Men STRESS OUT TOO!

Men stress out too, not just women. Stress can wreck your health, interfere with relationships, school, or work performance. It also can affect your moods and make you feel sad, overwhelmed, impatient, tired, and anxious. There are things you can do to protect yourself from the effects of stress. For example:

1. Exercise

2. Solve the problem that’s causing your stress

3. Engage in relaxation exercises

For more tips on easing stress and to understand the physical aspects of stress please read this article. The information used properly may save your life and will definitely increase your quality of life.

10 Ways for Men to Reduce Stress

A man’s health can be negatively affected by high levels of stress. Protect yourself by practicing some simple rules to limit your stress.

Stress has become a major modern-day factor affecting men’s health. The tension and emotional strain of day-to-day living has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, back pain, diabetes, cancer, and a weakened immune response to disease.

Men experiencing high levels of stress can experience anxiety, insomnia, fatigue, and depression, and may turn to unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, overeating, or drug abuse to help deal with their stress.

Men’s Health: The Dangers of Stress

Stress is harmful because it presses biological buttons inside men that have long outlived their usefulness. When a man had to battle wild animals to save his family, that stress prompted certain fight-or-flight responses within his body:

• The heart rate soared to send more blood to the brain, improving quick decision-making.
• Blood shunted into the large muscles of the arms and legs to provide more strength and speed, and away from the gut.
• Blood sugar rose to provide more fuel for quick energy.
• Blood began to clot more quickly, to prevent blood loss from wounds or internal damage.

It’s not hard to draw lines from those natural responses to the diseases now associated with stress.

Men’s Health: 10 Ways to Deal With Stress Read More>>>

If these tips aren’t enough and you’d like to work with a professional therapist click here…

Group Therapy for Eating Disorders

When working with individuals with eating disorders, I usually work with the person individually. This enables the person to have the time and personal attention to share and talk about the intimacies of their life situation. However, adding to that by including group therapy in your treatment and recovery is always considered beneficial. There you get to have an interpersonal experience much like the real word but in the safety of group. My job is to facilitate and create respect and safety within the group. Know that if you’re eating disorder is mild you may benefit from group without having individual sessions. This will be assessed at the start of treatment. Here are some reasons why adding group to your treatment is suggested.

1. Education about the disease, coping skills, psychoeducation (books)

2. You find you are not alone or weird. Members of the group will have similar thoughts and behaviors. You then can feel safe enough to share about yourself.

3. Support and encouragement

4. An interpersonal experience where you learn how you are in the world and how others perceive you. This gives you the opportunity to make changes that will benefit you.

5. Gentle, respectful confrontation to give you insight into yourself.

Group becomes like your family! For more information about my Men’s Eating Disorder & Body Image  Group please visit :www.eatingdisordersgroup.com

Here’s an article on why group therapy is advantageous…

Sharing the pain and the promise in group Group therapy is frequently mentioned as a useful treatment method for eating disorders. Group can be a crucial aspect of treatment for many eating disordered patients yet contraindicated for others. For example, many anorexics seem to have poorer outcomes than bulimics with group therapy, partly due to the fact that they tend to be more rigid, withdrawn, and anxious, and also have extreme difficulty identifying and expressing feelings. However, many anorexics have had valuable group experiences that have indeed helped them overcome these obstacles. Although group is not appropriate for every person, those for whom join, seem to benefit greatly from it. This chapter will serve as an overview and summary of the various issues involving group therapy in the treatment of eating disorders, from why it works to variations on group structure, philosophy, and settings. WHY DOES GROUP THERAPY WORK? EDUCATION Group therapy can be a good forum to educate patients on important topics that may not be addressed elsewhere, such as nutrition, medical consequences of laxative abuse, or assertiveness techniques. Educating patients in group saves individual therapy time for more personalized and deeper issues. Group members also educate each other from their varied experiences in identifying and solving problems. Each group session can be educational, psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral, or a mixture of all three. UNIVERSALITY Read More>>>

Are Gay Men More Vulnerable to Eating Disorders?

