People Have To Explain Guys Can Have Anorexia Too After A Before-And-After Pic Leaves Some In Disbelief
Interview With Expert
Anorexia and other eating disorders can affect anyone, no matter their beliefs, background, or gender. However, far from everyone understands that people don’t choose their illnesses. And some people even think that men (especially straight men) can’t have anorexia. Let me repeat that: there are people out there who believe that if you’re a man, you can’t have anorexia. What’s next—someone stating that women can’t have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder?
Andrew G. posted his before and after comparison pics of himself when he was anorexic versus how he looked after he conquered the condition and started looking like an athletic superhero. The internet’s reaction was incredibly supportive and Andrew was an inspiration for many people who were dealing with anorexia. However, when the story hit Tumblr, some internet users felt the need to make fun of Andrew, anorexia-sufferers, and men.
Bored Panda spoke to Catherine Cook-Cottone, a Professor of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology from the University at Buffalo, to learn more about anorexia, how it is perceived in society, as well as what people can do to overcome it.
“Men are also at risk for disordered eating. The risk appears to be somewhat lower, but that does not mean that it doesn’t happen,” Professor Cooke-Cottone explained to Bored Panda. “Anorexia nervosa is a very dangerous disorder with a relatively high mortality rate when compared to other disorders.
“It is dangerous to assume that men are not also at risk as you might miss supporting someone who desperately needs support.”
Andrew beat anorexia and showed off his progress to the world!
Image credits: andrewg06
He was very proud of what he achieved
Image credits: andrewg06
Image credits: libertarirynn
However, some people couldn’t believe that men can have anorexia…
Image credits: libertarirynn
…and this instantly started a serious discussion
Image credits: libertarirynn
Image credits: libertarirynn
Image credits: libertarirynn
Image credits: libertarirynn
Those who want to overcome anorexia need medical, psychological, and nutritional care
According to Cook-Cottone, there are three things that people suffering from anorexia need to do if they want to get the illness under control: medical, psychological, and nutritional care.
“Medical Care: a medical doctor who knows Anorexia nervosa and can make sure you are physically okay. Most doctors do not have specialized training, so be sure to find someone with training.”
“Psychological Care: secure a competent mental health professional who has training in working with eating disorders. This person can help you work on goals for not only your physical wellbeing but your emotional and relational wellbeing,” the Professor explained.
“Find someone who knows about positive embodiment and getting back to being in and of your body in a positive way—this means finding healthy places to be in your body—like a body-positive yoga study, hiking, and getting back to the full experience of your body.”
She continued: “Make sure they ask you about your goals and dreams in life and help you think about building up the parts of you that are not aligned with the disorder.” According to the professor, the point of this is to shut down behaviors and thoughts linked to anorexia.”Recovery is about getting back to effectively living your life.”
Nutritional care is just as important as medical and psychological support. “Find a nutritionist that not only knows about working with eating disorders—they also know about intuitive eating and getting back to being with food in a nourishing and healthy way, as well as how to honor your body and what it needs, not only to survive but to flourish.”
The professor suggested that a holistic approach was the best way to beat anorexia
“This three-armed approach should be a team that is willing to work together, consult with each other and support your recovery. For some people, they may need day treatment or inpatient care—your team will know what is right for you,” Professor Cook-Cottone said. “The goal is to end the ongoing and dangerous fight with your body that stunts physical, emotional, and relational wellbeing and back to being in and of your body in a way that allows you to thrive physically, emotionally, and in relationships—to be in and of your body so you can get back to your goals and dreams.”
“We call the balanced approach Positive Embodiment—you not only work to end the symptoms—you work to create a full life that does not include the eating disorders. I have a book coming out next year with Norton on Positive Embodiment and the Treatment of Eating Disorders. It is a holistic approach that includes patients’ wellbeing, hopes, and dreams and honors the struggle they have experienced and what got them where they are (trauma, hurt, sensitivity to emotions),” the Professor said. “It’s actually a very beautiful process to watch as those who are lost in the disorder begin to explore their reason for being, get back to feeling all their feelings, and get back to making choices from their hearts and minds rather than from a place of perfectionism and avoidance. I truly love the work.”
