“Body dysmorphic disorder,” by Rachel Zahn, informs about “a psychiatric somatoform disorder resulting in exaggerated preoccupation with an imagined or minor defect in physical appearance that causes significant impairment of social functioning,” known as body dysmorphic disorder. People who are affected by this disorder are constantly worrying about a certain part of their physical appearance, which ultimately results in “emotional distress, repeated behavior or thoughts in response to preoccupation with perceived flaw, severe disruptions in social functioning, repeated attempts at corrective cosmetic surgery.” People suffering from this excessively inspect themselves in mirrors and impair their school and job performances. They often wish to seek use in cosmetic surgery to correct this “flaw,” yet they continue to be dissatisfied. There is no specific cause found for this disorder. However, some suggest a major factor may be the large amount of focus on physical appearance in today’s society. Some other causes could be having a low self-esteem, brain neurotransmitter abnormalities, as well as genetics. It can also be related to some other psychiatric disorders, such as eating disorders. Major depression is often also associated with the disorder, as it is present in sixty percent of the patients affected. Body dysmorphic disorder is often overlooked or misdiagnosed. The best way known to help the patients is through selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The idea is that by regulating the neurotransmitters in the patient’s brain the symptoms will be able to be more controlled and possibly reduced. Studies have shown that by upping the intake of serotonin, since it is low in body dysmorphic patients, can greatly improve their condition. Cognitive behavior therapy will also greatly help the person work through their low self-esteem and negative body image. Unfortunately, this is a chronic condition so relapse is common.  

It is important to know about body dysmorphic disorder when you are reading the poem because it helps the reader better understand what the girl is going through. If you are able to understand better what the disorder is and how it can transform a person’s life, you will be able to read more into the underlying messages in the poem, “Barbie Doll.” If the reader knows what the disorder is, the poem is able to insinuate that it is possible that what she is trying to “fix” through dieting and exercising may not even be there at all. A reader can also become aware that this disorder may be greatly affecting her social life as well as schoolwork, so when peers poke fun it most likely hurts deeper than intended. For instance, a classmate saying “you have a great big nose and fat legs” probably affected her much deeper than how another person may have taken the negative remark. One may also be able to suspect that once you learn more about the body dysmorphic disorder, that the girl may also be suffering from an eating disorder. The poem refers to her dieting, and eating disorders are regularly associated with body dysmorphic disorder. Also, by becoming aware of the aspects of having body dysmorphic disorder you realize that major depression is often affecting the person too. One may suspect that the girl in the poem could also suffer from depression, since the poem ended with her in a casket, while suicide is sadly related to major depression. Body dysmorphic disorder also affects the patient’s decision making skills, which could be another factor why someone suffering from this would commit suicide.  Issues of physical appearance are nothing to joke about, because one may never know what a person truly see themselves as or their biggest insecurity. 

Body dysmorphic disorder is also found to directly affect your brain. “There is evidence of abnormal white matter connectivity (‘the wiring’) and network patterns in the brains of those with BDD.” People who are going through body dysmorphic disorder cannot help that their brain is registering things wrong. They may even just interpret a house differently than a non-affective person, so it does not only affect their bodies. For an example, studies showed that they are more likely to wrongly read a person’s neutral face. They will see someone who is angry instead, so this shows how they are also able to misinterpret how they look or someone else’s view on how they look based on their expression. There is also limited evidence leading to the fact that there is often a higher amount of white matter in the brain of a person who has body dysmorphic disorder. This can cause hindrances in the person’s vision and emotions. Which is way the girl may truly be incapable of seeing herself how she truly is, especially factoring in the remarks of classmates reminding her of her “imperfections.”  

This poem continually throws out signs that the girl is suffering from body dysmorphic disorder. One way you could tell is by how hard she took the snide remarks about her body and continued to obsessively believe them. In addition, al lot of the things she did throughout the poem pointed towards major aspects of the symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder. The fact that she was continually worried about her weight and diet is hinting towards an eating disorder, while the fact that she killed herself reveals that she was suicidal. This poem, “Barbie Doll”, covers a very serious topic of body dysmorphic disorder and how it is affecting people in today’s society. It also shows how a person may never know what someone is suffering through, so you need t watch what you say to people. One may never know how one of their comments might affect an individual.