“I actually repulse myself” – Liane’s battle with body dysmorphia D

ISGUSTED by her own reflection in the mirror, 29-year-old Liane is crippled by a condition that causes her to believe she is horrifically ugly.

“I actually repulse myself,” says Liane, in this heartbreaking film following her journey through treatment for Body Dysmorphia Disorder (BDD).

One in 50 in Britain suffers from the condition and there are interviews with others too. “I had a sense that I was freakishly ugly,” says Gareth, 39.

While one woman tells how she didn’t have children for fear that she was so ugly, anything she gave birth to would be “a hideous monster”. Suicide rates are 30 times higher among those diagnosed with BDD.

This mostly follows Liane’s story, beginning a year ago as she complains that her hair is terrible and can make her face appear “lopsided”.

She’s on her way out to see boyfriend Mitch play in his band, but is all-consumed with how she looks and hates being seen in public.

Mitch constantly tries to reassure her, but to no avail, and is sometimes silent for fear that saying the wrong thing will trigger more anxiety.

“I don’t know why he likes me,” Liane says. There are also interviews with her parents, who say she was a happy and carefree child.

Cameras follow Liane as she meets Professor David Veale, one of the world’s leading experts on BDD, who attempts to undo some of her deeply entrenched habits. “It’s very dangerous to live in your head,” he tells her.

A powerful and eye-opening documentary about a very little-known illness.