Body Dysmorphic disorder

What natally in the chart would indicate a person prone to BDD. Does anybody have any chart examples of this.

This is from Wilkpedia Below:

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder in which the affected person is excessively concerned about and preoccupied by an imagined or minor defect in his or her physical features. The sufferer may complain of several specific features or a single feature, or a vague feature or general appearance, causing psychological distress that impairs important functioning (e.g. occupational or self-care) or social aspects of life.[1] Culture and clinician bias may play a significant part in the subjectivity behind determining what physical appearance is considered 'normal' and in whom the disorder is diagnosed.[2]

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I've studied this mental disorder myself and it's one of the most difficult one's to treat, since it's a bunch of disorders in one. OCD, anxiety, depression & BDD. The magic four of doom, basicly.

In my opinion it has a lot to do with an afflicted Sun, Moon, Saturn & Neptune. A heavily afflicted Sun causes a person to work "inward" and afflicted Moon, having problems with showing emotions, which also has a lot to do with BDD.

I don't think there is just one aspect, but bunch of things in a chart that point to that direccion...But since Venus is the planet of beauty, an afflicted Venus or very strong aspect done to Venus by other 'obsessionate' planets like Saturn/Pluto is one thing to look at, because BDD is very much about obsessing.

-Afflicted personal planets (Sun, Moon, Venus)
-Aspects that point to strong obsessions (Pluto/Saturn)
-Illusions (Afflicted Neptune)

Hope this helps.

Thank you Steeler it helps a lot. The reason I was wondering is when I was younger I was very self conscious about the way I looked. I am not as bad now, but I used to get upset about it and not want to go outside. My Neptune is afflicted. I have Saturn conjunct Asc in Virgo opposed my Sun. Venus in Capricorn squares Pluto. I am not as bad as some of the sufferers or as extreme, but I was extremely critical about myself and called myself terrible names. It comes from my earlier years, and I developed the strongest defences against people being close to me. Over the years my confidence increased and I improved, I just would not dwell on the way I looked, so I don't think I had the disorder but maybe a mild form, if you can have that.

But thank you again for all the helpful suggestions . I hope to see a chart with someone who has suffered this but it's very hard to find. I will keep looking.

A lot of people are self conscious, but until it starts affecting you'r life 100% and you can't have relationships because of self-hate, you can't go out, and you'r life is basicly ruled by you'r looks...That's when you have a problem.

Most of us go through times of self-hate, it's very, very normal...But we all get through with it, we still go out. A person with BDD will NOT go out if they think they'r make-up doesn't look good, they'r hair looks weird etc...They are ruled by they'r disorder and that itself causes anxiety->depression->more obsessing and so it's a very complex disorder to fix. What saddens me the most is people who think of this as a "vain disorder", when it's one of the most dangerous mental illnesses out there.

I personally can't say if you have BDD or not, but of what you wrote...Most of it seems normal to me. A lot of people have passed on going out because of; "bad hair day", so it's all normal.

And getting confidence in yourself is not easy, so you've done something really, really amazing!

If obsessing is the reason to BDD, self control is the way out!

Yes your right steeler, mine was probably normal. Although I did have the makeup thing as well, but maybe a lot of women are like this from time to time. I agree also that I hate people thinking it is because a person is vain or full of themselves for spending too much time focusing on how they look. As it is usually the opposite and it comes from lack of self worth and value. I had it worse at about 17 years old for some reason, maybe this is a vulnerable age. Or I may have had tough transits at the time.

Thank you .

this is scary....I have symptoms of bdd though it doesn't take up my whole life it does disturb it in ways....I had problems with bullima a little bit too ...it went undettected for so long...I am a guy and half black as well...its not common there.....

I am a gemini libra rising with moon in taurus and venus in taurus...venus in taurus and pluto in scorpio(in my first making aspects to about every planet in my chart) are my strongest planets venus just a tad more.....

