Danny Bowman (below), a man diagnosed with body dysmorphic
disorder, explained that he grew suicidal due to his addiction taking selfies,
Guardian Liberty Voice reported. Bowman shared that he
would shoot about 200 pictures a day in an attempt to take the “right” selfie
of himself. He also said that he would spend up to 10 hours a day taking
selfies.
Bowman attempted suicide by taking an overdose of
drugs when he couldn’t take what he felt to be the perfect selfie.
In trying to care for Bowman, Dr. David Veal
expressed to Guardian Liberty Voice that taking too many selfies may cause
mental illness, including body dysmorphic disorder, which has an “extremely
high suicide rate.”
Bowman’s parents, who are both mental health
professionals, explained that they believe there is a “huge lack of understanding”
about how risky electronic gadgets and social media can be for users. His
parents shared that his addiction to taking selfies caused him to dramatically
lose weight, in addition to him trying to commit suicide.
Expert Dr. Pamela Rutledge explained in an article
for Psychology Today that taking selfies is indicative of narcissism,
attention seeking behavior and self-indulgence.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder is characterized
by a long-standing pattern of grandiosity (either in fantasy or actual
behavior), an overwhelming need for admiration, and usually a complete
lack of empathy toward others.
People with this disorder often believe
they are of primary importance in everybody’s life or to anyone they meet.
While this pattern of behavior may be appropriate for a king in 16th Century
England, it is generally considered inappropriate for most ordinary people
today.
People with narcissistic personality disorder often
display snobbish, disdainful, or patronizing attitudes. For example, an
individual with this disorder may complain about a clumsy waiter’s “rudeness”
or “stupidity” or conclude a medical evaluation with a condescending evaluation
of the physician.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
suicide was the tenth leading cause of death for all ages in 2010. In the same
year, there were 38,364 suicides in the United States averaging out to 105 each
day.
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