blog 8

I have a friend who is a gay male with an eating disorder. He is very aware of this disorder and yet does not want treatment. I have known him most of my life. He had a very distant father, and is a perfectionist. He was a heavier child and teen. He is often described as a person who is “all in” when he decides to do something, and “doesn’t do anything half way”. He started by exercising compulsively, he continues to do this. He runs daily for around an hour or more a day. He will often only eat small amounts when we go out to eat. He will order salads and move his food around. He sometimes tells me about the times he eats too much and purges. He often will find things to eat such as condiments due to thinking they have less calories. He refuses to get treatment and tends to borderline on both anorexia and bulimia. I have often offered to help, at those times he becomes more distant. He tells me he is “happier now” and he has it under control. He needs help as you can see he is thinner than he should be, and has a bigger build, but is not as skinny as the horrible pictures you will often see when your text books describe the disorders.