Monday, December 1, 2008

Mirror, mirror on the wall.... (or, we need a couple of screws loose)


Oh dear. This is amazing. Zoe believes her head is too small for her body. Its called "Body Dimorphic Disorder" and she is on anti-psychotics for it. Trust the experts, right? More therapy.... good drugs... thats what she needs. NOT! 12-year-old little sister comes to us and says "Hey, I KNOW why Zoe thinks her head is too small.... it's the mirror in our room. It's like a funhouse mirror. Dad put the top screws into the wall too tight, so it's warped. It makes your head look small!" (Dad had put this mirror up in the girl's room about 2-3 years ago, and hasn't touched it since!) SO, dad fixed it the night before we brought Zoe home, and now it gives a MUCH truer image of head-size and shape. It was just a matter of loosening the screws.


Sadly, the damage has been done, and Zoe still believes her head is the wrong proportion. Its hard to remove a belief so easily that has stuck in your head for years.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

There is a great book, named "The Broken Mirror" which describes what is know about BDD. It is real, very real - and causes horrible anguish if untreated.

BDD is also a very common side-effect of malnutrition, very common in eating disorder patients, and sometimes resolves when the malnutrition is reversed for long enough - sometimes not.

Maurisa said...

I saw your post on CMR and have read through your blog. I am praying for you. We have several close family members that have struggled and continue to struggle with the disease of AN/Bulimia. You are not alone.

It is often very painful to see your family through your children's eyes. I wonder why they see it in such a warped way.

In JMJ