Dorian Gray syndrome
Encyclopedia
Dorian Gray Syndrome denotes a cultural and societal phenomenon
characterized by an excessive preoccupation with the individual's own appearance accompanied by difficulties coping with the aging process and with the requirements of maturation. Sufferers of Dorian Gray Syndrome are heavy users of cosmetic medical procedures and products in an attempt to preserve their youth. Dorian Gray Syndrome is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM-IV).
The name alludes to Oscar Wilde
’s famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray
.
signs of dysmorphophobia, narcissistic character traits, and arrests in psychic maturation often seen in paraphilias. Dorian Gray patients frequently are excessive users of "medical lifestyle" products.
was first described at a symposium on lifestyle drugs and aesthetic medicine (Brosig 2000, Brosig et al. 2001, Euler 2003 et al.). The name alludes to Oscar Wilde
’s famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray
and the 1945 film
made from it, in which the protagonist as a handsome young man looks at a just-painted portrait of himself and wishes that it, rather than he, could grow old. He is then unable to mature, and "gives his soul away" in order to resist time and nature. Wilde's artistic condensation in the form of the Dorian Gray portrait both cites and transgresses narcissistic mirror motives, and eternal beauty and the process of aging and maturation are represented by the person and mirror dyad. Wilde's artistic creation serves as a background for the clinical description of the syndrome
.
drugs, weight loss medication, mood lifters, laser treatment of the skin, and aesthetic surgery to remove signs of the aging process) are seen. The syndrome is delineated from the concurring clinical concepts of narcissistic personality, dysmorphophobia, and paraphilia. While Dorian Gray patients display diagnostic features of these disorders, the syndrome describes a common underlying psychodynamic behind these disorders in form of a narcissistic defence
against time-dependent maturation -- the seeking of eternal beauty. An estimated 3% of the total population displays features of the syndrome (compare Brosig, et al. 2005, based on a representative study of the German population).
are often observed in DGS patients if the utilization of lifestyle offers as mechanisms of defense is not sufficient to preserve the patient's beauty. If the defensive "acting out" character of the syndrome is not understood properly and the patient continuously uses lifestyle products without noticing the psychodynamics involved, a chronic state of depression or narcissistic emptiness can occur. In some instances, other forms of autodestruction by drug
intake or surgery were seen.
Phenomenon
A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...
characterized by an excessive preoccupation with the individual's own appearance accompanied by difficulties coping with the aging process and with the requirements of maturation. Sufferers of Dorian Gray Syndrome are heavy users of cosmetic medical procedures and products in an attempt to preserve their youth. Dorian Gray Syndrome is not recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders...
(DSM-IV).
The name alludes to Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
’s famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
.
Definition
The Dorian Gray Syndrome is characterized by a triad of symptoms combining diagnosticMedical diagnosis
Medical diagnosis refers both to the process of attempting to determine or identify a possible disease or disorder , and to the opinion reached by this process...
signs of dysmorphophobia, narcissistic character traits, and arrests in psychic maturation often seen in paraphilias. Dorian Gray patients frequently are excessive users of "medical lifestyle" products.
History
The syndromeSyndrome
In medicine and psychology, a syndrome is the association of several clinically recognizable features, signs , symptoms , phenomena or characteristics that often occur together, so that the presence of one or more features alerts the physician to the possible presence of the others...
was first described at a symposium on lifestyle drugs and aesthetic medicine (Brosig 2000, Brosig et al. 2001, Euler 2003 et al.). The name alludes to Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
’s famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is the only published novel by Oscar Wilde, appearing as the lead story in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine on 20 June 1890, printed as the July 1890 issue of this magazine...
and the 1945 film
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)
The Picture of Dorian Gray is an American horror-drama film based on Oscar Wilde's 1891 novel of the same name. Released in March 1945 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film is directed by Albert Lewin and stars George Sanders as Lord Henry Wotton and Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray...
made from it, in which the protagonist as a handsome young man looks at a just-painted portrait of himself and wishes that it, rather than he, could grow old. He is then unable to mature, and "gives his soul away" in order to resist time and nature. Wilde's artistic condensation in the form of the Dorian Gray portrait both cites and transgresses narcissistic mirror motives, and eternal beauty and the process of aging and maturation are represented by the person and mirror dyad. Wilde's artistic creation serves as a background for the clinical description of the syndrome
Syndrome
In medicine and psychology, a syndrome is the association of several clinically recognizable features, signs , symptoms , phenomena or characteristics that often occur together, so that the presence of one or more features alerts the physician to the possible presence of the others...