when I was a kid my mother was told that I was bipolar a very very long story...I was treated for years until it was found out that I wasn't...I was on all kinds of meds and it made me gain weight unnaturally exactly 10 years ago at 12.....it was uncomfortable and not natural and I became very depressed..and allways tried to lose weight in unnatarul ways....I am supposed to be built like a football player(taurus) I have lots of muscle.... I when I was 16 lost 50 pounds in a month and a half and ended up dislocating my shoulders the nest year...the docter said they were loose and I would have trouble with them the rest of my life(we'll see about that) its 10 years later and after all this time of trying and trying I am finnally getting to where I want in a healthy way and have never looked so good.....but I realise that I have not accepted my self yet and will never be happy till I do but that the bdd symptoms are still there....in both my sun chart and regular ascendant natal chart am being affected by this grand trine and in my sun chart am going through a 12 house transit with the taurus....its time to clean closet......on march 5th the new moon I am gonna deal with this once and for all.......I don't think an afflicted sun has anything to do with it though....when I have heard anything about eating disorders....its been related to ceres(venus makes you self consious though) I have ceres in cancer in at 2 degrees(also mercury in cancer at 2 degrees) and its my most aspected planet when I run it through the program I have.....when pluto comes back it will continue its opposition.....ceres is also very strong in the sign of cancer(exactly opposite neptune and trine pluto too)

Miss Saturn said:

Yes your right steeler, mine was probably normal. Although I did have the makeup thing as well, but maybe a lot of women are like this from time to time. I agree also that I hate people thinking it is because a person is vain or full of themselves for spending too much time focusing on how they look. As it is usually the opposite and it comes from lack of self worth and value. I had it worse at about 17 years old for some reason, maybe this is a vulnerable age. Or I may have had tough transits at the time.

Thank you .

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Miss Saturn said:

Yes your right steeler, mine was probably normal. Although I did have the makeup thing as well, but maybe a lot of women are like this from time to time. I agree also that I hate people thinking it is because a person is vain or full of themselves for spending too much time focusing on how they look. As it is usually the opposite and it comes from lack of self worth and value. I had it worse at about 17 years old for some reason, maybe this is a vulnerable age. Or I may have had tough transits at the time.

Thank you .

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You should really check you'r transits of that time!
Because I've noticed in the charts of a few BDD patients, that they've been having some really, really difficult Pluto transits going on. Transformations from the outside and the inside, it messes most of us up.

redwolf481 said:

I don't think an afflicted sun has anything to do with it though....when I have heard anything about eating disorders....its been related to ceres(venus makes you self consious though)

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Bulimia, Anorexia and eating disorders have nothing to do with BDD.
They have similarities, but they are still very different.

And BDD isn't about eating, it's about imagined "ugliness", and extremely bad self-esteem. It has one similarity to anorexia though, wich is that when an anorexia patient looks at themselves in the mirror, they see someone that is fat, when in reality they are far from that. A sufferer of BDD will check themselves in the mirror compulsively, OR avoid them.
And if they look at themselves in the mirror, they see an "illusion" of themselves, just like someone with Anorexia. They might see themselves with a big nose, small eyes, when in reality they don't have any of that.

The interesting thing about BDD is, that most who have it are very beautiful. That is why it's called "imagined ugliness."

Another big difference between an eating disorder and BDD is that an eating disorder is about control. You CONTROL yourself. You don't eat, you vomit what you eat and you control everything. A person with BDD want's to get out as quick as possible. They don't want to be in it, since the disorder is controlling them.

Both of these disorders are nothing to joke about, but even though they have similarities...The way they work and the people who have it are very different.

you may actually be right....(about bullimia nervosa...)...I do definatly have bdd in some form.....when I pass a store window and catch a glimpse of myself it freaks me out...I have a myspace with no picture..and barely any pictures from the last 10 years...I don't have a specific imperfection like the nose or anything but yeah either I avoid the mirror or I would look at myself in the mirror till I saw what I wanted........and again I am a libra rising with venus in taurus...I am not a bad lookin guy....and now I am coming to a head with getting where I want with how I look and realize I will keep finding reasons why I don't look good....I am gonna see a specialist soon....bdd is lucky in the fact that it doesn't take years of therepy to treat and can be treated soon for most......


I learned to like pluto transits......I like growth and the transformation that comes from them

Steeler said:

Bulimia, Anorexia and eating disorders have nothing to do with BDD.
They have similarities, but they are still very different.

And BDD isn't about eating, it's about imagined "ugliness", and extremely bad self-esteem. It has one similarity to anorexia though, wich is that when an anorexia patient looks at themselves in the mirror, they see someone that is fat, when in reality they are far from that. A sufferer of BDD will check themselves in the mirror compulsively, OR avoid them.
And if they look at themselves in the mirror, they see an "illusion" of themselves, just like someone with Anorexia. They might see themselves with a big nose, small eyes, when in reality they don't have any of that.

The interesting thing about BDD is, that most who have it are very beautiful. That is why it's called "imagined ugliness."

