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A therapeutic boarding school may help teens who have BDD

By Staff Writer

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles recently found that people who have body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) have a skewed way of processing visual information, even when they are looking at inanimate objects. These individuals tend to have less brain activity when looking at an object that shows the "big picture," whether it is an image of an object or a human face.

For the study, researchers analyzed 14 individuals who have BDD and 14 healthy people. All participants were shown pictures of houses that were unaltered or altered. While one set of altered images reflected slight changes in small details, the other altered photos had very few details and aimed to show things "holistically."

When viewing the less-detailed houses, individuals who had BDD had less activation in the area of the brain that processes visual elements.

BDD affects about 2 percent of the population and can cause individuals to focus on small details rather than the whole picture. This may cause sufferers to obsessively think about the way that they look and shatter their self-esteem.

Parents who believe that their child has BDD may want to consider enrolling him or her in a therapeutic boarding school. 

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