Anorexia may have a genetic component to it as well
Some researchers have stated that anorexia isn’t just a mental illness, but has a genetic component as well.
For example, a study headed by researchers at King’s College London and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has indicated that recovery rates from anorexia might be low because it is partly a metabolic disorder. In other words, it’s not all just in someone’s head.
Anorexia nervosa leads to a dangerously low body weight, a warped body image, as well as a huge fear of gaining weight. The condition, which has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness, affects 1 to 2 percent of women, as well as 0.2 to 0.4 percent of men.
Researchers used data collected by the Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative and the Eating Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. They analyzed data from 16,992 anorexia cases and 55,525 controls, all from 17 different countries.
According to the researchers, anorexia is in part a metabolic, in part a psychiatric disorder that has similarities to OCD, depression, anxiety, as well as schizophrenia.
Here’s how some people reacted to others not knowing that men can have anorexia
Mental health awareness is really important. I think the question (while a little tactless) shows that male stereotypes are still pretty destructive... no one is immune from body image issues or the myriad of self destructive spirals that can ensue.
It’s because men aren’t meant to talk about their feelings, they often get forgotten when it comes to mental illness even though statistically men are more prone to mental health issues. We as a society need to take away the taboo of men speaking up.
It's gradually improving - at least in the UK. One thing that social media is good for is sharing and the more people share these kinds of life stories the better. Knowing you aren't alone can make the difference between getting help or not.
Load More Replies...
Well done to the questioner. He could sit there in his ignorance..but he spoke out. An excellent teaching moment. We all learn by asking questions.
I find stupid they someone could think a mental disorder could affect a specific type of person ... The brain is the same.
Anyone can have eating disorders. I know a ftm transgender who had it also. Poor guy looked terrible I hope he stays well.
Society has this ideal of what an eating disorder is....teen age white girl starving herself thin. But we never associate this behavior with older women unless it is a celeb. And we certainly dont want to believe boys also have body issues, hate their looks. We also dont want to acknowledge the societal pressures on boys to look a certain way...all our action figures are ripped, our heroes are ripped..our male movie stars are ripped. So if your not ripped..no girl is gonna look your way. Like i said it looks like this guy traded one obsession for another..went from starving himself..put on maybe 20lbs...but now looks like he is obsessing over muscle building,diet,percentage of body fat.. It takes a certain low body fat to achieve that look
I have a question. How do you approach someone who you believe has anorexia if you do not know that person? Should you? A while ago, I saw this young woman in a shop who was reduced to skin and bone. I did not reach out to her but she is still on my mind. Anorexia is of course not the only reason for looking like that, my cancer treatments certainly had that effect on me. Too many young people die of anorexia.
Another problem i see is this guy still has body issues..he traded in starving himself thin or running his a*s off for body building.. But note he still has a very low body fat ratio.. He most likely overtrains and still worries about the state of his weight,still diets.. Yet society doesnt see this an eating disorder..if anything society holds up this body as ideal/ sexy..he js rewarded for this behavior But it still is ocd,still a form of anorexia
at least he is improving tho. It takes a lot of effort to do that.
Load More Replies...
My first experience with a man with anorexia was my sister's boyfriend's brother. He was a wrestler in high school and had to "cut" weight to make his class. He began having vision problems and bleeding gums that called attention to the stress his kidneys were under when he starved and became dehydrated to make a weight class.
Okay quick question though, in this there's alot of people talking about how this affects homosexuals and heterosexuals the same but, what does sexuality have to do with this? I'm genuinely asking.
Absolutely nothing, everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, can fall prey to the entire spectrum of mental and emotional disorders. There are a few physical issues that can result from the type of sex a person has most often. But, we all have an equal opportunity to be cray cray.
