Ashley Hamilton is an actor, songwriter and aspiring author. He is also a drug counselor, and a Nationally Certified Food Addictions Coach (NCFAC) through The Addictions Academy.
Ashley shares his story below and sheds light on a topic that is often kept in the dark, but more common than you think. Ashley is bringing awareness to eating disorders affecting men.
Excerpts from Keys to The Kingdom originally published in The Huffington Post
Imagine a childhood of schoolyard taunts and classroom tirades, where you feel miserable because others mock you for looking miserable; where you are an outcast, physically and academically; where your classmates torment you for being fat, and your teachers traumatize you for being dumb, when in fact you are none of those things.
Imagine the terror of dyslexia (before this condition had a name or a diagnosis), as you try – and sometimes cry – to make your way through a seemingly foreign language, while a member of your own household belittles your appearance and your peers laugh at you because of your weight.
According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 10 million men will have at least one clinically significant eating disorder, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder or an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). [EDNOS has its own entry in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).]
Men with eating disorders further face the comorbidity of depression, excessive exercise, substance disorders and anxiety.
These reports highlight the severity of this problem, but they do not capture the psychological toll of this challenge.
Full article below:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-keys-to-the-kingdom_us_58ab2710e4b0fa149f9ac930
