Episode 39 Sam Milburn - parenting a child with body dysmorphic disorder

Sam Milburn, mum to Jack, is a passionate advocate for more awareness and better access to treatment for BDD. In this episode, she shares her hard-won advice for other parents, including how to navigate the system on behalf of your child while also looking after yourself.

Just a couple of years ago, Malise Honey was in a wheelchair after spending three and a half years in hospital being misunderstood, mistreated and wrongly diagnosed. Today she is in recovery, volunteering for the BDD Foundation and even training for the Manchester Marathon. She shares the devastating impact of misdiagnosis and how finally receiving the right support changed everything.

For much of the time Mark Brown lived with BDD, he looked as if he was functioning from the outside. But inside he was living under what he calls "a dome of shame and disgust". Now, after lots of hard work and therapy, he says he's much more present in his life and his old life with BDD feels like a distant memory. 

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.

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.

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.