Because of the nature of Anorexia nervosa, it is one of the most life threatening psychological conditions out there according to our textbook. When I read that, I was shocked. I also didn't quite know the specifics that went along with the disorder. One of my close friends has Anorexia - she is obsessed with eating and congratulates herself when she skips a meal. Recently I've heard of more and more boys being diagnosed with Anorexia. Boys are also pressured to be lean, muscular, and fit just like girls are. This MSNBC video gives great detail as to why this disease affects boys too.
The video describes the young men who end up with this disorder as straight-A students who usually are athletes; all in all, they are outstanding kids. I feel like this disorder probably affects more males than is recorded because men are so afraid to let anyone know. It's up to the family and friends of that person to tell them and get them help. That can be an extremely hard conversation to have but it needs to be said.
What I wonder is what initially triggers the obsessiveness with food? Every little kid I've ever met enjoys food. Every middle school aged kid I've ever met absolutely adores junk food. Most high school aged kids love having the freedom of taking the car and going out to eat. So, what triggers it?
Thoughts to consider about what initially triggers the obsessiveness:
- In high school age, I think those interested in non-conformity find it as a way to be 'better/different' than others
-Discovering control. Changing their body, getting positive attention for looking 'beautiful' or 'skinny'.. attention they may not have been getting before
-Competitiveness/Perfectionism
-Wrongly assigning weight as what's responsible for other areas of life (popularity, attractiveness)
-If they are shy or internalize things alot, 'angst' of teen years can just be taken out on themselves (aka run/exercise until the pain inside matches outside or deny feeling anything at all- hunger, pain)
just guessing.
Those are some incredibly powerful pictures. TJ's face was so hallowed in those last few pictures, he's simply skeletal. With the great grades and honorable sports mentions, he was obsessed with perfection. It is no surprise to me that this spread to his body image.
I have met a lot of men who are body image obsessed, a close friend being one of them. He was heavy as a child, but lost weight when he was a teen. Before I met him, he would have one small meal a day if that. He now eats protein shakes every morning, and is very picky about what he has for dinner. He never counts calories or the health of his food (he won't touch the vegetables I cook for him), but instead considers the protein content because he wants to build muscle. Luckily, he has us to support him and watch his diet so he does not fall into such a devastating disease.
Eating disorders tough to treat because they are both physiological and psychological. It doesn't help that popular media is constantly bombarding us with messages about celebrities who are too thin or too fat, or the latest fad diet or workout. I just read an article that said Jennifer Lawrence from the Hunger Games movie not thin enough for her role because her character is supposed to be from a relatively poor district. Yes, let's criticize a young actress for having a healthy body weight because the movie would be so much better if she looked like a size less-than-zero model.
Actually, eating disorder is the easiest disease that one can suffer and hardest disease that one can be recovered. Because I, who love my body which is not that pretty, sometimes think that I should not eat anymore. Whenever, I saw the movie, or TV shows, there are bunch of female actors with size zero or less. I am sure that males of course, felt this kind of experience at least once. I think that reason is same as me; wanna be an actor in the movie or magazine. Actually, losing a weight and increasing muscle are good for health but the problem of people who get eating disorder is that they are doing in wrong way. In order to have a nice looking body, a person should exercise regularly and eat healthy foods.
I think a lot of the reason why boys develop anorexia is the pressure to be perfect. They are raised to be the best and compete with other boys in sports and attracting girls. Being fit and strong is important to them so they find that not eating allows them to stay thin and thy can continue to build muscle. It's sad that many boys never admit to having this problem and it goes unnoticed.