Ileana D’Cruz opens up about body dysmorphia; know about the psychological condition

Cognitive and Behavourial Therapy can help you manage body dysmorphia symptoms by changing the way you think and behave, said psychologist Divya Ratan

Ileana D’Cruz recently opened up about suffering from body dysmorphia. “That’s the problem with body dysmorphia. No matter what size you are, no matter what number you are on the scale, you will always find fault with yourself. And the problem is you end up asking people to validate your fears,” Ileana D’Cruz told Hindustan Times in an interview.

What is body dysmorphia?

According to experts, it is a “psychological condition” in which a person finds flaws with their body. “They are very uncomfortable in their physical apparance or in their own skin,” psychologist Divya Ratan told indianexpress.com.

Common obsessions tend to be facial features — such as the nose, eyes, hair, chin, skin or lips — or particular areas of the body — such as the breasts or genitals, apart from general preoccupation with being too fat or skinny.

“It breaks your self-esteem and hinders your holistic development,” added Ratan.

According to her, obsessive and repetitive behaviours are a central part of the disorder. Individuals with with the disorder develop body-focused repetitive behaviours such as mirror checking. This happens in response to the preoccupations that they have with their appearances.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_zVtSXAojt/

A post shared by Ileana D'Cruz (@ileana_official)

In October 2020, Illeana uploaded a self-appreciation post in a black bikini. Listing all the body image issues she has had, and how she learned to not care. Ileana wrote that she has always been “worried” about the way she looked.

“I’ve always worried about how I looked. I’ve worried my hips are too wide, my thighs too wobbly, my waist not narrow enough, my tummy not flat enough, my boobs not big enough, my butt too big, my arms too jiggly, nose not straight enough, lips not full enough….. I’ve worried that I’m not tall enough, not pretty enough, not funny enough, not smart enough, not ‘perfect’ enough,” she penned in an Instagram post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFzTPQHA7UN/

A post shared by Ileana D'Cruz (@ileana_official)

Deciding that she would no longer conform to the society’s ideals of beauty, Illeana mentioned, “Not realising I was never meant to be perfect. I was meant to be beautifully flawed. Different. Quirky. Unique. Every scar, every bump, every ‘flaw’ just made me, me. My own kind of beautiful. That’s why I’ve stopped. Stopped trying to conform to the world’s ideals of what’s meant to be beautiful. I’ve stopped trying so hard to fit in. Why should I?? When I was born to stand out,” she concluded.

Treatment

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A post shared by Ileana D'Cruz (@ileana_official)

Behavioural therapy, and continuous counselling sessions can help with the disorder. “However, if you have anxiety or depression as co-morbidities, then a psychiatrist can prescribe you drugs for clinically diagnosed anxiety and depression only,” said Ratan.

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