Episode 34 Gem Ponting - recovering from body dysmorphic disorder

For years, Dan Joseph's life was governed by his BDD and a strict set of rules and rituals designed to camouflage his perceived flaws. Today, he truly believes it doesn't matter how he presents to people. And the next day is no longer to be survived, but to be lived.

This episode features Kim Booker, whose body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) first emerged when she was just five years old. Now the mum of a two-and-a-half-year-old, Kim is harnessing what she calls the BDD warrior within to raise awareness of the disorder while continuing with her own recovery. She shares many great insights, particularly around the decision to become a parent and the impact of undergoing repeated cosmetic treatments.

In this episode, Gem Ponting shares her experience with BDD, particularly the impact cosmetic surgery can have on the condition. She also highlights the power of self-compassion and forgiveness in the healing process.

In this episode, Olivia Wood (Liv) shares her journey with undiagnosed autism and ADHD, as well as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Liv explains how learning to understand her conditions helped her build self-esteem and self-compassion and reclaim her life from BDD.

Our guest for this episode is Danny Gray, whose organisation JAAQ (or Just Ask a Question) is the podcast's champion sponsor as a result of the Big Give campaign. Danny tells us about his 18-year journey with BDD and how he manages to stay well today.

Elliot Ditton is a writer and performer whose BDD came into full force following a chance sighting of himself in a mirror on the way to a Beyoncé concert. In this episode, he discusses the early signs of his condition, the triggers that exacerbated it, and his path to recovery.

Billie McPhilbin is a trainee counselling psychologist at the University of Manchester and a lead facilitator on the BDD Foundation's Overcoming BDD Programme. In this episode, she shares her experiences of struggling with BDD in her late teens, the steps she took towards recovery and the lessons she learned along the way.

A psychotherapist and the founder and director of the Los Angeles BDD & Body Image Clinic, Arie has dedicated his career to working with people with BDD. In this episode, he shares some of the fascinating insights he's gained from those thousands of hours of experience.

After suffering with BDD for many years, Tilly is now reaping the benefits of all the time and effort she put into recovering from the condition. Her story proves that if you keep putting in the work, you will get something out of it.

Eva has been recovered from BDD for 20 years, so brings loads of wisdom and experience to this episode. (Which is number 27, not 26, as I say in the intro!) It's a little different from the others in that Eva tells us her story directly, in four parts.