A Northern Ireland man, who suffered from a binge eating disorder for 15 years, has urged other men not to be afraid to speak up and seek help.
Jamie Wright, 30, who is originally from Dromore but now lives in Ballymena, has opened up about his experiences as a new survey today finds that over half of men in Northern Ireland with eating disorders have never received treatment and a third have never sought it.
The survey was carried out by the UK’s eating disorder charity Beat to mark the start of Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
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These days, Jamie is the founder and head coach of Balance (balanceie.com) and has an MSc in Nutrition with a specialisation in Obesity and Weight Management.
"I think the reason it's easier for me to open up and talk about my experience of an eating disorder more than others is because I now own and run my own nutrition practice," he told Belfast Live.
"We're a team of dieticians and nutritionists who work with people with eating disorders, both men and women from all different backgrounds and at various stages of their life.
"I've been asked about my own journey quite a lot and feel happy to talk about it now because I don't see it in a negative light anymore. If I hadn't gone through it, I wouldn't be able to help people in the way I can today. It's almost like I had to go through it to get to this stage."
For Jamie, his struggles with binge eating began at a very early age and he freely admits being unable to pinpoint the exact cause.
"I had a really perfect upbringing but I really struggled with my weight when I was younger. I was always a bit on the bigger side and faced some bullying when I was at school," he explained.
"It was just name calling and while I had quite a few friends at the stage, it still stung a bit as it probably would at that age. Food became a comfort for me at that time and I was probably binge eating before I had even reached secondary school. It got to the stage that I was so overweight, there was a risk of clinical complications."
Jamie says things began to take a turn for the better once he started playing rugby at school: "I was very fortunate to have the support of my grandad at the time. He got me moving and brought me out of my shell a bit.
"Once I got into sport, started taking care of myself more and feeling better generally, I found that the binge eating became more intermittent, which boosted my confidence."
However, a severe sporting injury ended up setting Jamie back on his journey to recovery.
"When I was around 15, I injured my left shoulder and that knocked me out of rugby for a long time and sent me on a different path. I had a lot more confidence and security when I was smaller so when I wasn't able to play sport anymore, I panicked a bit," he added.
"I ended up becoming very restrictive when it came to my diet and the amount of food I ate while exercise became a real crutch for me. At the time, it was very hard to explain it to other people because I couldn't understand it myself.
"I felt like I was trapped and couldn't figure out a way to communicate with people. There were times I would pretend I felt unwell to avoid having to eat, even on Christmas Day. Back then there were very limited resources available and certainly nothing designed towards men."
Beat estimates that over 300,000 men in the UK are affected with eating disorders, and while treatable, recovery can become far more challenging the longer someone is unwell.
Of the one in three men who reported that they had never tried to get treatment for their eating disorder, almost half weren’t aware that treatment was available at all.
Many survey respondents in Northern Ireland said that nobody raised concerns that they might have an eating disorder, and others worried about how people would react. In addition, seven in ten men with an eating disorder had never heard of or read about other men being affected before they became unwell.
Some reported feeling disbelief upon learning that men could develop eating disorders due to a lack of awareness, as well as widespread misinformation. Others in Northern Ireland spoke about how important representation is to improve the understanding of eating disorders.
Jamie added: "I would say to anyone, don't go it alone because there are years that I'll never get back. I know people can be critical of social media at times but I think it has really opened up the doors and allowed people to have more resources.
"Here in Northern Ireland there are a lot of good people doing great work too and some fantastic charities offering advice and support. The hardest thing to do is finding someone who you can trust to actually listen to what you have to say and start unloading the burden you're carrying on your shoulders.
"You can become convinced that you're the only person going through it and feel stuck in a bubble and as if no-one really understands. Men are shockingly bad at asking for help but this is absolutely something you should seek help for.
"If on the first time you reach out it doesn't quite work, you have to trust and be brave enough to try again and again until it does work. There's nothing that compares to the peace you'll feel when you don't wake up every day thinking about food or the scales all the time."
This Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Beat is campaigning to break the stigma surrounding male eating disorders, dispel harmful stereotypes and encourage men to reach out for help.
Beat’s National Lead for Northern Ireland, Nicola Armstrong said: "Stigma is having a devastating impact on men with eating disorders. The sooner that somebody is able to access treatment, the better their chances of making a full recovery, which is why it’s deeply concerning that men in Northern Ireland are struggling to get the support that they need or to even know what treatment is available.
"It’s extremely unfair that people are less likely to spot the signs of an eating disorder in men because of harmful misconceptions about these serious mental illnesses.
"Whilst media representation is improving, it’s crucial that the experiences of people from all genders, ages and backgrounds are shared across the UK, to help broaden understanding and ensure that every person knows what support is available.
"At Beat, we understand the shame and guilt that men with eating disorders can feel, especially when speaking to someone about their illness for the first time.
"We provide friendly, confidential support every day of the year to people across Northern Ireland and would like to reassure people that there is nothing to be ashamed of, and that recovery is possible."
Northern Ireland's Mental Health Champion, Professor Siobhan O’Neill says it's vital to raise awareness of eating disorders, and particularly the impact on males.
She added: "The stigma surrounding eating disorders in males can result in them being less likely to access services and when they do ask for help they may be less likely to receive timely and effective treatment.
"This is reflected in the results of this survey which show that half of men affected have not received treatment.
"I fully support the work of Beat and am working to ensure that the Mental Health Strategy, which includes improvements to eating disorder services, is fully implemented."
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