Analyzing body dysmorphic disorder after Modern Family actor speaks out

TORONTO — In a letter to the Huffington Post, actor Reid Ewing revealed his struggle with body dysmorphic disorder.

Ewing, best known for his role on the hit sitcom Modern Family, wrote that he would spend hours a day analyzing his features.

“‘No one is allowed to be this ugly,’ I thought. ‘It’s unacceptable,”‘ he wrote.

That is not unusual among those with body dysmorphia according to Dr. Peggy Richter, head of the Frederick W. Thompson Anxiety Disorders Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

“They would often use words to describe themselves like, ‘I am horrible looking, I am ugly, I am monstrous,'” she said.

Richter said it can focus on just one body part , or many, adding that it’s much more than just not liking how you look and that many people don’t realize what an impact it can have.

She said the fixation can cause “horrific distress and havoc” in people’s lives and it could even be an an imagined flaw, so turning to plastic surgery typically doesn’t work.

The disorder also results continued dissatisfaction or shifts the focus elsewhere, she said.

Ewing wrote he had multiple plastic surgeries and that “each procedure would cause a new problem that I would have to fix with another procedure.”

In rare cases, other stars like Hayden Panettiere have spoken out about coping with body dysmorphia, and many believe Michael Jackson likely had it.

Repeatedly checking mirrors or avoiding them altogether, spending time thinking about your perceived flaws, or if your appearance impacts your work or social life, are signs of body dysmorphia.

“It has to be significant enough that it causes significant distress in a person’s life,” said Richter.

She said specialized psychotherapy and medications like antidepressants can help with the disorder.

Ewing ended his letter by saying if he could go back and undo all of his plastic surgeries, he would.

“Now I can see that I was fine to begin with,” he said. “And didn’t need the surgeries after all.”