I’d never heard of it before last night, but when I was idly going from TV station to TV station trying to find something interesting or at least mildly entertaining, I came across a report on Bigorexia.

Ah, people and their worries about how they look! It seems there’s no end to it. I’m certainly far from immune, but fortunately I’ve avoided all the “exias” and most of the “dysmorphics” up to this point, although I know people who’ve succumbed.

Even when I was a child, I knew girls who suffered from anorexia, although it had no name back then (or at least, no name I was aware of). Two of my best friends developed it, and I spent a certain amount of time at the age of 10 and then again at around 15 trying to convince each one in turn that they were plenty thin and that it was time to eat up before they faded away to nothing or cracked in two like a brittle stick.

Needless to say, I failed in both endeavors. Fortunately the girls survived, although (and perhaps this is entirely coincidental) both have died recently, within the last two or three years—not of anorexia, however.

But on to Bigorexia, anoxeria’s opposite, and mostly limited to males, just as anorexia is mostly limited to females. “Bigorexia” seems to usually be capitalized and “anorexia” lower-case, as befits their differing attitudes towards size:

Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder (MDD) is a type of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). It is popularly known as “Reverse anorexia” or “Bigorexia” by the media. It consists of a preoccupation with not being sufficiently muscular or lean (when this is not the case). Sports wrestling & body building gyms are a breeding ground for muscle dysmorphic disorder.

It is characterized by

Excessive time and over-exertion in weightlifting to increase muscle mass
Preoccupation and panicking over workout if unable to attend
Overtraining or training when injured
Disordered eating, using special diets or excessive protein supplements
Steroid abuse and often other substance misuse
Distress if exposed leading to camouflage the body
Compulsive comparing and checking of one’s physique
Significant distress or mood swings
Prioritizing one’s schedule over all else or interference in relationships and ability to work
Often other body concerns, hair, skin, penis size

There is a fine dividing line between normal “body-building” and muscle dysmorphic disorder.

Just as there is a fine line for ballet dancers, gymnasts, and models—and jockeys, on the mostly-male side—between doing what is necessary in terms of losing weight in order to excel in their pursuit and/or profession and going overboard into health problems and true obsession. To pursue an activity such as ballet or body-building at a top level requires no small amount of obsessiveness and perfectionism. The trick is to keep it from seguing into something destructive and overwhelming.