Young men are continuing to turn to anabolic steroids rather than seek medical support for body dysmorphic disorder, according to a leading consultant psychiatrist.
Dr William Shanahan, clinical director of addictions at Priory Hospital Roehampton, spoke about the issue ahead of World Mental Health Day (Thursday 10 October). He said: “The number of men, particularly young men, gripped by body dysmorphic disorder continues to concern us.
“It is an increasingly common anxiety disorder that causes people to become particularly self-conscious, believing they have a problem with their appearance or with a specific feature of their body. It can escalate and dominate a person’s thoughts to the extent that they may struggle to think about anything else on a daily basis.
“If you find your appearance is dominating your thoughts like this, it is important to seek specialist medical support.”
The disorder is intertwined with rising rates of anabolic steroid addiction, as people turn to the substance to try to ease their anxieties, according to Priory consultant psychiatrist Dr Shanahan.
“I’m seeing more and more patients affected by this issue, and that’s being reflected in our services across the country. We are increasingly concerned by the ongoing trend.
“There are a complex number of factors which underpin the condition, including low self-esteem and social anxiety, as well as external factors such as the normalisation of unhealthy body image goals in society.
“We’re much more conscious today than we once were about the widespread media depiction of unattainable body images for women, and I think we can see some positive steps from brands and media outlets in this area. But we now see more widespread imagery in society – across all forms of media – depicting unattainable male body images too.
“This increasingly lean and muscular body type rarely exists in nature. It has led to large numbers of young men turning to anabolic steroids.”
Studies have reported that up to 2.4% of the general population may be affected by body dysmorphic disorder. Dr Shanahan adds that, rather than easing anxieties for people with body dysmorphic disorder, anabolic steroid use is leading to further mental and physical health problems. To learn more, visit https://www.priorygroup.com/mental-health/body-dysmorphic-disorder-bdd-treatment