Load More Replies... The problem is anorexia for men manifests itself differently..maybe instead of starving himself thin ,the dude constantly runs. Society doesnt question his lack of weight..rather they say wow ofcourse he's thin..he is an athlete..a runner. But exercising to extremes to keep weight off is just as bad
Anorexia is a mental illness. Like all mental illnesses, none are gender specific.
*clears throat* Men and boys can experience mental disorders just the same as girls and women! It is not a feminine thing it is an actual concern and males are not weak or need to "man up" for having one! Society needs to snap out of it and realise just how dangerous it is to repress these things just because they aren't "masculine"
Attention People wanting to reply to this b******t: Don't feed the trolls.
This was in response to a hateful message. Not the actual post.
Load More Replies...
My very straight older brother had anorexia/bullemia in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Nobody even knew what it was back then. He didn't tell my parents he was starving himself, so they took him to doctors who diagnosed him with a tapeworm. That wasn't what was wrong. He was also suicidal for several years, about the time this was going on. I'm 9 years younger so don't remember many of the specifics, and my parents and he don't like to talk about it, but we have had discussions, and the stress in my household growing up created a lot of mental health issues for me down the road. Still dealing with those. It doesn't matter what age, race, gender, religion, whatever you are, mental illness affects everyone, and stigmatizing people for it is absolutely the wrong thing to do.
My son went through this during his freshman year of high school. 5' 8" , 100 lbs. All because a couple kids said something about a small bulge in his belly. School psychiatrist didn't help at all. It was a nightmare. If it was a girl, 100% guarantee it would be a different story.
For men who are wondering if being gay has anything to do with anorexia: anorexia doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being "feminine", and also not all gay men are feminine :) straight masculine men can get it as well, like many mental illnesses it doesn't care if you're rich, poor, man, woman, manly or girlie. I hope this clears it up.
This might be hard to believe, but there's an excellent episode of American Dad about a male with anorexia. It's surprisingly sensitive and informative.
I remember reading a article in the 90's about the lead singer of the band silverchair being anorexic. It was a very interesting read and it made me realize that a close male friend might be suffering from the same problem. It really opened my eyes to the fact that it's "not just teen girls" it can happen to anyone. I haven't talked to that high school friend in many many years and I'm now wondering how he is. I'm 37 so it has been at the least 20-25 years since I talked to him. Wow. Time flys. Time to search Facebook.
Very common among athletes, particularly cyclists. There's a lot of internal pressure to perform (being light helps you climb hills) and peer pressure, including from coaches.
to be clear, I'm not "upvoting" your past experience with bulimia & anorexia... but rather, in acknowledgement that it *does* happen, that it happens to *all genders*, and as a sign of gratitude that you used the past tense (I'm so glad that it's behind you, and wish you only good things). :)
Load More Replies...
On a similar note (I think), men also get breast cancer, though (as with eating disorders) not at as high a rate as women do
Poor guy. I hope he has people around him who will help and support him to stay healthy.
Working in an eating disorders unit it is more recognised in younger females than males, however this is changing. Males are just as vulnerable as females to be the 'ideal'. A lot of the male patients that I have worked with have been aiming for the 'body builder' body but don't understand that they actually need to have an increased diet
I'll bet things like Instagram and the new thin cut of men's suits plays into that too... Everyone seems to want to be so thin, not all of us are naturally built that way.
Load More Replies...
My brother and I were horribly abused, I think he got the worst of it. He suffered from eating disorder for most of his life. Men can have them too.
Such an insidious disorder. Takes great courage to overcome, but as we see, it can be done. So much talk about people's value includes their weight, thin is supposedly most important but can to easily lead to the before image. We are more than our husks.
It's one thing to not know men can suffer from anorexia (lack of examples in movies/tv/media/their own lives could easily explain that). It's another to find out men can have it then assume it must be a gay man thing. Bizarre.
