BDD Syndrome
“My use of true image mirrors has been therapeutic. I discovered them after 17 years of suffering from severe Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and eating disorders. BDD is a psychiatric disorder where sufferers perceive themselves to be hideously ugly or deformed, when, in reality, they look normal to anyone else. The disorder affects everything you see, yourself in a mirror or a picture. It was crippling for me. I wanted to end my life several times”.
However, the discovery of the true image mirror was a wonderful self-discovery. Whilst looking in it, I finally saw someone who I had never ever seen before in my life.
I could ‘see’ the warmth in my own eyes,
I could ‘see’ how handsome I really was, and
I could ‘see’ what a kind individual I was.
BDD is not about wanting to be told you are attractive, or vanity, it is a potent and awful disorder that destroys lives. I could finally ‘see’ that BDD has truly caused me to misperceive and to see things totally the wrong way round!
I have often wondered whether my BDD wasn’t actually caused by looking into ordinary mirrors, because I can clearly see two completely different faces. Not just subtly different but profoundly different. In the true image mirror, I see a much more likeable person, not just an appearance.
It isn’t just about my features being the ‘right way round’ when looking in a true mirror: when I used to look in an ordinary mirror, I was always aware I was looking in a mirror. With the true image mirror, it’s like actually meeting me, in the mirror! It feels like meeting another human being.”
