A DUBLIN man who was told “boys don’t get anorexia” has revealed his parents were urged to plan his funeral when he finally got help.
This week, until March 2, marks Eating Disorder Awareness week in Ireland.
And the stats make for grim reading, with some 3 per cent of the population struggling with the condition, according to the HSE.
According to Bodywhys, an estimated 188,895 people in Ireland will experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives, and around 1,757 new cases occur here each year in the 10-49 age group.
But there are just three adult beds for eating disorders, and the 20 extra beds promised for people over 18 in the HSE’s 2018 programme of care have still not been opened.
Chris Duff, now 30, was just 15 when he was diagnosed with anorexia after battling with his mental health for years.
Now completing 55km ultramarathons, the Skerries man is a health and fitness coach who works with Bodywhys, and told Emma Mooney his story.
Chris Duff says the common myth is that it is just women who get eating disorders.
“The idea is that it’s not a disease that affects men, that’s my experience — people around me started to see symptoms when I was 13 or 14.
“At that point there wasn’t much help for mental health in Ireland, especially for eating disorders and especially for men with eating disorders.
“My parents were told, ‘He’s fine, he’s just skinny, boys don’t get anorexia. It’s just a phase.’
“That hindered everything because once I heard that it fed my delusion that I was fine, because I was protesting, no I’m fine, I’m not sick, everything I’m doing is fine, but it really wasn’t.
“And then meeting a lot of professionals who didn’t have a clue.
“I remember going to one place meant to be an eating disorder clinic and I was talking to a woman and saying I have these voices in my head telling me not to eat, that kind of negative self-talk telling you you’re terrible looking, you’re fat, you’re whatever, whatever.”
The disease had a control over his mind and it was affecting his body.
‘SUCH A STIGMA’
“For a long, long, time I was really in denial about it. There was such a stigma.
“I was showing the symptoms when I was 13, when I was 14 it was kind of undeniable.
“It went on for years, when I was 15 it was really apparent, really problematic.
“I was missing school and having to go to the hospital because I was having such severe panic attacks because I my heart was under so much stress from not eating.
FUNERAL FEARS
“When I was 15 I got hospitalised for six, close to seven, weeks, and put on bed rest because I was 6 foot two and I was 32 kilos, I had the lowest resting heart rate Temple Street had seen in decades, my heart rate was 24 beats per minute, for your avenge person their heart-rate is 60 beats per minute.
“I was admitted on a Thursday or Friday and the doctors said to my parents that you need to start making funeral arrangements, it’s doubtful he’ll make it through the night, never mind the weekend.
“I didn’t complete my Leaving Cert either because of the anorexia and depression — I got halfway through my exams and was hospitalised.
“There was permanent damage done to my heart, some muscles in the body don’t repair themselves after a certain point and one of them in in your heart, I had whittled my heart into being the size of a raisin.”
‘PERFECT STORM’
Like many young people, his image and appearance fuelled his disease.
“I grew up in a town where GAA and hurling were the big things, there was that pressure to have the six-pack and look well, so I started running and joined the gym and took up a lot of my free time with sport, it became an obsession.
“I was a prime target for anorexia, I had bullying going on in school, I had low self-esteem, a lot of things like that that snowballed from there, it was a perfect storm.”
“Anorexia has no prejudice, it will f*** you up no matter who you are or where you come from, it can affect anyone at any age.”
Chris credits eating disorder charity Bodywhys with helping him, and he spent time in Pieta House where he tackled the issues.
GRATEFUL FOR HELP
He added that the nurses in Temple Street Hospital, where he was placed on the diabetic ward, were a massive help in his recovery journey and to where he is today.
“I chose to become a health and wellness coach and a personal trainer because I just don’t want someone to suffer though what I did, so I can reach people and say it’s worth looking after your own emotional and physical health.
“One of the most heart-breaking things at the time was that I was being told you can’t be suffering the way you’re suffering because you’re a boy.
“I didn’t have anyone to look up to, any male survivors or who were talking about their own eating disorders – it just added to the shame. It’s incredibly important to remember that this issue is still prevalent, there needs to be more work done around education.
“And that there is no tablet, medicine that fixes this, it takes work, but all things worth having take work, just because you don’t feel like it now, you can be happy.
“Help is there for those who want it, don’t be shy, stick out your hand and ask, because there are people there.”
- For advicee and help, contact Bodywhys on their National Helpline on (01) 2107 906 or email alex@bodywhys.ie.
