# Men and Muscle Dysmorphia



## Farrah (May 31, 2012)

I thought id post this new thread as it became of great interest to me, as I have plenty of male friends in this sport and after reading some of the signs that a person may have this diagnosis concerns me.

As women in the sport we feel the pressure of are we feminine enough? Do we present ourselfs gracefully and professionally on stage? Do we have the shape a judge requires? However for men they pretty much feel the same but with other points added.

Do men feel more under pressure if there in a gym next to a 'bigger' guy? Do men feel they need to prove themselves? Are men as insecure as women to some extent?

Signs of Muscle Dysmorphia are :-


Constantly examine themselves in a mirror

Frequently compare themselves with others

Hate their reflections

Become distressed if they miss a workout session or one of their many meals a day

Become distressed if they do not receive enough protein

Use anabolic steriods, sometimes unsafely.

Neglect jobs, relationships, or family because of excessive exercising

Have delusions of being underweight or below average in musculature.

In extreme cases, inject appendages with fluid (e.g. synthol)

Suffers from constant mood swings

In extreme cases, being grumpy and short tempered


When i was reading the commom symptoms/signs do men feel this is the normal? Or does it need to be addressed?

Thoughts people


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## daddy123 (Nov 30, 2012)

hen you read the bullet points a lot are tue youjust put them to the back of your mind and crack on and try to blank them out.


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## daddy123 (Nov 30, 2012)

just read my post bad spelling bloody works keyboards:icon_frown:


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## Brockyboy (Oct 17, 2010)

The first 2 bullet points apply to me the rest don't really at all


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## Skygod47 (Oct 15, 2011)

I have at least 5 of those and the wife would say i have always been grumpy! Speaking as a noob lifter not a competitor, men are the same and imho worse. I think men can be just as vain or obsessed in fact more lol throw testosterone, weights and competition into a mix and you have a pissing contest good to go.

Then on a personal note, when i started getting older it became even more important to look as good as i could (wife thinks i am mr vain). I used to think my running was the way but looking back i was 6 ft 1 and weighed 82 kg lol, it's interesting how my own view of what i should look like now has changed?


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## daddy123 (Nov 30, 2012)

That is true skygod47 how you see yourself as you age changes


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## justheretosnoop (Jun 15, 2012)

1-3 yes, 4-5 to a degree but not as bad as before.

I defo suffer from this overall but I'd say it's improving as the days/weeks/months roll by...


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## P2000vxim (Apr 17, 2011)

Constantly looking in the mirror is going to be a given as every gym has them.

Comparing yourself to others is naturally part of the human condition.

I think humans are like animals in respect of similar mating rituals like a pea**** fanning its tails feathers to attract a mate men will puff out their chests, both men and women will adjust their hair, stance, show a bit more leg etc.

I don't believe there is anything wrong with people making an effort with their appearance and when i see the overweight gut or girl enter the gym i have every respect and admiration for them. There giving it a good go. great stuff.

If all people around the world took more notice and care about their bodies, we wouldn't have as much heart disease, diabetes etc.


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## EXTREME (Aug 5, 2005)

I've been every one of those bullet points!

I'm glad to say I was lucky enough for my life to change and gain the ability to see bodybuilding for what it really is, a self obsession that can take over your life if you don't keep perspective on it all.

Nowadays for me, I don't care if I have a bit of a belly, don't care how much I bench or how many grams of protein I eat. I enjoy living life and doing as many things as I can where before I couldn't due to not having time outside for anything other than training and preparing my food.

I like to train when I can but if I can't it's not the end of the world.


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## henryn (Jan 25, 2013)

Yeah. I agree. The points mentioned in the post are quite true. You can relate it to yourself and justify it easily.

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## Max1466868006 (Feb 16, 2010)

I think anyone who takes up bodybuilding/physique enhancement is vain for one reason or another or possibly they have something to prove through having been bullied as a child or had a bad childhood and want to build a physique that will put anyone off bullying them again.

