Anorexic Man Recovers from an Eating Disorder
Anorexia and Compulsive Exercising Affects Males, Too
Nov 10, 2007
The public is beginning to admit that men are developing eating disorders at an increasing rate. But few realize how many are experiencing anorexia, once seen as a white, rich girls disease.
Gary Grahl has laid bare his own experience with anorexia and his ultimate recovery from his eating disorder. In his new book, “Skinny Boy: A Young Man’s Battle and Triumph Over Anorexia”, he delves deeply into his own mind and extracts poignant memories that will help millions of boys who are struggling with similar issues.
Developing Anorexia
He grew up as a popular, well-liked teenager who was active in sports and had a natural tendency to shine at baseball. Unfortunately, the little voice in his head that shamed him took on a life of its own and became a force he could not disobey.
He would later call the voice “IT” and it represented the excessive drive he had to lose weight. Within his story, he separates his own thoughts, situations and dialogue with the “IT” voice that has taken over his life. The effect is sometimes-shocking, always honest and heartbreaking with every word it utters. It is an unflinching glimpse into the mind of a man with anorexia.
Eating Disorder Treatment
Although he has condensed the years he spent in and out of hospitals into two accounts, readers get a thorough idea of the risks he took that are so necessary to recovery. The journey is a similar one to what so many millions of men and boys are going through today. His significant contribution to the topic is of the utmost importance.
Anorexic Man Recovers
Gary doesn’t get into gender politics but focuses on his own story. He tells his account explicitly, without apology or having to prove that men suffer just as much as women do: it’s conveyed in every line and in every word and demonstrates how devastating anorexia can be to everyone, not just the “typical” girls who do ballet and ride horses.
Skinny Boy is a brave look at the consequences that ignorance about the disorder cause and the triumph of recovery that offers hope to all. His experience gives even those in the most extreme cases a light at the end of the tunnel. Recovery is possible for those who get the proper treatment and care.
It is recommended reading for those suffering from anorexia, for parents of someone who they suspect has anorexia, practitioners who need to motivate their clients to take the risk to recover, and to those who want to get inside the head of someone who exercises compulsively.
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