Would it surprise you to know that males account for over twenty percent of those with eating disorders? For bulimia, it goes up to thirty percent. That is what I dealt with for more than twenty years.
A male lawyer binging and purging? What do you say? Yep. That was me. It started my freshman year in college. I carried it through law school and right into the practice of law, not to mention alcohol and cocaine use disorder. Throw in major depression, and it’s not quite the recipe for a fulfilling legal career. When I first acknowledged the problem. The shame was all-encompassing. I thought I was the only guy in the world who had dealt with an eating disorder. In my mind, It was more acceptable to talk about being an alcoholic or sniffing my legal career away on blow. I also didn’t know that there is a fifty percent co-occurrence between substance use and eating disorders.
Today, I am approaching nineteen years since I last stuck my finger down my throat. It hasn’t always been a smooth journey as I still deal with body image issues. Who doesn’t, right? Normative discontent is fine. Everyone looks in the mirror now and then and says, “That sucks.” What I no longer do is engage in destructive behaviors like bulimia to deal with it. Recovery is possible.
February 24th starts Eating Disorder Awareness Week. There are resources if you are struggling, teen, adult, or LGTBQ; reach out. Shame is normal. Resources are available.
National Eating Disorder Association(NEDA)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Cuban is an attorney, author, and advocate for mental health awareness and recovery. He has spoken at law firms, conferences, non-profit events, colleges, and universities across the United States and Canada. He also writes extensively on these subjects. His books, columns, and quotes have appeared on CNN.com, Foxnews.com, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, and online and print newspapers worldwide.
He is also the author of the best-selling book The Addicted Lawyer, Tales of The Bar, Booze Blow & Redemption. His debut novel, The Ambulance Chaser, was released as the #1-selling debut paperback thriller. His follow-up crime thriller, The Body Brokers is now available wherever books are sold and at www.briancuban.com