BIGOREXIA - a real illness?
Hi All;)
I'm wondering whether I am alone in not having been aware of this very REAL illness until today. I watched a talk show on this topic, and was shocked by what I heard [:o] especially from some of the callers. I located the following @ http://www.pale-reflections.com/edno...page=bigorexia
"Muscle dysmorphia", "reverse anorexia" and "bigorexia" are all terms meaning essentially the same thing: somebody who believes they are underweight and puny when the opposite is true.
It tends to affect bodybuilders and avid gym-goers, often to the extent that they will check their appearance in the mirror dozens of times a day. The individual's social life can be severely affected, with some sufferers ashamed to show their bodies in public (even wearing shirts), believing they are too small."
Please note that the statistics in this article are from 1993, & don't reflect anywhere near what we were being told today! Are the British as body conscious as the folk from countries with warmer climates, especially those like SA where the beach is a huge attraction to show off one's 'perfect body'? :eek: Apparently, this illness is also affecting many relationships, esp. since more & more men (in particular) are taking steroids, which, according to the doctors on the panel today, causes shrinkage of the 'family jewels' [&:] If this is true, there's no wonder every 2nd sp*m mail is advertising Vi*gr*![:-]
Curious to hear from you :D
@nnie[8D]
PS: From 2nd article: Drugs: the use of anabolic steroids is common amongst bigorexics. Men continue using steroids despite experiencing side effects such as increased aggression, acne, breast enlargement, impotence, baldness, impotence and testicular shrinkage." (No wonder these body builders look so odd in speedos :D:D)
http://menshealth.about.com/library/.../aa103102a.htm
Answers:
I've had anorexia, so know, (and I've felt) that the affects can be devastating. I think that any eating disorder is a very painful experience, it doesn't matter whether you kill yourself by losing so much weight you cant stand up and have to be fed by tube, or whether you make yourself morbidly obese so you can't walk. "Bigorexia" isn't the same, but I could completely understand and sympathise with someone in that situation and I know what it's like to suffer with body dellusion.
The good side though, is that if you truly want to get better, it is possible. Eventually.
I'm wondering whether I am alone in not having been aware of this very REAL illness until today. I watched a talk show on this topic, and was shocked by what I heard [:o] especially from some of the callers. I located the following @ http://www.pale-reflections.com/edno...page=bigorexia
"Muscle dysmorphia", "reverse anorexia" and "bigorexia" are all terms meaning essentially the same thing: somebody who believes they are underweight and puny when the opposite is true.
It tends to affect bodybuilders and avid gym-goers, often to the extent that they will check their appearance in the mirror dozens of times a day. The individual's social life can be severely affected, with some sufferers ashamed to show their bodies in public (even wearing shirts), believing they are too small."
Please note that the statistics in this article are from 1993, & don't reflect anywhere near what we were being told today! Are the British as body conscious as the folk from countries with warmer climates, especially those like SA where the beach is a huge attraction to show off one's 'perfect body'? :eek: Apparently, this illness is also affecting many relationships, esp. since more & more men (in particular) are taking steroids, which, according to the doctors on the panel today, causes shrinkage of the 'family jewels' [&:] If this is true, there's no wonder every 2nd sp*m mail is advertising Vi*gr*![:-]
Curious to hear from you :D
@nnie[8D]
PS: From 2nd article: Drugs: the use of anabolic steroids is common amongst bigorexics. Men continue using steroids despite experiencing side effects such as increased aggression, acne, breast enlargement, impotence, baldness, impotence and testicular shrinkage." (No wonder these body builders look so odd in speedos :D:D)
http://menshealth.about.com/library/.../aa103102a.htm
Answers:
I've had anorexia, so know, (and I've felt) that the affects can be devastating. I think that any eating disorder is a very painful experience, it doesn't matter whether you kill yourself by losing so much weight you cant stand up and have to be fed by tube, or whether you make yourself morbidly obese so you can't walk. "Bigorexia" isn't the same, but I could completely understand and sympathise with someone in that situation and I know what it's like to suffer with body dellusion.
The good side though, is that if you truly want to get better, it is possible. Eventually.