The '90s had a lot of exposure within pop culture. All the grunge and other, mostly rock artists that sang about their mental health state. And sadly, many of them did not end well either.
Load More Replies... body image, is something that all humans go through, and shows up in so many ways. Often though, they're masked by what the marketing machine deems to be the "ideal". ie skinny women, and buff guys. I've worked in the fashion / advertising industry, and been around the body-building world for years. In both areas, for both men and women, there is so much body dysmorphia, that leads to such health concerns as shown here. Typically, the most easily hidden dysmorphias, are women starving themselves to be skinny, and men forcing themselves to eat more protein to gain muscle mass. Ironically, those aiming to get a pro-body builder body, experience both: eating too much (proteins) to gain muscle, while simultaneously trying to "starve" themselves to loose bodyfat. The end result, is a massive paranoia re: what food is consumed. Regardless of the physical end results, the dysmorphia and paranoia is unhealthy bothy physically & mentally, and a total monster to overcome.
There is actually a documentary about this out of the UK. Some boys go anorexic for the same reasons girls do...feared body image. One little boy wanted to be a football player and was convinced he had to stay thin as part of the regiment. His parents went so far as to have a famous footballer explain to him that footballers actually consume lots of calories, they just work out so much, they also burn lots of calories. It was heartbreaking to see what these boys go through.
i knew a guy who had anorexia at some point, he was like a father to me. I hope he is doing well, haven't seen him in years
Sadly the common culture lashes men to a few types, a few emotions, and a handful of ways to express manhood. Then the slurs come out. Sad.
Just was wondering, all people can or have this disorder. Why was the title 'not just WHITE girls"? thats bull
Yes, anorexia does affect all, no barriers but I will probably be vilified BUT, I do wish my depression and anxiety problems had led me to Anorexia instead of Obesity. After a lot of thought I really feel my life would have been better and the help I DIDN'T receive I could have had.
While there are some fairly specific illnesses to sex and race this is extremely very much not one of them
Any mental health issue can affect any person regardless of gender, age, race, or sexual orientation. Eating disorders occur because some aspects of our society has lead us to believe that if you don't fit into a certain image then you are not normal and that is so far from the truth. All people, no matter how they look are beautiful and have something to offer the world.
My friend was killed by anorexia, and he was male. It's a horrible nasty illness that can strike snyone
You find someone who has starved and abused their own body and mind nearly to death attractive? I think I you need to rethink your life choices (maybe you cant change your perspective, but you seriously need to learn when a comment is appropriate. This circumstance is about as far as you could get from the right time and place.
Load More Replies... Mental health awareness is really important. I think the question (while a little tactless) shows that male stereotypes are still pretty destructive... no one is immune from body image issues or the myriad of self destructive spirals that can ensue.
It’s because men aren’t meant to talk about their feelings, they often get forgotten when it comes to mental illness even though statistically men are more prone to mental health issues. We as a society need to take away the taboo of men speaking up.
It's gradually improving - at least in the UK. One thing that social media is good for is sharing and the more people share these kinds of life stories the better. Knowing you aren't alone can make the difference between getting help or not.
Load More Replies... Well done to the questioner. He could sit there in his ignorance..but he spoke out. An excellent teaching moment. We all learn by asking questions.
I find stupid they someone could think a mental disorder could affect a specific type of person ... The brain is the same.
Anyone can have eating disorders. I know a ftm transgender who had it also. Poor guy looked terrible I hope he stays well.
Society has this ideal of what an eating disorder is....teen age white girl starving herself thin. But we never associate this behavior with older women unless it is a celeb. And we certainly dont want to believe boys also have body issues, hate their looks. We also dont want to acknowledge the societal pressures on boys to look a certain way...all our action figures are ripped, our heroes are ripped..our male movie stars are ripped. So if your not ripped..no girl is gonna look your way. Like i said it looks like this guy traded one obsession for another..went from starving himself..put on maybe 20lbs...but now looks like he is obsessing over muscle building,diet,percentage of body fat.. It takes a certain low body fat to achieve that look
I have a question. How do you approach someone who you believe has anorexia if you do not know that person? Should you? A while ago, I saw this young woman in a shop who was reduced to skin and bone. I did not reach out to her but she is still on my mind. Anorexia is of course not the only reason for looking like that, my cancer treatments certainly had that effect on me. Too many young people die of anorexia.