Yes! There appears to be more focus on body image in this group. Also, with active homophobia, gay men feel shame and rejection which contributes to lower self-esteem. Men tend to take this rejection out on themselves and their bodies. Joining a  group for men builds a supportive community where these confusing beliefs can be looked at.  Ilissa

For more information on Ilissa’s Men’s Eating Disorder &  Body Image Recovery Group please call 626-335-0903 or visit www.eatingdisordersgroup.com

Please click on the link to read the short article on this topic!

Issues of Vulnerability for Gay Men

By Miles Cohen, M.D., F.R.C.P.

http://www.nedic.ca/knowthefacts/documents/EatingDisordersinGayMen.pdf

RADIO PROGRAM W/ Ilissa Banhazl, MFT Eating Disorders and Reason’s Inpatient Eating Disorder Program

RADIO PROGRAM W/ Ilissa Banhazl, MFT Eating Disorders and Reason’s Inpatient Eating Disorder 

 Attending · Share · Public Event

 

 

Time	Thursday, July 21 · 9:00am – 11:00pm
Location	ANYWHERE<EVERYWHERE<WHENEVER
Created By	CraigandEsther Sabin
For	You Are Beautiful..
More Info	Once you get to the Site, go to the Date, and Title as listed below. You may have to fast fwd, to get to the actual listening part, or not, as Ilissa jokes around a bit first w/ her guests. I am publishing this out for this is important and educational for all. With Ilissa’s permission as well. December 7: Ehttp://www.eatingdisorders​group.com/radio.php Eating Disorders and Dr. Lisa Hoffert, Eating Disorder Inpatient Program …A Bit more abt Ilissa: Hello, My name is Ilissa Banhazl. I am a Marriage and Family Therapist practicing in California. My primary areas of expertise are: Anxiety & Depression Family, Marriage/Couples & Premarital Counseling Counseling for Eating Disorders (Bulimia, Anorexia, Compulsive Overeating or Binge Eating) Parenting / Blended Families Counseling Bereavement / Grief Counseling She is welcome to questions comments as she is a member of my SITE on “You Are Beautiful” Site. She also is doing her best to raise awareness that MEN get Eating Disorders too!! Which she has my full support. I just put a date, but being a Radio Show, its whenever you can you can take the time to listen to it.LOL. Thanks Ilissa!! xoxo Esther See More

 

Do Men Who Over-Eat Belong in My Men’s Eating Disorder & Body Image Recovery Group

If you have been following my posts you know that I am starting up a group for men with eating disorders. I was wondering if the average male knows what that is. Men with eating disorders such as Anorexia, Bulimia, Compulsive Exercising, Night Eating, Bingeing, and OVER-EATING. Over-eating is the one I’d like to address. You don’t have to be very ill from your eating disorder to be a part of this group. Over-eaters who want to lose some weight for their health also are using food to cope. We can address the issues that keep you stuck. Do you eat when you’re feeling…

1. happy

2. sad

3. bored

4. anxious/worried

5. busy

6. lonely

If so, then you are a candidate for a men’s eating disorder group. It is safe and confidential. You will get support from other men who struggle just as you do (no matter what kind of eating disorder they have) and I will be there to facilitate and ensure respectful exchanges. You will take away information and tools to help you conquer your disordered eating behaviors. Your self-esteem will improve and this should generalize to all your other relationships. You may be able to return to activities your weight gain has eliminated from your life. Think about it… www.eatingdisordersgroup.com or call 6260-335-0903

Fat is NOT JUST a Feminist Issue Anymore

If you have been following my posts then you know that I have been advocating for men’s eating disorder treatment. No need to keep it a secret any longer. Read this article to learn why it’s okay to be a male with anorexia, bulimia, over-eating, over-exercising, or any other form of eating disorder.  Ilissa

by Leigh Cohn, MAT, CEDS
Co-Author of Making Weight: Men’s Conflicts with Food, Weight, Shape and Appearance

Fat Is NOT JUST a Feminist Issue, Anymore! In recent years, there has been an explosion in the numbers of men with eating disorders, body image conflicts, compulsive exercise, and obesity. Long thought to be “women’s issues,” these are now actually hidden problems for millions of men. Therapists are seeing 50% more men for evaluation and treatment for eating disorders than ten years ago, and experts believe this number may be the tip of the iceberg.

