A 25-year old housewife came to the Psychiatry out patient depament (OPD) complaining that her nose was longer than usual. She felt that her husband did not like her because of the deformity and had developed relationship with the neighbouring girl. Fuher she complained that people made fun of her. It was not possible to convince her that there was no deformity. What does her symptoms suggest?
Lady in the question is suffering form a type of delusional disorder called delusional dysmorphophobia. It is a type of somatic delusional disorder. In this, patient feels that her pas of body or whole body is ugly or misshapen. Delusions are defined as fixed, false beliefs that are not widely held within the context of the individual's cultural or religious group, that persist despite contradictory evidence or dysfunction clearly linked to the belief. Ref: Textbook of Postgraduate Psychiatry, 1st Volume By Vyas, Ahuja, 2nd Edition, Pages 222-225
Delusion
Depression
Hallucination
Depersonalization