The most important part about determining BDD is the impaired social functioning, it is not just obsessing about hairloss or some other flaw. I dropped out of college freshman year because I couldn't take being seen anymore. That was 4 years ago..I should be graduating now. That was after forcing my way through school which I barely graduated because I would never go. I was a good student when I actually went and my performance on tests is what saved me from not graduating because I had a really bad attendance record.
Now I have nothing and just look in the mirror for hours at a time or play video games when I feel alright. I felt this way about myself my entire life. I would starve myself as a child ages 4 all the way until around 16 because people would say I was too skinny at that age and that my head was too big for my body. I felt like a alien. I had many obsessions but mostly been the size of head and forehead. I never really got picked on really badly but I really couldn't handle a little comment about my head/forehead which would come up occasionally usually by douchebag guys that were my friends. Even my dad would call me pumpkin head or some freaking bs like that. I was a NW2 I guess my whole life and I heard from other kids I had a receding hairline when I was 8 etc. I get the genes from my mothers side since they have big heads(but they aren't bald either, Norwood 2's at 60 maybe I got the worst of both worlds and caught balding from fathers father) My brother and dad are norwood 1's and they are alot older than I am.
After a year of staying home and never going out my dad was getting really pissed and figured I was just a bum that enjoyed not working and not doing anything. I just figured it was normal to feel that if you are ugly you don't have a right to be seen because the public didn''t want to see a ugly person in the streets. And also I took off because I was planning on doing alot of work on my appearance until I was socially acceptable. That never really happened so I'm still here. I found out about BDD this way because my mom was concerned and looked up stuff online.
I don't know if I have BDD but I do know some people do say I'm good looking but I think they are just being nice. That is of course when I have bangs that cover up the entirety of my forehead also. About hairloss, I have been taking finasteride for 6 months now and it has had no effect on my hair. It looks exactly the same and I noticed no difference in shedding or appearance. But I will stay on it for as long as possible if it means I can keep my hair longer. If I start to lose hair I will probably kill myself since I can't afford transplants on 0 dollars a year salary. I have alot of plastic surgeries that I want to get but ifI was limited on budget I would def get a brow lift and hair transplants to give me a more straight line hairline.
So anyway, I think its normal to be bummed or maybe have a flaw in your mind but it depends on you react to it to see if you have bdd. I think my gf (that I met on a BDD website) is really beautiful and sexy and she had a worse time than me. She dropped out of school even earlier and obsesses about weird stuff like the size of her ribs and crap. I try to tell her but it like doesn't matter, she got offers to model but it means nothing to her, she really thinks she is a horrible person and ugly. Tbh, I don't think I have bdd, because I don't think my flaws are imagined like hers, I just think I'm really ugly and its not imagined.
