-
Nov 16, 2007 4:34 pm US/Pacific
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Bigorexia: A Muscle Building Obsession
(CBS)
Working out and staying fit is important for your health but there are some bodybuilders who simply don't know when to stop. Some get so obsessed with building muscles and sculpting their bodies that they develop a disorder similar to anorexia, called Bigorexia or Muscle Dysmorphia.
Bigorexia is defined as the unattainable quest to attain physical perfection and happiness. This growing psychiatric condition now affects hundreds of thousands of men and women too.
The causes are not known but two key ideas revolve around Bigorexia as a form of obsessive compulsive behavior and secondly, the effect of the media putting the same type of pressure on men to conform to an ideal shape as has been the case with women for years.
Jack Haber is a personal trainer and champion body builder. But as his muscles grew, so did his fixation on being bigger.
"It grew, the addiction grew and grew," Haber said
.Before he knew it, his entire world was weightlifting. "It was a reverse anorexia. Because I had a fear of regressing, of losing the size that I had built."
Jack was suffering from Bigorexia and experts say the problem is growing as men and women strive for buffer bodies.
In psychiatric circles, Bigorexia is referred to as Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder. It's a body image problem similar to anorexia, but in this case, people with the condition see bigger as much better.
Dr. Eva Ritvo is a psychiatrist at the University of Miami who has extensively studied body image disorders.
"Bigorexia is a disorder where men or women that are body builders keep working out, keep getting bigger, and yet they see themselves as not big enough," said Dr. Ritvo.
For most Bigorexics, workouts are not about cosmetics or even competitions, it's about compulsion.
Dr. Ritvo says, "It's believed that Body Dysmorphic Disorder, and Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder are close cousins of an obsessive compulsive disorder."
Signs of Bigorexia include persistent thoughts about the gym, workouts that interfere with other activities and there's often have an obsession with their mirror.
Fitness expert and life-coach Ella Storm says Bigorexics are always looking at their reflection in the mirror and also obsess about their diet.
"An obsession with what they're eating, especially protein shakes, protein powders all the time," according to Storm.
A major problem with Bigorexics is that they don't realize they have a condition, they think they have a healthy habit, but that's not always the case.
Jack Haber says, "a lot of what I did was very healthy, some of what I did was not healthy."
Many eventually cross a dangerous line.
"It can lead to serious substance abuse, such as anabolic steroids. And that's very common these days," said Ella Storm.
Most cases can be treated with therapy, but Dr. Ritvo says recognition is the first rep on the road to recovery. "It's not that we want them to stop working out, but we want them to do that in the right balance so it is really health-promoting, instead of causing health risks."
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)