Körperdysmorphe Störung*

Abstract

A survey of the body dysmorphic disorder, once known as "dysmorphophobia", is given concerning classification, symptoms, diagnosis, epidemiology, nosology, pathogenesis and therapy. It can be shown that there is no good reason to differentiate between delusional and non-delusional forms as has been done in the international classification systems. Shame is the common affect that leads into the vicious circle of self-observation and bashfulness. The available data just confirm the clinical impression that we have to deal with a unified syndrome. In addition, actual studies show how important comorbidity is, especially comorbid depressions.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Depression: Phenomenological and Psychotherapeutic Aspects: A Report of Five Cases

“…If delusion is not present, the symptoms are classified as ‘somatoform disorder’ in DSM-IV and as ‘hypochondriacal disorder’ in ICD-10; in its delusional variant, it is classified as ‘delusional disorder’ in both manuals [2,3]. This classification has been frequently criticized however as being artificial, particularly because the boundaries are blurred [4,5,6,7,8]. …”