Popular singer Robbie Williams recently revealed that he has struggled with dysmorphophobia for years. How does it express itself to him and how does the star deal with his illness?
Around 1 million people in Germany alone suffer from the so-called disfigurement syndrome, with women being affected more often than men. What seems incomprehensible to others is real torture for those affected. “I suffer from dysmorphophobia,” says Williams. “On top of that, I can sometimes be 40+ pounds overweight. So you can imagine what my psyche sees. Either way it’s a fucking disaster.”
For the successful singer, it was mainly the weight that bothered him over the years. After a few years of being seen with a few extra pounds, he suddenly lost weight dramatically - so much so that fans even started to worry about his health. But the weight loss did not bring the desired satisfaction. Because of the dysmorphophobia, the singer immediately finds the next problem in himself: “At the moment I'm thin, but the way I am, I think: 'Great, Rob, you managed to become thin and now you're old' . A sentence that describes the syndrome best: Accepting and loving yourself and being satisfied with your appearance simply seems impossible. “I could write a book about pure self-hatred when it comes to my body image. About the ugliness of feeling ugly.”
“The struggle is real, the sadness is shocking. I've had them my whole life. And it will not let up,” explainsRobbie Williamsand adds that with his honest post he not only wanted to “free himself”, but perhaps he could help other people affected.
Dysmorphophobie Definition
Body dysmorphic disorder is a disorder of physical self-perception. Affected people are convinced that they are ugly and find extreme flaws in various parts of the body: sometimes it is the nose, sometimes the skin or the ears, alleged hair loss or the body structure in general and the problems are not noticeable to outsiders. It is not uncommon for those affected to be very attractive.
The problem often first appears during puberty, a difficult period of life, as we know. The causes of dysmorphophobia are different. It can be false ideals of beauty that have been conveyed to the person (often through the media), or bullying at school.
Symptoms are not just that those affected find themselves ugly, because almost everyone has one or two things to complain about. This is why body image disorders are often only recognized late. But when checking your appearance becomes extreme (more than an hour in front of the mirror, constantly checking the shop window or cell phone display, frequently asking friends), you should listen up. The body schema disorder should be treated because it can definitely result in frequent cosmetic surgeries, which ultimately will not bring satisfaction - an eternal cycle.
