There are many myths about men and their mental health. The history of the mental health industry has shown many attempts by clinicians to cluster disorders according to gender. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in the area of eating disorders. It is widely believed by the general public ans some professionals that eating disorders affect only women, but this is far from the case.
Depending on the study examined, as many as 25% of people with eating disorders are boys or young men. Most people acknowledge that this is an underrepresentation of the true extent of the problem. Boys and young men are less likely to seek help for eating disorders, and if they do, are less likely to be given the appropriate help.
Boys and young men (between the ages of 15 and 25) are most at risk of developing an eating disorder. In my experience, this is also the age at which young men are least able to express their emotional needs. Coupled with this is the denial that often accompanies an eating disorder. As a result, boys and young men slip through the net, where neither they, nor the people who care for them, spot the warning signs.
As with all mental health problems, spotting the signs early and getting the right treatment straight away predicts the best outcome.
What help is out there for boys and young men? Unfortunately there are precious few resources that address the needs of boys and young men with eating disorders. A recent petition on the Number 10 Government website received the reply that there was no need for specialist services as the current services could address the needs of anybody with an eating disorder. What the Government failed to realise, as with so many mental health issues, is that it is not the provision of treatment that is important, it is the ways that services are made accessible to boys and young men that counts. No man will knock on a door that says ‘women only’.
One really great resource that I can recommend for any boy or young man who thinks they might have an eating disorder, or anybody who thinks a boy or young man they care for has, has been set up by ex sufferers and called “Men Get Eating Disorders Too”. This web based resource is packed with information from signs and symptoms to treatment and real life stories of sufferers. It even hosts a forum for registered users to offer mutual help and support.
For a disease that disproportionately stigmatises men, this is one place men and boys can go to get information and start making contact with others in the same situation. It is not a substitute for professional help, but it is a place where boys and young men can start to dissolve the isolation of having an eating disorder. That has got to be a great step forward for any boy or young man in an environment where most of the information is targeted at girls and young women.
Dr Phil Tyson is a Men's Psychotherapist based in Manchester in the UK. He offers:
- Group therapy weekends for men in London and Manchester
- Beginners meditation weekend retreats for men in London and Manchester
- Counselling for men in Manchester
- Psychotherapy for men in Manchester
- Cognitive behavioural therapy for men in Manchester
- Telephone and online counselling for men wherever you live
- Mediation for conflict resolution at work in London
- Mediation for conflict resolution at work in Manchester and the North West
- Supervision and consulative support for therapists in Manchester
