I always thought that anorexia was a female problem, something affecting young women manipulated by media and peers, even bullied, to become closest to what men want in a woman or what a successful woman is supposed to look like: tall and thin. This would be a social cause.
However, I read that some people, including men, become anorexic to control: they cannot control much in life, but weight is something they can control, like a way to cope with trauma. This would be a psychological cause.
My question is what’s the bigger trigger to anorexia, society or inner trauma?
I’m male and was a briefly anorexic as a teen.
I’d say it was mostly the former that affected me, feeling ugly and fat compared to my peers. Media and film made me feel matching them was of high importance.