.
Causes
Psychodynamically, an interplay between narcissistic tendencies ("timeless beauty"), the inability to progress and mature ("developmental arrest") and, finally, as a defense, the use of "medical lifestyle" products (hair growth restorers, erectile dysfunctionErectile dysfunction
Erectile dysfunction is sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sexual performance....
drugs, weight loss medication, mood lifters, laser treatment of the skin, and aesthetic surgery to remove signs of the aging process) are seen. The syndrome is delineated from the concurring clinical concepts of narcissistic personality, dysmorphophobia, and paraphilia. While Dorian Gray patients display diagnostic features of these disorders, the syndrome describes a common underlying psychodynamic behind these disorders in form of a narcissistic defence
Narcissistic defences
"Narcissistic defences have been defined as those processes whereby the idealized aspects of the self are preserved and the limitations of the self and [of] others denied"....
against time-dependent maturation -- the seeking of eternal beauty. An estimated 3% of the total population displays features of the syndrome (compare Brosig, et al. 2005, based on a representative study of the German population).
Diagnosis
The following operational criteria have to be fulfilled for a DGS diagnosis:- Signs of Dysmorphophobia
- Inability to mature and to progress in terms of psychic development
- Utilization of at least two medical lifestyle offers (different areas required):
- HairHairHair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
growth restorers (e.g., finasterideAntiandrogenAntiandrogens, or androgen antagonists, first discovered in the 1960s, prevent androgens from expressing their biological effects on responsive tissues. Antiandrogens alter the androgen pathway by blocking the appropriate receptors, competing for binding sites on the cell's surface, or affecting...
) - Antiadiposita (e.g., orlistatOrlistatOrlistat , also known as tetrahydrolipstatin, is a drug designed to treat obesity. Its primary function is preventing the absorption of fats from the human diet, thereby reducing caloric intake...
) - Medication against Erectile DysfunctionErectile dysfunctionErectile dysfunction is sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis during sexual performance....
(e.g., SildenafilSildenafilSildenafil citrate, sold as Viagra, Revatio and under various other trade names, is a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension . It was originally developed by British scientists and then brought to market by the US-based pharmaceutical company Pfizer...
) - Mood uplifters (e.g. FluoxetineFluoxetineFluoxetine is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor class. It is manufactured and marketed by Eli Lilly and Company...
) - CosmeticCosmetologyCosmetology is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty including hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/pedicures, and electrology....
dermatologyDermatologyDermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....
(e.g., laser resurfacing) - Aesthetic surgery (e.g., face lifting liposuctionLiposuctionLiposuction, also known as lipoplasty , liposculpture suction lipectomy or simply lipo is a cosmetic surgery operation that removes fat from many different sites on the human body...
)
- Hair
Sequelae
Clinically, depressive episodes and suicidal crisisCrisis
A crisis is any event that is, or expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community or whole society...
are often observed in DGS patients if the utilization of lifestyle offers as mechanisms of defense is not sufficient to preserve the patient's beauty. If the defensive "acting out" character of the syndrome is not understood properly and the patient continuously uses lifestyle products without noticing the psychodynamics involved, a chronic state of depression or narcissistic emptiness can occur. In some instances, other forms of autodestruction by drug
Medication
A pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...
intake or surgery were seen.
Literature
- Brosig B.(2000) The "Dorian Gray Syndrome" and other fountains of youth. Paper presented at the Continuous Medical Education Board of the Landesärztekammer Hessen, Clinical Pharmacology Section, on 29. 4. 2000 in Bad Nauheim, FRG.
- Brosig B, Kupfer J, Niemeier V, Gieler U. The "Dorian Gray Syndrome": psychodynamic need for hair growth restorers and other "fountains of youth." Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2001 Jul;39(7):279-83. PMID 11471770.
- Brosig, B., Euler, S., Brähler, E., Gieler, U. (2005) Das Dorian Gray Syndrom. In: Trüeb, R. A. (Hg.) : Smart aging. Darmstadt, Steinkopff (in press).
- Euler, S., Brähler, E., Brosig, B. (2003): Das Dorian-Gray-Syndrom als „ethnische Störung“ der Spätmoderne. Psychosozial 26, 73-89.
External links
- www.dorian-gray-syndrom.org (German)
- The “Dorian Gray Syndrome” (English)
- "Death Becomes Her" at IMDB