Pathodysmorphia is a phrase coined by Samantha J. Brooks in 2012, developed from the Greek words pathos ("feeling" or "sensation"), morph ("body form") and dys- ("irregularity" or "abnormality"), to mean "an irregularity of feeling in the body".
Brooks et al proposed pathodysmorphia in relation to the underlying mechanisms of anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder characterised by severe restriction of appetite and deficits in cognitive and emotion processing. Pathodysmorphia in this sense, refers to the extreme fear/aversion that a person suffering with anorexia nervosa might have towards normal bodily sensations (e.g. in response to food and emotion arising from social interaction), which may alter brain structure and function.
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