Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
An uncle said I would need a bra.. after that I suffered with bulimia and anorexia
Survivor on how men struggle too
talked about as a woman’s illness, let alone men.
Philip, below, told the Mirror: “I was a fairly heavy child, and when I look back I probably can say I suffered with an eating disorder from I was about 13 or 14.
“I suppose then it really manifested itself when I was anorexic from I was about 18 until maybe around 21, where it was just total and utter starvation. “I think I swayed from anorexia into the bulimic side and I would have been in bulimia for most of my 20s, it wasn’t until I was 28 that I went looking for help.
“Now you’re talking about a time in the early ’80s here where no one had barely heard of an eating disorder. “I had a massive weight loss at the beginning which I suppose people were putting down to some sort of illness when they looked at me, but it was never looked upon that I had an eating disorder.
“When I was 18, I was probably about 18 stone and then I went right down to under seven stone at one stage and that would have been very, very noticeable.
“With the bulimia side of things I put on a bit of weight and I kind of floated in around 9 or 10 stone.”
The 53-year-old added he can’t quite recall a trigger that sparked his illness but unkind comments and a complete lack of confidence certainly had an impact.
He said: “I suppose back then I never looked at it as bullying, but there would have been comments and name calling about my weight.
“I remember an uncle of mine saying to me, ‘Oh you’ll soon need a bra’, and it’s only looking back that you know those comments have stuck with you.
“I suppose as well for me it was having absolutely no confidence in myself whatsoever. I always felt back then that the thinner I was going to be, the better I was going to be.” It wasn’t until he was 28 that Philip decided he wanted to seek help and take back control of his life.
He added: “I would think it probably took me three or four years attending the groups to say I was sort of free of it and then from there I became involved with Eating Disorders NI.
“I was lucky that I actually wanted to seek help and was very lucky to meet the likes of Anne Mccann who then went on to set up Eating Disorders NI.”
To mark World Eating Disorders Action Day today, Philip is urging anyone suffering like he did to seek help.
He said: “I know we always give out about Northern Ireland but there is help available. The charity and voluntary groups are there to help.”
The Eating Disorders Association (EDA) is a charity based in Belfast city centre which has a drop-in centre and a 24-hour helpline: 028 9023 5959.
OF EATING DISORDERS NI