A woman wears underwear as "outerwear" to overcome her body dysmorphia - and dons lingerie, corsets and boxers to go to the beach and on nights out. <br /><br />Abbie Fidgett, 22, began suffering from body dysmorphia after she was bullied throughout school and college. <br /><br />She spent 20 weeks on a waiting list for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and refused to go back to the GP after they wanted to weigh her. <br /><br />She wrapped up in winter coats all year round to hide her body but in November 2020 decided to ditch it for underwear instead - after trying exposure therapy wearing different outfits. <br /><br />She has started to feel better and loves expressing herself through fashion. <br /><br />Now, she plans to run errands wearing boxer shorts and a jacket and regularly wears lingerie on nights out. <br /><br />Abbie, a content creator, from Stafford, West Midlands, said: "I started expressing myself through my fashion because it felt like I was finally doing something for myself.<br /><br />"I feel confident wearing underwear as outerwear and I’m so proud of myself. <br /><br />"I love getting creative with fashion, it gives me my power back.<br /><br />"I'm always wearing lingerie tops on nights out - I'll wear my boxer shorts on holiday, along with a bikini top. <br /><br />"When it gets a bit warmer, I’ll be pairing my boxers with a blazer or jacket to go to the shops."<br /><br />The bullying started when Abbie was in year seven, in 2012, and continued all the way through until 2017.<br /><br />While she used to be a "confident, outspoken" teenager, Abbie quickly became withdrawn and started feeling bad about her body. <br /><br />She says bullies would make fun of her skin and weight and it was "relentless" - lasting the entirety of her time at school.<br /><br />She says her prom - which took place on July 7, 2017 - was the "worst day of her life". <br /><br />She said: "I struggled mostly in high school. <br /><br />"I got heavily bullied - so for me, the priority was to just find any piece of clothing I could hide my body in. <br /><br />"I used to wear big winter coats, even in the summer, to hide myself. <br /><br />"I’d get stared at a lot, which I did find really embarrassing, but it was more bearable than walking out the door wearing something that showed my body off. <br /><br />"I just wanted to be able to feel comfortable again and wear things I actually liked."<br /><br />Abbie visited her GP for the first time in summer 2017 - but she says there was no body dysmorphia-specific treatments available, and the waiting list for CBT was 20 weeks long. <br /><br />She felt uncomfortable with the way her condition was being discussed by doctors - and she claims they told her they'd "get you out of that winter coat in no time". <br /><br />"I couldn’t get any CBT during high school because the waiting list was too long," she said. <br /><br />"I remember walking into my appointment in my big coat, stepping on the scales in front of the doctor, hearing them making comments.<br /><br />"I left that appointment in tears."
