Letting Go of Perfect

Name: Letting Go of Perfect
Price: 44.99 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9781805017981

A Gay Man’s Guide to Healing from Body Dysmorphia

Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Miguel Toribio-Mateas

$44.99

Paperback

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English

Jessica Kingsley Publishers
21 October 2025

Coping with personal problems; Coping with illness; Coping with eating disorders

Body dysmorphia affects a significant number of gay men, driven by rigid beauty ideals and social expectations around masculinity. The pursuit of a 'perfect' body can quickly become all-consuming, leading to harmful patterns around food, fitness, and self-worth.

Daniel O'Shaughnessy understands this not just as a clinician but as someone who has lived it. Drawing on his experience with extreme dieting, compulsive exercise, and steroid use, he brings a rare honesty to a subject still too often shrouded in silence. His professional insight as a nutritionist and mindset coach is shaped by this lived reality, offering both empathy and expertise.

This book explores why body dysmorphia is so pervasive in the gay community, unpacks its psychological roots, and provides practical tools to help you challenge toxic patterns and begin to build a more respectful, sustainable relationship with your body.

Whether you're caught in cycles of comparison or simply exhausted by the pressure to look a certain way, this is a grounded guide to thinking differently, living more freely, and letting go of the need to be 'perfect.'

By: Daniel O’Shaughnessy
Foreword by: Miguel Toribio-Mateas
Imprint: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 214mm, Width: 136mm, Spine: 26mm
Weight: 275g
ISBN: 9781805017981
ISBN 10: 1805017985
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 21 October 2025
Audience: General/trade , College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Daniel O'Shaughnessy is an award-winning nutritionist and mindset coach based in London. As a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, he has worked for over a decade in clinical practice, drawing on earlier experience as an addiction therapist to support clients through a wide range of physical and mental health challenges. A pioneer in bridging LGBTQ+ experience with holistic health, his previous writing helped spark vital conversations around identity, wellbeing and care that truly reflects the lives of those it serves.

Reviews for Letting Go of Perfect: A Gay Man’s Guide to Healing from Body Dysmorphia

Body image is a real struggle in the gay community-and finally, there's a resource that tackles it with clarity, compassion, and authenticity. Packed with honest insight and practical tools, this is a must-read for gay men and the professionals who support us. -- Tom Bruett, MS, LMFT, licensed psychotherapist, author of 'the Go-To Relationship Guide for Gay Men'