I think you lose the vanity and insecurities as you get older and other things become more important to you. Children, business, overall health, money and your relationships all climb the ladder of importance and, if you're half sensible, some of these will become more important than the vanities.


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## hiccher (Jun 3, 2013)

I agree with that, I have a friend who just started going to the gym with me, I'm trying to get him to go at his own pace and not to get stressed out when he misses a gym session. He constantly examines himself in the mirror and tries to pull the same kind of weights as guys bigger than him. I don't how else to get through to him. Whenever I'm with him I try to explain to him that he can really damage his body by putting through more than its used to and not developing the strength first.

Any advice would be much appreciated.


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## EXTREME (Aug 5, 2005)

He will calm down in time, everyone does at some point. This is just the exuberance of a beginner.


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## stone14 (Mar 24, 2005)

If you look up what body/muscle dysmorphia is you will see its actually a concoction of a few different severe mental disorders, skitsophrenia , obssessive compulsive dissorder, severe drepessive dissorder, with a suicide rate of 80%.

You don't have this severe mental illness just because you want to be big and can't have what you want.

Its a joke when people diagnose themselves with things like this because they think they fit the bill.

You need a group of psychological proffesionals to diagnose you, not a google search or tv programme.

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## Tom84 (Dec 12, 2005)

stone14 said:


> If you look up what body/muscle dysmorphia is you will see its actually a concoction of a few different severe mental disorders, skitsophrenia , obssessive compulsive dissorder, severe drepessive dissorder, with a suicide rate of 80%.
> 
> You don't have this severe mental illness just because you want to be big and can't have what you want.
> 
> ...


I have to strongly disagree with that. We simply do not understand emotional states at the level of the brain sufficiently to make any wild accusations like 'condition x has a suicide rate of 80%.' That's far more non-sensical than self diagnoses. All psychological states are related to how neural chemistry interacts to environmental data. We have made some strides in manipulating neural chemistry in anxiety etc... But the labels we ascribe to certain conditions are just semantics. Like their are varying degrees of what is poison, there are varying degrees of what is depression. Acute sadness may have the same neural response but to a lesser degree in serotonin, oxytocin levels etc... There are absolutely differing levels of dysomorphia and its nobodies place to chastise for self diagnosis. If you cannot recognise you're own body in a photo you have some form of neural reaction which might be interesting, and the understanding of which might lead to a more positive mental state. I see no harm in people discussing their negative feelings free of the diagnosis of someone with a degree. Otherwise as I'm a financial advisor (of sorts) please refrain from making any supermarket purchases without me, I'm a professional and you're not. I'm pretty pricey


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## stone14 (Mar 24, 2005)

Yeh its fine to talk about how ppl feel but imo its wrong to self diagnose.

I see a lot of threads about this topic and it seems a lot seem to think they have it just because there not happy with how they look and want to be some mass monster which they will never be do there for they self diagnose with body dismorphic without even understanding what it actually is.

Your not body dismorphic because you can't have your cake and eat it so to speak.

Just because you want to be at a level that you believe you will never reach doesn't mean you have a mental illness.

Body dismorphia is a serious mental condition.

No1 in the gym lifestyle will ever be 100% happy with how they look there's always room for improvement wether its attainable of not, but your not body dismorphic because your frustrated that you can't reach your goals.

Alot who self diagnose themselves with this illness is because they do have a sh1t body compared to the pros in the magazines, sh1t happens that's life, your never going to be the guys in the magazines no matter how much they tell you you will if you believe it.

Most people are build to be average joe so they should accept it and try to make the best out of what you've got.


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## stone14 (Mar 24, 2005)

You can have obsessions and be obsessed with the gym and your body and hopes and dreams and still that doesnt mean your body dissmophic.

Also the 80% suicide rate was from a study on the net. I can't remember if it was actual suicide rates or genuine suicidal thoughts rate acutally wanting to die.

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## stone14 (Mar 24, 2005)

But these are just my opinions on it, you know more about it that me going off your post, I don't have an indepth knowledge as far as that. Good post by the way



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