Another problem i see is this guy still has body issues..he traded in starving himself thin or running his a*s off for body building.. But note he still has a very low body fat ratio.. He most likely overtrains and still worries about the state of his weight,still diets.. Yet society doesnt see this an eating disorder..if anything society holds up this body as ideal/ sexy..he js rewarded for this behavior But it still is ocd,still a form of anorexia
at least he is improving tho. It takes a lot of effort to do that.
Load More Replies... My first experience with a man with anorexia was my sister's boyfriend's brother. He was a wrestler in high school and had to "cut" weight to make his class. He began having vision problems and bleeding gums that called attention to the stress his kidneys were under when he starved and became dehydrated to make a weight class.
Okay quick question though, in this there's alot of people talking about how this affects homosexuals and heterosexuals the same but, what does sexuality have to do with this? I'm genuinely asking.
Absolutely nothing, everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, can fall prey to the entire spectrum of mental and emotional disorders. There are a few physical issues that can result from the type of sex a person has most often. But, we all have an equal opportunity to be cray cray.
Load More Replies... The problem is anorexia for men manifests itself differently..maybe instead of starving himself thin ,the dude constantly runs. Society doesnt question his lack of weight..rather they say wow ofcourse he's thin..he is an athlete..a runner. But exercising to extremes to keep weight off is just as bad
Anorexia is a mental illness. Like all mental illnesses, none are gender specific.
*clears throat* Men and boys can experience mental disorders just the same as girls and women! It is not a feminine thing it is an actual concern and males are not weak or need to "man up" for having one! Society needs to snap out of it and realise just how dangerous it is to repress these things just because they aren't "masculine"
Attention People wanting to reply to this b******t: Don't feed the trolls.
This was in response to a hateful message. Not the actual post.
Load More Replies... My very straight older brother had anorexia/bullemia in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Nobody even knew what it was back then. He didn't tell my parents he was starving himself, so they took him to doctors who diagnosed him with a tapeworm. That wasn't what was wrong. He was also suicidal for several years, about the time this was going on. I'm 9 years younger so don't remember many of the specifics, and my parents and he don't like to talk about it, but we have had discussions, and the stress in my household growing up created a lot of mental health issues for me down the road. Still dealing with those. It doesn't matter what age, race, gender, religion, whatever you are, mental illness affects everyone, and stigmatizing people for it is absolutely the wrong thing to do.
My son went through this during his freshman year of high school. 5' 8" , 100 lbs. All because a couple kids said something about a small bulge in his belly. School psychiatrist didn't help at all. It was a nightmare. If it was a girl, 100% guarantee it would be a different story.
For men who are wondering if being gay has anything to do with anorexia: anorexia doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being "feminine", and also not all gay men are feminine :) straight masculine men can get it as well, like many mental illnesses it doesn't care if you're rich, poor, man, woman, manly or girlie. I hope this clears it up.
This might be hard to believe, but there's an excellent episode of American Dad about a male with anorexia. It's surprisingly sensitive and informative.
I remember reading a article in the 90's about the lead singer of the band silverchair being anorexic. It was a very interesting read and it made me realize that a close male friend might be suffering from the same problem. It really opened my eyes to the fact that it's "not just teen girls" it can happen to anyone. I haven't talked to that high school friend in many many years and I'm now wondering how he is. I'm 37 so it has been at the least 20-25 years since I talked to him. Wow. Time flys. Time to search Facebook.