Another big difference between an eating disorder and BDD is that an eating disorder is about control. You CONTROL yourself. You don't eat, you vomit what you eat and you control everything. A person with BDD want's to get out as quick as possible. They don't want to be in it, since the disorder is controlling them.

Both of these disorders are nothing to joke about, but even though they have similarities...The way they work and the people who have it are very different.

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redwolf481 said:

you may actually be right....(about bullimia nervosa...)...I do definatly have bdd in some form.....when I pass a store window and catch a glimpse of myself it freaks me out...I have a myspace with no picture..and barely any pictures from the last 10 years...I don't have a specific imperfection like the nose or anything but yeah either I avoid the mirror or I would look at myself in the mirror till I saw what I wanted........and again I am a libra rising with venus in taurus...I am not a bad lookin guy....and now I am coming to a head with getting where I want with how I look and realize I will keep finding reasons why I don't look good....I am gonna see a specialist soon....bdd is lucky in the fact that it doesn't take years of therepy to treat and can be treated soon for most......


I learned to like pluto transits......I like growth and the transformation that comes from them

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I can't say for you either if what you are experiencing is BDD or not, since I can't see you nor know you'r story from beginning to now.

Personally I don't believe in Mild BDD. I believe you either have it, or you don't. This is because most of us, nowadays, are very conscious of what we look like. We are constantly fed up with beautiful (photoshopped) models, who are not even close to reality. Living up to that is impossible and it is showing up in our society. But I don't believe it to be the cause to eating disorders or BDD. It's part of it yes, but it's not the reason. The mainreason to all of these eating disorders, bdd and etc come from feeling worthless and having very low self-esteem.

"I am gonna see a specialist soon....bdd is lucky in the fact that it doesn't take years of therepy to treat and can be treated soon for most......"

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That is good! If you feel the need to go to one, then there's a reason to it. And if you think you might have BDD, then the sooner you take care of it, the better.

A patient with a full-blown, diagnosed BDD, doesn't get better quickly tho.
BDD takes a long time to get cured and in some causes, BDD doesn't even get cured. If you've had it since you were a child (like in most cases), you will probably have it forever. In this type of situacion, therapy will help you live with it and manage it. Treating BDD is a process that both patient and therapist have to work on TOGETHER. You have to step out of the house, You have to avoid mirrors (if you are obsessed in looking yourself in the mirror) and etc. So it certainly does not happen quickly.
(I know two patients who have been in kognitive therapy for 2 yrs because of BDD and NOW, finally, they are starting to feel better again.)

im pretty familiar....a few months ago I talked with a specialist in bdd and was surprised to learn from him most of his patients don't have long term treatment...but thats unusual.....I think I will be cool I am pretty good about facing my fears...I am a plutonion after all

Steeler said:

I can't say for you either if what you are experiencing is BDD or not, since I can't see you nor know you'r story from beginning to now.

Personally I don't believe in Mild BDD. I believe you either have it, or you don't. This is because most of us, nowadays, are very conscious of what we look like. We are constantly fed up with beautiful (photoshopped) models, who are not even close to reality. Living up to that is impossible and it is showing up in our society. But I don't believe it to be the cause to eating disorders or BDD. It's part of it yes, but it's not the reason. The mainreason to all of these eating disorders, bdd and etc come from feeling worthless and having very low self-esteem.


That is good! If you feel the need to go to one, then there's a reason to it. And if you think you might have BDD, then the sooner you take care of it, the better.

A patient with a full-blown, diagnosed BDD, doesn't get better quickly tho.
BDD takes a long time to get cured and in some causes, BDD doesn't even get cured. If you've had it since you were a child (like in most cases), you will probably have it forever. In this type of situacion, therapy will help you live with it and manage it. Treating BDD is a process that both patient and therapist have to work on TOGETHER. You have to step out of the house, You have to avoid mirrors (if you are obsessed in looking yourself in the mirror) and etc. So it certainly does not happen quickly.
(I know two patients who have been in kognitive therapy for 2 yrs because of BDD and NOW, finally, they are starting to feel better again.)

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Hi Steeler,

I have seen some video's on it and I was never that obsessive. Your right in that it is more of a mental illness. I probably had the low self esteem but I was never obsessive to these extremes. Transits wise I may have had Pluto square Mars around 17 years of age, but I would have to double check it. Pluto was going through my 3rd and square my Mars in 6th Aquarius. I can see the clear difference now. By seeing a video, and I would know if I had ever suffered from this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hWQ65PSIyU

Just a question - Saturn cas come up with this BDD issue which is not surprise, but what about the natal Mars's role in this? Someone mentioned that a Mars-Pluto transit magnified things a little.

