Includes index.

Patients speak -- What is body dysmorphic disorder? -- How do I know if I have body dysmorphic disorder? -- Body dysmorphic disorder comes in many forms -- Painful obsessions -- Compulsive behaviors: mirror checking, grooming, camouflaging, dieting, and others -- How body dysmorphic disorder affects lives: social avoidance, problems with school and work, violence, suicide, and other consequences -- Gender and body dysmorphic disorder across the life span -- What causes body dysmorphic disorder? Clues to an unsolved puzzle -- Getting better: a brief treatment guide -- How to successfully treat body dysmorphic disorder with medication -- Cognitive-behavioral therapy for body dysmorphic disorder -- Cosmetic treatments: surgery, dermatologic, dental, and other treatments -- Anorexia nervosa, obsessive compulsive disorder, and other psychiatric disorders: what's their relationship to body dysmorphic disorder? -- Advice for family members and friends -- Getting help for body dysmorphic disorder.

Using stories and interviews to show the many different behaviors and symptoms of BDD, and providing a quick self-assessment questionnaire, Dr. Phillips helps readers distinguish between normal concern with appearance and the obsession of BDD. She then guides readers through the basics of the disorder and through the many treatment options that work and don't work. --from publisher description