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Body Dysmorphic Disorder Research Paper

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It is not uncommon to find that nearly all individuals have one or more things about their physical appearance they would change. Some may want to change their height and weight, hair or eye color, or even their skin tone. However, there are others who would much rather alter their appearance by amputation. Whether it be based on some type of disorder or not, there are vast disagreements surrounding would-be amputees based on their state of mind, reasoning and rationality. We will further discuss types of disorders focusing on would-be amputees, as well as the issues surrounding such demands. Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), is a condition in which the individual believes, incorrectly, that a part of their body is diseased or exceedingly ugly. For some, that may be an uneven smile, but for others, it may be a leg or an arm. Those suffering from BDD are constantly focused on their perceived flaws …show more content…
Those suffering from apotemnophilia fantasize about having a missing limb. These fantasies may convince an individual that voluntary amputation would achieve their goals for the missing limb. There have been cases of individuals that have been known to intentionally cause damage to their limbs to have them amputated.
On the other hand, we now focus more on how disorders affect the view of the body itself. Bayne and Levy explained that would-be amputees may suffer from Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID), also known as Amputee Identity Disorder (Bayne and Levy, 02). Those that suffer from BIID feel as if their bodies are unsuccessful in conforming to the experience of their body in its entirety. The feeling of alienation of body parts is all but unrelenting to those suffering from BIID. Therefore, it seems logical that removing the limb may, in fact, aid in removing such unpleasant

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