The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder (Paperback)

by Katharine A. Phillips M.D. (Author) "Millions of Americans have a secret obsession..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, Eric Hollander, Wolf Man (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If one thinks that BDD might simply be a new age coinage for vanity, Phillips...makes a convincing case for taking a second look by drawing on years of clinical practice, research, and patient interviews."--Book News


Product Description
Jane is an attractive woman in her mid-thirties, tall, thin, and stately. She believes she is breathtakingly ugly. Tormented by what she sees as her huge nose, crooked lip, big jaw, fat buttocks, and tiny breasts, she has not left her house in six years. Though she lives in the same house as her mother, she once went two years without seeing her. When relatives come over, she avoids them, staying up on the third floor of the house, even on Thanksgiving. The one time she left the house--forced to see a doctor--she covered her face with bandages. Eventually, she attempted suicide. ""I can't imagine any suffering greater than this. If I had a choice, I'd rather be blind or have my arms cut off. I'd be happy to have cancer."" Jane has body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD. In The Broken Mirror, Dr. Katharine Phillips draws on years of clinical practice and detailed interviews with over 200 patients to bring readers the first book on this debilitating disease, in which sufferers are obsessed by perceived flaws in their appearance. Phillips describes severe cases, such as Jane's, but also a multitude of milder cases, such as Carl, a successful lawyer who uses his work to distract him from his supposedly thinning hair, yet says that he thinks about it constantly. Many sufferers are able to function very well in society, but remain secretly obsessed by their ""hideous acne"" or ""horrible nose,"" sneaking constant peeks at a pocket mirror, or spend hours at a time redoing makeup. According to Phillips' research, BDD afflicts approximately 2% of the population, or nearly 5 million people. It is not an uncommon disorder, simply a hidden one, since sufferers are often embarrassed to tell even their closest friends about their concerns: one woman, after fifty years of marriage, still felt too uncomfortable to reveal her preoccupation to her husband. Besides the fascinating story of the disease itself, The Broken Mirror is also a literally lifesaving handbook for sufferers, their families, and their doctors. Left untreated, the torment of BDD can lead to psychiatric hospitalization and sometimes suicide. With treatment, many sufferers are able to lead normal lives. Phillips provides a quick self-assessment questionnaire, helping readers distinguish between normal concern with appearance and the obsession of BDD to determine whether they or someone they know have BDD. She includes warning signs for dermatologists and plastic surgeons, since they are the medical professionals who see BDD sufferers most often as they continually seek to ""fix"" their looks. Other chapters outline effective treatments for BDD using drugs and cognitive-behavioral therapy, answering often-asked questions about treatments. Finally, Phillips includes a chapter aimed at the friends and families of BDD sufferers. Profoundly affected by the disease themselves, since sufferers often refuse to attend weddings and other family events, or constantly ask loved ones for reassurance about their looks, those who care about someone with BDD will find both helpful advice and reassurance in this indispensable book. The Broken Mirror--the first book on this underrecognized disorder--is essential reading for the psychiatrists, mental health professionals, and other physicians who see these often undiagnosed patients; for the friends and family concerned and upset by a loved one who won't believe their reassurances; and for the millions who suffer from BDD in silence and secrecy.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195121260
• ISBN-13: 978-0195121261
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #670,147 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Changed My Life, July 27, 2005

By	M. Aherne (Santa Rosa, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a 26 year old woman who has struggled with BBD for many years. I thought I was absolutly crazy until I happend to pick this book up about 6 years ago and found that other people are just like me. It has forever changed me since then. It has given me a name for my actions and piece of mind knowing that I am not alone. I have found strength in this book and can now happily say that I am recovering and functioning again in society as a "normal" person. I was housebound for years and lived in my own created prison. I was literally trapped in the mirror and thought I was a monster and had to hide from the world. Now I know what I have and this book has helped my friends and family better understand my struggles. BBD is just now starting to be talked about, but when I bought this book it was a topic people didnt know about or discussed. Now when I watch TV I can point out others that probably have it too (the woman who was on Oprah who has ungone countless surgeries to look like a Barbie doll and Michael Jackson) maybe they too could get their life back if this was more known about. I see them and connect with them and want to help because I felt that pain once too. This book is a start about getting the word out there. The more information that is out there the better. Just knowing you have this is half of it and admiting to it. This book helped me do that.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good start, January 3, 2000

By	Matt Sanborn (USA, Mass.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder (Hardcover)

The book itself provides an indepth look at BDD, my wife was recently diagnosed with the disorder. However, the book simply tells you about the symptoms and what the patient is going through. It provide little insight on obtaining help. My wife met with the author Katherine Phillips but was only offered a place in her new study for her new book. I feel that writing about the disorder is just that. Nobody seems to be offering a solution. For the price, it's a good book to share with freinds and family to help them understand the pain and stress the disorder puts on everday life. Thanks.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A close examination of body dysmorphic disorder, September 8, 2005

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder (Paperback)

Now in a revised and expanded edition, The Broken Mirror: Understanding And Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a close examination of body dysmorphic disorder, or BDD, in which sufferers become so obsessed with perceived flaws in their appearance as to experience disruption or depression in their lives. All too often those afflicted with BDD are too embarrassed to speak of their concerns. Katharine Phillips, M.D., author and director of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Body Image Program at Butler Hospital in Rhode Island, brings her expertise to bear on this comprehensive general text for psychologists and lay readers alike. Chapters include testimonies of people with BDD, definitions and how to diagnose BDD, causes of BDD, how BDD can be treated with medication or cognitive-behavioral therapy, how BDD relates to anorexia nervosa, obsessive compulsive disorder and other conditions, advice for family members and friends of those with BDD, and more. Presenting a complex medical and psychological problem without straying into excessively technical language, The Broken Mirror is highly recommended.