Body dysmorphia involves a persistent, distressing preoccupation with a perceived flaw in your appearance, one that others often can't see or see very differently than you do. It can take up significant mental space throughout the day, driving checking, avoidance, or repeated attempts to fix something that shifts but never quite resolves. This isn't vanity or superficiality. It's a real and often exhausting experience.
In therapy, the work focuses on understanding the patterns that keep the preoccupation going and gently shifting your relationship to the thoughts and behaviours that surround it. This usually involves exploring what's underneath the focus on appearance, including what fears or beliefs might be driving it, and learning to disengage from the cycle of rumination. Progress tends to happen gradually, but it does happen.