When I visited the BDD Foundation website this morning, I discovered two posts from University College London (UCL) seeking volunteers for BDD research studies:
- Study one: BDD and romantic relationships
- Study two: Shame and BDD
Immediately, I filled the form and pressed submit, only there was a catch — participants had to be UK-based. Despite no longer living in the UK, I emailed them anyway. After some back and forth, I argued my passion, explaining in detail why my participation is crucial.
It paid off. I received an acceptance email. That’s when panic set in because video conferencing is inevitable.
I opened my browser to schedule a time and date. The earliest slot available was in two days. My Bogey Maid wouldn’t be ready by then. After debating a slot for next month, I eventually settled on the 11th and 18th of this month.
When weighing my timing options, ranging from 2am to 9am, Bogey Maid stepped in, advocating for the 2am slot. Her reasoning? An excuse to sit in the dark during the video conference. Typical, even for a BDD research study my Bogey Maid wants to hide me away in the dark.
I overruled and chose 9:00 for the first and 7:40 for the second. Now we have a week to come to terms with getting our face on a video conference. (Yes, we are a collective, Bogey Maid a separate entity in my mind these days, with her own voice.)
If you’d like to get involved in these studies, follow the links below:
BDD and shame
BDD and romantic relationships
Male participants
Healthcare professionals
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