“Is it a disease that I can’t stop putting cream on my face? I am 32 gay male and I’ve always been suffering from insecurity even though I am not that ugly. I do not like the skin on my face. I feel good if I can put so much cream on it that when I touch my skin it feels even and smooth. I bought a very neutral and basic cream. Although I am concerned that putting cream on my face so often is not a good thing. Am I sick? Should I look for a psychologist?” Tamas
Thank you for your question Tamas. Your question is similar to a number of questions that have come through recently regarding worries about a body part, so you are not alone in your concerns. An obsessive-compulsive disorder involves repetitive thoughts and behaviours. Within this category of mental health disorders there is one that specifically involves a focus on the body and is called body dysmorphic disorder. Body dysmorphic disorder occurs when a person can’t stop thinking about a problem, defect or flaw in their appearance. As I don’t have all the information, I cannot tell you whether you have this disorder, but your short description has some elements of this type of disorder. In order to better understand your concerns, you would need to have a thorough assessment by a psychologist as there are other disorders that would need to be ruled out too.
The ICD – 11 describes a range of symptoms someone with body dysphoric disorder may experience including worries about a perceived problem with a part of the body that other people would not notice and excessive self-consciousness. As a result, people with this disorder often develop compulsive behaviour such as checking the area or trying to camouflage or alter the area. This disorder can also lead to avoidance of social situations and as a result isolation from caring friends and family.
There are a number of psychological strategies that have been found to be helpful which are discussed in a book by Sabine Wilhelm, Katherine Philips and Gail Steketee. The main therapy for body dysmorphic disorder is exposure and ritual prevention which involves the client developing a hierarchy of situations that make them anxious or which they avoid. They then slowly start to work towards exposing themselves to these situations. Alongside this they are given a range of skills to resist and reduce the obsessive behaviours and rituals. Cognitive behaviour therapy has good evidence with this disorder for both young people and adults. Acceptance and commitment therapy and online clinician guided CBT has also been found to be effective.
In summary I think if you continue to experience the symptoms you described you should see a mental health professional to discuss these concerns. If you do have a mental health condition, there are people to support you and helpful treatments available.