Very common among athletes, particularly cyclists. There's a lot of internal pressure to perform (being light helps you climb hills) and peer pressure, including from coaches.
to be clear, I'm not "upvoting" your past experience with bulimia & anorexia... but rather, in acknowledgement that it *does* happen, that it happens to *all genders*, and as a sign of gratitude that you used the past tense (I'm so glad that it's behind you, and wish you only good things). :)
Load More Replies... On a similar note (I think), men also get breast cancer, though (as with eating disorders) not at as high a rate as women do
Poor guy. I hope he has people around him who will help and support him to stay healthy.
Working in an eating disorders unit it is more recognised in younger females than males, however this is changing. Males are just as vulnerable as females to be the 'ideal'. A lot of the male patients that I have worked with have been aiming for the 'body builder' body but don't understand that they actually need to have an increased diet
I'll bet things like Instagram and the new thin cut of men's suits plays into that too... Everyone seems to want to be so thin, not all of us are naturally built that way.
Load More Replies... My brother and I were horribly abused, I think he got the worst of it. He suffered from eating disorder for most of his life. Men can have them too.
Such an insidious disorder. Takes great courage to overcome, but as we see, it can be done. So much talk about people's value includes their weight, thin is supposedly most important but can to easily lead to the before image. We are more than our husks.
It's one thing to not know men can suffer from anorexia (lack of examples in movies/tv/media/their own lives could easily explain that). It's another to find out men can have it then assume it must be a gay man thing. Bizarre.
The '90s had a lot of exposure within pop culture. All the grunge and other, mostly rock artists that sang about their mental health state. And sadly, many of them did not end well either.
Load More Replies... body image, is something that all humans go through, and shows up in so many ways. Often though, they're masked by what the marketing machine deems to be the "ideal". ie skinny women, and buff guys. I've worked in the fashion / advertising industry, and been around the body-building world for years. In both areas, for both men and women, there is so much body dysmorphia, that leads to such health concerns as shown here. Typically, the most easily hidden dysmorphias, are women starving themselves to be skinny, and men forcing themselves to eat more protein to gain muscle mass. Ironically, those aiming to get a pro-body builder body, experience both: eating too much (proteins) to gain muscle, while simultaneously trying to "starve" themselves to loose bodyfat. The end result, is a massive paranoia re: what food is consumed. Regardless of the physical end results, the dysmorphia and paranoia is unhealthy bothy physically & mentally, and a total monster to overcome.
There is actually a documentary about this out of the UK. Some boys go anorexic for the same reasons girls do...feared body image. One little boy wanted to be a football player and was convinced he had to stay thin as part of the regiment. His parents went so far as to have a famous footballer explain to him that footballers actually consume lots of calories, they just work out so much, they also burn lots of calories. It was heartbreaking to see what these boys go through.
i knew a guy who had anorexia at some point, he was like a father to me. I hope he is doing well, haven't seen him in years
Sadly the common culture lashes men to a few types, a few emotions, and a handful of ways to express manhood. Then the slurs come out. Sad.
Just was wondering, all people can or have this disorder. Why was the title 'not just WHITE girls"? thats bull
Yes, anorexia does affect all, no barriers but I will probably be vilified BUT, I do wish my depression and anxiety problems had led me to Anorexia instead of Obesity. After a lot of thought I really feel my life would have been better and the help I DIDN'T receive I could have had.
While there are some fairly specific illnesses to sex and race this is extremely very much not one of them
Any mental health issue can affect any person regardless of gender, age, race, or sexual orientation. Eating disorders occur because some aspects of our society has lead us to believe that if you don't fit into a certain image then you are not normal and that is so far from the truth. All people, no matter how they look are beautiful and have something to offer the world.
My friend was killed by anorexia, and he was male. It's a horrible nasty illness that can strike snyone
You find someone who has starved and abused their own body and mind nearly to death attractive? I think I you need to rethink your life choices (maybe you cant change your perspective, but you seriously need to learn when a comment is appropriate. This circumstance is about as far as you could get from the right time and place.
Load More Replies...
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