series of plastic surgeries. There are cases where patients themselves removed defects or inserted implants, putting their health at risk. Specialists must distinguish between body dysmorphomania and other mental disorders: schizophrenia, pre- and postoperative depression.
Photo addiction is a bad habit
No matter what anyone says, the modern tendency to flaunt one’s life is frightening. People have no secrets, and modern people want to share their most intimate moments with others. They describe their emotions in detail and try to photograph everything that happens in life. Is it good? No. A person must have a personal life, which he must learn to protect from prying eyes. This should be done not only by superstitious individuals, but also by all reasonable people. Your neighbors may be interested in knowing what you eat and who you sleep with, but why do they need this information? So that they can gossip behind your back or envy you? The less others know about your life, the better it will be. Therefore, do not make a problem out of a person’s phrase: “I don’t like to be photographed.” What should a person who does not want to appear in front of the lens do? For this question, a person should search for the question on his own. Don't ask friends and acquaintances. They will only laugh at you. Conduct psychoanalysis and find the roots of your problems.
