Body Dysmorphia: Why the Brain Insists the Body Is "Wrong"

Body dysmorphia is a persistent experience in which a person feels their body is "not right": "crooked knees," "the nose is wrong," "the breasts aren't right, maybe they'd be better like this." Dr. Saulitis's method treats this not as empty fault-finding but as a phenomenon with both psychological and physiological roots. Here is why it happens, from the method's point of view.

The Body as "Fact" vs. the Body as "Feeling"

The key trap of body dysmorphia is that a person sees their own body not as a fact but through fear, anxiety, and reactivity. The method proposes the opposite move: "I look at it as a fact, as a phenomenon, and I focus on the details." When the emotional charge is removed and the body is seen as a physiological given, the distorted self-assessment weakens.

Part of a Broader Spectrum of Disorders

The doctor stresses that distress about one's own body does not exist in isolation. Eating disorders stand nearby — bulimia, anorexia, where "physiology" becomes an obsessive theme. Depression may also be woven in, including juvenile forms, bipolar affective disorder, and early psychotic manifestations around ages 14–15. So fixation on a "wrong" body is often the tip of a deeper process, not a stand-alone problem.

Why Self-Criticism About the Body Forms So Early

The method places strong emphasis on age and maturity. A child still has "no critical faculty" — critical thinking isn't yet formed, the foundation isn't laid. Therefore early, imposed ideas about the body and identity settle "like a foundation," with no chance to reflect on them. The doctor insists: first you must grow critical thinking and show physiology "as it really is," and only then, on a mature foundation, can a person judge their own body and tell fact from an imposed image.

Reactivity and the Hormonal Background

Dissatisfaction with the body intensifies when reactivity is high — the sensitivity threshold is lowered. The method links this to physiology: the thyroid "can give sensitivity," hormonal "swings" amplify emotional fluctuations. So before calling body dissatisfaction purely "psychological," the method requires ruling out bodily causes.

First, Rule Out Physiology

The method's logic is simple: "why guess?" — check it. When someone complains about their body, the first step is not interpretation but fact: get tested, confirm that everything is physiologically in order. Only after confirming there is no organic basis do we speak of a psychological nature to the experience.

Practice: Restoring the Body's Status as "Fact"

1. Name the experience a fact, not a verdict. Tell yourself: "I look at this as a phenomenon," separating fear and anxiety from the observation itself.
2. Rule out physiology. Get basic tests — blood, biochemistry, thyroid; make sure heightened sensitivity isn't coming from the body.
3. Lower reactivity. Cut fast sugar, get good sleep, add walks and physical activity — this raises the reactivity threshold and evens out hormonal "swings."
4. Engage your critical faculty. Ask: is this a fact about my body, or an externally imposed image I never had time to reflect on?
5. Remember the spectrum. If the fixation on the body comes with mood swings or disordered eating, that's a reason to see a specialist — not to "fix" the body.