Male Body Image

'When I looked in the mirror I felt disgusted with myself. I didn’t want to be that person.' 

19-year-old Connor Moody-Russell was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, but believes he was suffering from a condition called Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). 

The disorder causes people to have a distorted view of how they look and spend a lot of time feeling anxious about their appearance. 

'You look in the mirror and you hate what you see,' he says. 

Fixers is helping Connor to encourage young men to feel happy about how they look.

A film about his efforts was shown on ITV News Meridian (W) on November 9th.  

'Society puts pressure on us through magazines and social media,' he says.

'Young people live surrounded by social media – so you have Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, all these things where you see broad men or females all skinny and petite. It’s all photoshopped but everyone thinks they’ve got to look like that.' 

Dr Lin Bailey, a senior lecturer in psychology at Southampton Solent University, says Connor’s emphasis on body dysmorphia in young men is very topical.

She told him: 'Over the last 25 years, the number of young men who are dissatisfied with their body image has tripled. Social media has a huge part to play.

'It encourages self-scrutiny and comparisons with other people. It also promotes an ideal which is not attainable.' 

Connor was driven to attempt suicide but the experience was so distressing for his family that he decided to seek help and now reports himself much better.

He says: 'If there’s a young man reading this who feels like they do suffer from BDD, don’t be scared, don’t hate yourself.

'Just speak out, get some help. There are professionals out there who can help you. You are not on your own.' 

This project has been supported by Barker-Mill Estates. 

To find other resources on this topic, and watch Fixers films, click on the image below.