Anorexia and bulimia are very complicated disorders, and different people can develop eating disorders for different reasons. That is, while many individuals with eating disorders think and act in very similar ways, the reasons they have these thoughts and actions can be quite different.
Although many people view these behaviors as self-destructive acts, most individuals who develop eating disorders do not usually perceive their behaviors as self-harmful. Actually, most patients feel that they began the behaviors to try to fix other problems. The most common reason therapists hear from people about why they began self-starvation, bingeing or purging is that at some point they felt terribly out of control -- whether because of something they were feeling inside themselves or something that was happening to them from their outside environment.
Following are some of the most common causes of eating disorders. Read More>>>
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Eating Disorders and the Media
Okay, so we all want to hear how Calvin Klein is the culprit and that the emaciated waif look has caused women to tale-spin into the world of Eating Disorders. While the images of child-like women has obviously contributed to an increased obsession to be thin, and we can't deny the media influence on eating disorders, there's a lot more to it than that. With approximately six billion people in the world, and a mere ten million of them suffering with some type of disordered eating (.18% of the overall population -- less than a ¼ of 1%), the media obviously doesn't cause everyone to develop Anorexia, Bulimia or Compulsive Overeating. (Current statistics indicated that approximately one in every one hundred teenage girls may develop an Eating Disorder).
It is a lot more complex than blaming the media.
The media most certainly contributes to dieting and size discrimination but Eating Disorders are NOT Diets!
From early-on children are taught by society that their looks matter. Think of the three and four year old who is continuously praised for being "oh so cute". With an increased population of children who spend a lot of time in front of television, there are more of them coming up with a superficial sense of who they are. Images on T.V. spend countless hours telling us to lose weight, be thin and beautiful, buy more stuff because people will like us and we'll be better people for it. Programming on the tube rarely depicts men and women with "average" body-types or crappy clothes, ingraining in the back of all our minds that this is the type of life we want. Overweight characters are typically portrayed as lazy, the one with no friends, or "the bad guy", while thin women and pumped-up men are the successful, popular, sexy and powerful ones. How can we tell our children that it's what's inside that counts, when the media continuously contradicts this message? Read More>>>
It is a lot more complex than blaming the media.
The media most certainly contributes to dieting and size discrimination but Eating Disorders are NOT Diets!
From early-on children are taught by society that their looks matter. Think of the three and four year old who is continuously praised for being "oh so cute". With an increased population of children who spend a lot of time in front of television, there are more of them coming up with a superficial sense of who they are. Images on T.V. spend countless hours telling us to lose weight, be thin and beautiful, buy more stuff because people will like us and we'll be better people for it. Programming on the tube rarely depicts men and women with "average" body-types or crappy clothes, ingraining in the back of all our minds that this is the type of life we want. Overweight characters are typically portrayed as lazy, the one with no friends, or "the bad guy", while thin women and pumped-up men are the successful, popular, sexy and powerful ones. How can we tell our children that it's what's inside that counts, when the media continuously contradicts this message? Read More>>>
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Issues for Men with Eating Disorders
We don't hear as much about men with eating disorders. That's because most don't seek out help. Perhaps there is a stigma attached; eating disorders, a woman’s disease. Truthfully, there aren't as many treatment centers for men. Many of the causes for the eating disorder are the same for men and women. However, men will have more specific issues related to pressures exclusive to the male gender. Please read the article below to learn more about men's eating disorders. I encourage any male to seek out help for their disordered eating and/or poor body image.
The most common element surrounding ALL Eating Disorders, including Eating Disorders in Males, is the inherent presence of a low self esteem.
It is estimated that 8 million people in the United States are suffering from an Eating Disorder, and of that number 10% are men. Personally, I am guessing that the percentage suffering that are men is far higher, but because of the old fashioned idea that this illness strikes only women, few men come forward to find the help they deserve.
Right from its inception, this whole site has always been aimed at addressing Eating Disorders in everyone, but there are some issues that are specific to the male eating disorder community. As with all sufferers there has always been, and still is, an element of shame in being someone with an Eating Disorder ("I'm disgusting", "look at what I do to myself", "people will think I'm crazy", etc.), but for men and the old misconception that they cannot suffer from an Eating Disorder, the shame they face is often worse.
According to Arnold Andersen and the research he did for his book Males with Eating Disorders, while women who develop Eating Disorders feel fat before the onset of their disordered eating behaviors, typically they are near average weight. Men are more typically overweight medically before the development of the disorder. In addition, men who are binge eaters or compulsive overeaters may go undiagnosed more than women because of society's willingness to accept an overeating and/or overweight man more-so than an overeating or overweight woman.
Read More >
The most common element surrounding ALL Eating Disorders, including Eating Disorders in Males, is the inherent presence of a low self esteem.
It is estimated that 8 million people in the United States are suffering from an Eating Disorder, and of that number 10% are men. Personally, I am guessing that the percentage suffering that are men is far higher, but because of the old fashioned idea that this illness strikes only women, few men come forward to find the help they deserve.
Right from its inception, this whole site has always been aimed at addressing Eating Disorders in everyone, but there are some issues that are specific to the male eating disorder community. As with all sufferers there has always been, and still is, an element of shame in being someone with an Eating Disorder ("I'm disgusting", "look at what I do to myself", "people will think I'm crazy", etc.), but for men and the old misconception that they cannot suffer from an Eating Disorder, the shame they face is often worse.
According to Arnold Andersen and the research he did for his book Males with Eating Disorders, while women who develop Eating Disorders feel fat before the onset of their disordered eating behaviors, typically they are near average weight. Men are more typically overweight medically before the development of the disorder. In addition, men who are binge eaters or compulsive overeaters may go undiagnosed more than women because of society's willingness to accept an overeating and/or overweight man more-so than an overeating or overweight woman.
Read More >
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