Regina is a teenager who lives in a college dorm. When she was younger she broke her nose and was left with a small bump afterwards. When she became an adult, Regina thought she had a facial deformity. She became obsessive and refused to go in public. Even after having plastic surgery she still found something wrong with her face. All of this (along with other symptoms) led me to diagnose Regina with body dysmorphic disorder. People who suffer from body dysmorphic disorder exhibit certain symptoms. Some of these include social isolation, requesting surgery, camouflage (trying to hide one's perceived flaw with clothes, makeup, etc.), and comparing body parts to other people's appearance (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Regina initially thought the little bump on her nose was a huge flaw that needed to be corrected. Without that solution, she socially isolated herself and wore clothes (giant sweatshirts) that would hide this perceived imperfection. Furthermore, Regina couldn't face "normal" looking people. She compared herself to others and thought of herself as a "hag." Everyone else was much better looking and she was too ugly to be seen in public. After the surgery he began to behave normally again, but only for a short time. Immediately afterwards he thought that his forehead was full of “worry lines”. She begged her parents to pay for further plastic surgery, which they refused. He even went out of his way and opened a credit card account to pay for the surgery. Now Regina finds herself in the unfortunate position of not being able to meet all her bills. Despite all this, she is still obsessive and has started skipping classes in college. All this because of her "scary" forehead wrinkles (which others do... middle of paper... things they found positive and attractive about her appearance. I would try to introduce her to positive things) things (like a little outing social with friends and family) to try to get her to change the way she responds to others. Slowly, I would introduce Regina to her college campus and try to show her that it is only her way of thinking that is causing her disorder (since no one else can see her flaws). My main goal of treatment is to move Regina away from her harmful thoughts and see her in a positive light. By effort and by turning her thoughts into positive ones, Regina may begin to recover. Works CitedAmerican Psychiatric Association (2013)..
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