Treatment
Studies have found that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is effective in the majority of cases. In a study of 54 BDD patients who were randomly assigned to cognitive behavior therapy or no treatment, BDD symptoms decreased significantly in those patients undergoing CBT. BDD was eliminated in 82% of cases at post treatment and 77% at follow-up.
Since BDD is believed to be linked to low serotonin levels in the brain, SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and other antidepressants are commonly prescribed. 74 subjects were enrolled in a placebo-controlled study group to evaluate the efficiency of fluoxetine (Prozac); patients were enrolled in a 12-weeks, double-blind, randomized study. At the end of treatment, 53% of patients responded to the fluoxetine.
A combined approach of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and antidepressants is more effective than either alone. The dose of a given antidepressant is usually more effective when it exceeds the maximum recommended doses that are given for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) or a major depressive episode.
Read more about this topic: Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Famous quotes containing the word treatment:
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—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“[17th-century] Puritans were the first modern parents. Like many of us, they looked on their treatment of children as a test of their own self-control. Their goal was not to simply to ensure the child’s duty to the family, but to help him or her make personal, individual commitments. They were the first authors to state that children must obey God rather than parents, in case of a clear conflict.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)
“A regular council was held with the Indians, who had come in on their ponies, and speeches were made on both sides through an interpreter, quite in the described mode,—the Indians, as usual, having the advantage in point of truth and earnestness, and therefore of eloquence. The most prominent chief was named Little Crow. They were quite dissatisfied with the white man’s treatment of them, and probably have reason to be so.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)