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reThe worst moment of aniel Magson was the 21-year-old college student. "I found myself sick in the bathroom," he says. "My throat was bleeding and I felt almost lost in pain.
"I remember very well lying on the floor of the bathroom, praying and thinking," kill me. " I did not think there was a way out and I totally agreed with that.
Magson, now 27, a food rights activist and president of the Anorexia and Bulimia Care charity, has been struggling with eating disorders since his teenage years. "I struggled with my identity and homosexuality in a small town in North Yorkshire. My parents were both diagnosed with cancer. I found that making myself sick was a form of control, "he says. "At the age of 18, I was really sick and my mother helped me find a doctor, but he just told me that men do not suffer from anorexia. I was completely fired. That made me so embarrassed that I just lied about it. I told my mother that I was on the road to healing and I went to the university where everything was getting worse and worse.
Magson's experience is not unusual. Although statistics suggest an increase in the number of men presenting or living with eating disorders and body dysmorphia, a 2015 article on the subject, funded by the British Council of Medical Research, revealed that 25% of people with eating disorders were men. about the issue remains a problem for many men. The same article then suggested that less than 10% of men living with a eating disorder were using the help of a professional.
It is no wonder that actor Christopher Eccleston made headlines when he spoke about his long experience with anorexia and dysmorphism. "Many times, I wanted to reveal that I am anorexic and dysmorphic for life," he wrote in his memoir. J & # 39; love the bones of you. "I've never … I've always thought it was a dirty secret, because I'm from the north, because I'm a man and because I'm a working class."
Eccleston is not the only celebrity to have tackled the problem. Harry Potter and dusk Robert Pattinson, the actor, recently talked about his anxiety and his problems with body dysmorphism, The iron Throne Star Kit Harington also discussed ongoing problems to get the perfect physique. James McVey, Vamps guitarist, spoke of his "negative relationship with food".
"When people express themselves in this way, it helps a lot to reduce the shame and stigma surrounding eating disorders in men," said Robert Wilson, president of the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Foundation. "That said, even such conversations can give the impression of sand grains in the Sahara. There are still important challenges to overcome. "
The main one among these is to persuade more men to express themselves. Journalist and author Nate Crowley had hid his bulimia for years before being told about it on Twitter after reading Eccleston's comments. "One of the reasons I never talked about it is that I'm a taller man and I still remember John Prescott talking about his bulimia and how he was doing it. taken – all these jokes on the subject, it's clear, it does not work, "he says. "Seeing the different reactions to Christopher Eccleston's comments, I thought things were changing and I could talk about my experiences. It seemed impossible until now.
Crowley admits he was surprised by the huge response to his admission, but adds that talking about this issue does not instantly solve everything. "I was better last year, but even now I sometimes feel like it," he says. "As a taller man, you are the last person suspected. If anything, they think you probably have an overly healthy approach to food. "
Rhik Samadder, whose memoir I never said that I liked you is extremely honest about her own experiences with eating disorders, mental health and self-harm, adds that it is important to examine the reasons why men are still struggling to admit to a problematic relationship with the body image.
"The dark side of social media is that they democratize everything," he says. "So you see more and more men struggling with self-image with gym culture and orthorexia [a preoccupation with eating healthy food] and become hyper aware of their appearance on the screen.
"In my case, the fact that I was born into a culture that made me feel like I was not wanted did not help because of my brown appearance. I think what I was trying to do was to make myself invisible and not become a target. "
The problem is compounded by the fact that the shame felt by many men means that they should not seek help until they reach a critical point, says psychologist and psychotherapist Dr. Christian Buckland. . "Because eating disorders are still often seen as a female problem, men find it hard to believe that they could be the only guy in the room," he says. "In men, the dropout rate can be high. It is undeniable that men spend much longer before attending clinics and are therefore often in a desperate situation when they seek help. "
Danny Bowman, vice president of the charity MaleVoiceEd, which focuses on eating disorders in men, agrees that there is a permanent problem in health. "We get a lot of men who were too ashamed to talk about their problems or who felt that they could not be the only man in the room," he says.
"There is still much to be done, especially in the professional field, to improve our understanding of body images and eating disorders of men."
In the UK, the charity for Beat eating disorders can be contacted at 0808 8010677 or by email at [email protected] (over 18 years old) ); [email protected] (students); or [email protected] (under 18). In the United States, the National Eating Disorders Association's hotline is 1800 9312237. In Australia, the phone number of the Butterfly Foundation for Eating Disorders is 1800 33467
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