The disorder generally is diagnosed in those who are extremely critical of their physique or self-image even though there may be no noticeable disfigurement or defect.

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Miss Saturn:
I have Saturn conjunct Asc in Virgo

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Clinches it for me that it's a Virgo thing.

Frisiangal
(Virgo Ascendant!)

Miss Saturn said:

Hi Steeler,

I have seen some video's on it and I was never that obsessive. Your right in that it is more of a mental illness. I probably had the low self esteem but I was never obsessive to these extremes. Transits wise I may have had Pluto square Mars around 17 years of age, but I would have to double check it. Pluto was going through my 3rd and square my Mars in 6th Aquarius. I can see the clear difference now. By seeing a video, and I would know if I had ever suffered from this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hWQ65PSIyU

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Pluto square Mars is one of those transits I personally don't get. It's a transit about obsession, but It's lesson is one of those I don't understand. (I have this transit right now)

Just a question - Saturn cas come up with this BDD issue which is not surprise, but what about the natal Mars's role in this? Someone mentioned that a Mars-Pluto transit magnified things a little.

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I guess it would simply make the person obsessionate about something to the point that they become "violent" about it. This is just my opinion and it could be 100% wrong, since this is a transit Im going through and don't get personally at all.

I would see an afflicted Mars as a big part in a male's chart who suffers from BDD. Atleast it is something I would look at first.

Yes Frisiangle the Virgo asc makes me want to criticise myself, although I would have thought of a Libra asc as well, maybe wanting to be perfect and have body parts in balance. Although I have seen some people charts uncomfortable about their body with Uranus on Asc, again the ideal which does not relate to the physical flaws. Maybe I am thinking of the video where the girl is checking her reflection from all different angles. Saturn I have read up further on Saturn in 1st (particularly strong for me because I have Saturn conjunct the Asc). Here are a few astrologers views on my placement.

Bill Tierney - The closer Saturn is to the Asc it suggests we may start off life with an uncomfortable self image. Our physical appearance is usually a sensitive image. We don't feel at home with our shape size or overall structure. The dilemma can be a complex. Self loathing may have nothing to do with weight etc.. Most likely a first house Saturn is psychologically using weight to insulate themselves from a potentially harmful unkind world. (I used the opposite body focus of losing weight).

Howard Sasportas - Saturn in 1st may experience the physical body as awkward, gross and uncomfortable.

Another Saturn book listed similar things as self loathing, and wearing a mask to cover the insecurities. I do think my body issues have a lot to do with Saturn on a Virgo Asc.

The Mars/Pluto transit, I can't say for sure if this aspect was linked to the time when I went through my worse stage of self hate. Emotions were stronger around my body issues. 6th house can rule the health and this is about the time I went on a diet, lost weight and did feel happier and was feeling better about myself.

this makes a lot of sense has in progression saturn is in my first house right now

Miss Saturn said:

Yes Frisiangle the Virgo asc makes me want to criticise myself, although I would have thought of a Libra asc as well, maybe wanting to be perfect and have body parts in balance. Although I have seen some people charts uncomfortable about their body with Uranus on Asc, again the ideal which does not relate to the physical flaws. Maybe I am thinking of the video where the girl is checking her reflection from all different angles. Saturn I have read up further on Saturn in 1st (particularly strong for me because I have Saturn conjunct the Asc). Here are a few astrologers views on my placement.

Bill Tierney - The closer Saturn is to the Asc it suggests we may start off life with an uncomfortable self image. Our physical appearance is usually a sensitive image. We don't feel at home with our shape size or overall structure. The dilemma can be a complex. Self loathing may have nothing to do with weight etc.. Most likely a first house Saturn is psychologically using weight to insulate themselves from a potentially harmful unkind world. (I used the opposite body focus of losing weight).

Howard Sasportas - Saturn in 1st may experience the physical body as awkward, gross and uncomfortable.

Another Saturn book listed similar things as self loathing, and wearing a mask to cover the insecurities. I do think my body issues have a lot to do with Saturn on a Virgo Asc.

The Mars/Pluto transit, I can't say for sure if this aspect was linked to the time when I went through my worse stage of self hate. Emotions were stronger around my body issues. 6th house can rule the health and this is about the time I went on a diet, lost weight and did feel happier and was feeling better about myself.

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