Tami Roman has been open about her struggles with body dysmorphia. The actress, 52, gave further details about her battle with it and how the mental health condition affects her during a recent interview with The Breakfast Club.
Show co-host DJ Envy brought up the rumors circulating about Roman’s weight and eating habits and she addressed them head on.
“The thing is, I have a condition that’s called body dysmorphia and I’ve had it since I was 13 years old,” Roman said. “It is a mental disorder based on either trauma or genetics and mine is trauma-based.”
She continued, “What happens with that is the way I look at myself and the way people see me are two different things. I think about myself as My 600-Lb. Life. No matter how I look to people, when I look at myself, I can always pick something apart. I always feel like I’m overweight.”
Roman said this leads to moments where she feels she has to stop eating or moments where she’s very hungry and needs to eat.
Body dysmorphia affects an estimated 1.7%-2.9% of the population, making it more common than disorders like anorexia. Treatment options for the disorder include therapy and medication.
Rapper Remy Ma, a guest during the episode, interjected saying, “I feel like every girl got body dysmorphia if that’s the case because you feel a certain way about yourself.”
Roman then interjected, “This is different because there can literally be nothing wrong, but I will find something. With the average woman, it’s like ‘well i think I wanna lose a few pounds’, but if they don’t, they’re OK. But with me, it’s like no, ‘I’ve got to lose the pounds because I see this fold on my wrist right here,’” she explained.
Porsha Williams (or Guobadia), who is a co-host on the show this week then asked how Roman feels about hearing her own self-critical comments and also having to deal with negative comments from outsiders.
“Here’s the thing. When I feel I look good, people will comment and say, ‘you’re too skinny,’ ‘you look like a bobble head,’ ‘she needs to gain some weight.’ All of that in my mind is a compliment. They’re viewing it as, ‘girl get your life together, I’m seeing bones,’ and I’m like, ‘Really? Oh my god, I look like a crackhead? Thank you,’” Roman said.
The actress also opened up about this ongoing struggle in November 2021 during an episode of The Real. If you’re battling body dysmorphia or any other type of eating disorder, you can call or text the National Eating Disorder hotline to get help. They also have a live chat feature if you feel more comfortable with that.