Body dysmorphia?

Okay, so I have seen a lot of people wondering if there is something wrong with them in WLS forums, and many people have bantered about the term 'body dysmorphia.' As a result, I feel compelled to write a little bit about this and set some points of discussion out there so that perhaps the term can be better used.

As taken from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/body-dysmorphic-disorder/DS00559

Body dysmorphic disorder is a type of chronic mental illness in which you can't stop thinking about a flaw with your appearance — a flaw that is either minor or imagined. But to you, your appearance seems so shameful that you don't want to be seen by anyone. Body dysmorphic disorder has sometimes been called "imagined ugliness."

When you have body dysmorphic disorder, you intensely obsess over your appearance and body image, often for many hours a day. You may seek out numerous cosmetic procedures to try to "fix" your perceived flaws, but never will be satisfied. Body dysmorphic disorder is also known as dysmorphophobia, the fear of having a deformity.

IT IS NOT when you aren't sure what your identity is now that you are no longer 'the fat chick/person.' That's trying to figure out a developmental milestone. If you always thought you were gonna be a 'fat chick/person' you probably resolved yourself to that identity in your mid- to late twenties and went about your business. If you went ahead and had WLS and drastically changed your outside self, then your inside self probably can't or hasn't caught up. It's a matter of making them match! So, this confusion is CLOSE to dysmorphia, but isn't quite dysmorphia. SEE ABOVE DEFINITION!

Being confused about yourself is a normal process that happens when you make big change. That is one of the reasons why WLS people/specialists recommend support groups and therapy, so that you have someone else there to help you through the process. Unless you are obsessed about your perceived flaw or ugliness, you are probably not suffering from dysmorphia, but rather, the confusion created when big SHIT changes and you aren't prepared for the rapid nature of said shit storm....