Fat is NOT JUST a Feminist Issue Anymore

“Men feel stigmatized about having these ‘women’s diseases’ and have been reluctant to seek help,” explains Arnold Andersen, M.D., co-author of Making Weight (Gurze Books, ©2000), the first book on the subject of men’s problems with food, weight, shape, and appearance. Men have been ignored because clinicians have not thought of them as having these kinds of problems, and men have been too embarrassed to seek treatment. It’s a double-edged sword, but the situation is beginning to change. “Ultimately, we will recognize that men have just as many challenges as women, they are just different,” Andersen believes. “But, all men will be better off once they get over the shame associated with keeping their problems secret.” Read More>>>

Interested in individual, family, or group counseling for your eating disorder?

Top 8 Reasons Why You Relapse During Treatment for Eating Disorders

I stumbled upon this video and it is quite good in talking about relapse in ed recovery. I always say that recovery is not constant. We take two steps forward, one step back, 3 steps forward. This is recovery. Please don’t be hard on your self when you relapse. There are reasons. Just get your tools out and start again. This is still part of recovery. This video, done in a very friendly format is full of good information. Please watch it at  You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy62EMBB1fI 

Need some booster sessions for your eating disorder recovery?

National Men’s Health Week, June 14th – 20th, 2010

“As National Men’s Health Week culminates with the celebration of Father’s Day on Sunday, we encourage you to take time to recognize the men in your life.” courtesy of Eating Disorder Center

If you are a male with an eating disorder don’t be ashamed or embarrassed. Eating disorders are not gender specific. I can’t believe how few resources/articles there are for men with eating disorders. If men begin to reach out and demand recognition for this disease more resources will begin to emerge. For now however, I am a resource in Glendora. I would be happy to meet with you alone or add you to my Men’s Eating Disorder and Body Image Group. Everything is confidential and safe and support is only a phone call away…  Ilissa

 Reality and research have shown us that eating disorders do not discriminate based on age, race, ethnicity, or gender.  No one is immune, yet males who struggle with eating disorders – sons, husbands, fathers, grandfathers - can often feel extremely resistant to asking for help or seeking treatment for an illness which, for so long, was viewed primarily as a women’s issue.  In recognition of National Men’s Health Week, we want to help men, and the people who support them understand the importance of pursuing recovery  and remind everyone that seeking help is a sign of incredible strength, regardless of gender.  

Over the last ten years, the number of males in the U.S. with serious eating disorders has grown to more than one million.  This rising number is likely representative of our culture’s ever intensifying focus on appearance, bodily perfection and the relatively newer trend of  diet, exercise and fashion industries heavily marketing to men.  Read More>>>

Want to recover from your eating disorder?

Short Video on Male Anorexia

Visit this link at YouTube to watch a video about a young man who went from being a model to being anorexic and is back on the road to health. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIFAoRU1veo

You may see something that inspires you!

For more videos on eating disorders click on this.

It’s called Manorexia!

The Connection Between Father and Son

You may keep your son from developing an eating disorder by being an aware and involved dad. Here are some important things to include in your relationship with your son.

1. Use healthy communication to resolve conflicts.

2. Make sure your time together is quality time and not superficial.

3. Learn to model saying, “I’m sorry”.

4. Be honest and build trust.

5. Be open-minded and listen well.

For more suggestions and more detail on these comments read this article.

Oh, Happy Father’s day! You deserve it!

The changing relationship between father and son and putting the father-son relationship in perspective as the years progress.(ARA) – If you’re the father of a little boy, there’s a good chance that right now you are enjoying a very close connection with your son. He probably idolizes everything you do — dressing up in your clothes, imitating the way you read the paper or the way you stand when you talk. He tries to do everything you do and works hard to make sure he has your attention and your approval. You can see in your little boy’s eyes that he is utterly convinced that you are without a doubt the ultimate man in the world. And if you are a dad whose son has gotten a bit older, you can stop for a moment and smile when you recollect those special days with your young son. As time goes by, though, your son gets older and your relationship changes. When your son begins to develop into a young man, both of you face challenges that mean working a little bit harder to maintain your bond. The relationship you develop now will set the course for a lifetime bond between you and your son. Read More>>> Want to work on your father son relationship? Do you think your son may have an eating disorder?