Danny Bowman
Hi, I am Danny Bowman - Head of Research and Communications at the Conservative Mental Health Group and a PhD Researcher at the University of Liverpool. I am passionate about impro...
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Who are you?
So, I'm Danny Bowman. I'm a PhD researcher at the University of Liverpool. I'm also head of research and student engagement at the Conservative Mental Health group. I love running, I love politics. I love a lot of different things, but I've also experienced BDD.
When did you first realise you had BDD?
So I first realised I was experiencing BDD at the age of 15 years old. I was spending hours every single day in the mirror, exercising extensively, purging my food, doing grooming rituals, and the impact was intensive. It was awful. And from that point, I realised I needed to reach out for some support to hopefully reduce my B 2D behaviours.
As someone who has BDD, what is the worst thing someone could say to you?
I think the worst thing someone can say with B, D, D, and it's only natural that they would say this, they want to make you feel comfortable, is that what you're seeing is not there or kind of reassuring you continuously that you look okay, which obviously in many ways intensifies the behaviours because if you are experiencing B, D, D, you're probably not going to believe what anybody is saying, even if they are reassuring you. So it's really important that they don't do that.