Eating disorders are liable to be considered "women's disorders." In our society, men are not allowable to show the weakness of having mental health disorders, much less suffer from eating disorders. In view of the fact that men and eating disorders is a problem, they virtually always keep this a painful secret. According to the National Association of Anorexia and Associated Disorders, men comprise about one million Americans who are ill with from eating disorders.
When the problem of men and eating disorders comes up, and the men do see their doctors for help, physicians will take a detailed medical history. They more often than not discover that the disorder began to appear as teen-agers. An adolescent peer group can be incredibly emotionally harsh; "fat boys" are made fun of and isolated from others. The social pressure to be thin is overwhelming in the midst of today's teens.
Men and eating disorders describe both anorexic and bulimic behavior as adolescents. On top to starving themselves, they play sports and exercise greatly just as teen-age girls and grown women do. "Boys don't get fat" unenlightened pediatricians tell mothers. "He's just got some baby fat that will get away on its own." But it doesn't, and trouble eating isn't supposed to happen in men.
Do Men and Eating Disorders Boast the Same Symptoms as Women?
Yes, but with one exceptionally important difference. People of either gender can develop an eating disorder, and they remain their eating behavior secret. Men and eating disorders is a topic which sort of ties that knot of secrecy even tighter. As adults, they are nearly always morbidly obese. They don't socialize with others, in particular women. They hardly ever date or get married.
Eating disorders, in the midst of either gender, aren't a matter of conceit; wanting to fit into a smaller pair of jeans. In truth, eating disorders don't really have anything to do with food! What drives men with eating disorders is a must to be in control of something, anything. They don't do well expressing emotions, are perfectionists, and don't tolerate themselves to be less than perfect and have an extremely seated self-loathing. The one thing men can at all times control is the amount of food they permit themselves to eat. The bathroom scale becomes their worldly enemy.
More Possible Causes
Some researchers have lately found that genetic factors may be the reason why a probable more than half of the population may develop the risk of contracting anorexic nervosa and more studies on the genetics of bulimia in addition to binge eating are ongoing.
Another cause of eating disorder may be personality of the person which is at least partially genetically determined and there are a number of personality types like the obsessive-compulsive or sensitive-avoidant who are additionally at risk of having an eating disorder, than are other people.
There is also one more point worth considering when judgment about the cause of eating disorder and that is that hormones that are produced when a person is stressed aid to form fat cells. In particular, in Western civilizations where life is competitive, quick paced as well as challenging and full of stress there may be a connection between this type of modern lifestyle and the increased instances of overeating.
A lot of people join an eating disorder and the media for the way those suffering are portrayed in the press. With the fashion industry apparently pushing for smaller and skinnier models and the press portraying them as something out of the ordinary, there is plenty of responsibility for an eating disorder and the media can be partially responsible.
In Spain, the country recently placed a bare minimum weight on models, recognizing that serious health problems can increase from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating. Spain's legislators claimed many of the models were torment from an eating disorder and the media was helping push that unhealthy trend.
Whether other countries will go after Spain's lead will depend on how the fashion industry reacts to charges of pushing the satisfactoriness of an eating disorder and the media's reaction to the latest stand. The largest problem, however, is the models suffering a disease denial to admit they have a problem.
What is binge eating? Do we all binge occasionally? Is binging synonymous with love of food?
Binge eating is uncontrolled eating, often accompanied by shame and guilt. In other words, it is an act with full awareness as well as helplessness. Binging episodes occur quite frequently - often at least once or twice a week.
Shame and guilt often propel the resultant purging, which is getting the excessive amount of food out of the body system. Purging out of fear of weight gain is a critical component of bulimia, which is a disorder alternating between binging and purging.
Binge eating plays a pivotal role in any eating disorder, which is a psychological disorder using food to cope with disturbed emotions.
Many people have emotional problems, but they may not have an eating disorder. So how does one develop binge eating, or who are vulnerable to this disorder?
Binge eating often begins with having an unhealthy abnormal food relationship. If you ear normally, you have reduced risk of binge eating even if you do have emotional problems.
Any dieting is abnormal eating. Initially, an individual may want to control weight through dieting, but without much success. Then that individual may try one diet after another with no substantial solution to the weight problem. It is this feeling of deprivation of food (feeling the unfairness of being deprived of the joy of eating), accompanied by despair and frustration (feeling the inability to lose weight despite the efforts), which ultimately turns the individual from the diets into binge eating. As a result, cyclical eating problems develop and persist, indefinitely perpetuating the eating disorder.
Binge eating, a self-deprecating eating disorder out of subconscious fear of not being able to stop eating voluntarily, may begin in the formative years of an individual with unhealthy eating patterns, or in young adulthood as a result of incapability of handling emotional, social and environmental stress. Binge eating may also have a physiological connection with depletion of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, leading to unbalanced brain chemistry. Interestingly, many depressive patients are vulnerable to binge eating, often turning to foods to calm their nerves.
To confront someone close to you with binge eating may result in relentless control battles. It is important to understand the importance of disengaging yourself from food issues, and that striving to control someone's eating behavior, in spite of your good intentions, may only aggravate the problem and interfere with the patient's capacity to change.
Accepting your own limitations and removing yourself from the problem are critical to disengaging someone from binge eating. The eating-disordered individual is responsible for the consequences of eating behavior, such as over spending on food, or cleaning up the mess from vomiting. Do not make excuses for the eating-disordered individual. It is important for the individual to learn to take responsibility for the consequences of the eating behavior.
Do not proffer advice or opinions. Remember, an individual with an eating disorder is looking for approval, often a sign of anxiety or insecurity. Your reassurances or suggestions may at best provide only temporary relief. The individual must learn to develop own judgment and perception of self-worth - which are often absent in an eating-disordered individual. Just be supportive and demonstrate your love and care. Don't play the role of a therapist!
Quite often, an eating disorder may be due to an unfilled void in one's life. Something may be missing in one's life, and that void needs toe be addressed in order to pave the way for recovery.
Develop a healthier relationship with the eating-disordered individual through better communication, establishing responsibilities, and respecting rights (the right to grow up, and the right to take full responsibility for one's actions, among others).
Gradually, the eating-disordered individual will see the abnormal eating behavior patterns, and make the necessary changes or to seek professional help. Yes, this takes patience and perseverance. Don't forget that it takes time to develop the binge eating disorder; accordingly, it may take a while to disengage oneself from that eating disorder.
Both Cindy Heller & Stephen Lau are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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