I'm Just a Guy

TW: MH. This story has discussion around eating disorders. We invite our community members to read our Unsinkable story if it’s the right time for them 💛

 As a male battling a lesser-known eating disorder, I realized the need to share my story. I hope that my story can help others know that they are never alone.

I am now on a mission to confront the stigmas and stereotypes around mental health and to raise awareness of orthorexia.

This poem is one of the first pieces I wrote in my recovery and serves as a reminder that eating disorders do not discriminate, nor will they define who I am. 

I’m just a guy

A guy with an eating disorder

Oh, did you know we exist?

I’m also a human

My heart breaks like yours

Thoughts roar through my brain. 

I’m still a man

A man under the microscope

Of stereotypes, stigmas and norms 

I’m also a person

Prey to the peer pressures

That bind by a uniform world 

I’m just dude,

A dude with emotions

Who still enjoys a football game 

But I’m also a human

Because we are equal

No more or less, just the same 

Support Resources:

National Eating Disorder Information Centre and National Eating Disorders Association

Unsinkable Storytelling Author: Jason Wood