the looser thread... who got self-estime probs?

[monster.]

danielle...you are exactly right, i read an article about self preception and bodybuilders in an old musclemag. when alot of bodybuilders look in the mirror, they see themselves smaller/larger then they actually are, there is a clinical name for it. but i have to find the article...

TRL...you are not the only one that feels like that bro, I think the number one thing to do is try to make yourself happy, set goals, and reach your goals... try not to sweat the small things...

good luck

[hercules88]

danielle...you are exactly right, i read an article about self preception and bodybuilders in an old musclemag. when alot of bodybuilders look in the mirror, they see themselves smaller/larger then they actually are, there is a clinical name for it. but i have to find the article...

i think it is called bigarexia??

[BigGreen]

i think it is called bigarexia??

Its clinical name is muscular dysmorphia. Strictly speaking, it is a close relative of anorexia nervosa in that they are both body image disorders. Perhaps the most thorough psychological studies have been done by Harrison Pope. For example:

Harrison G. Pope, et al., The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession (The Free Press, New York, 2000), 73.

Harrison G. Pope, et al., “Body Image Perception Among Men in Three Countries”, American Journal of Psychiatry 157 (August 2000): 1298.

Pope, HG Jr, et al, “Evolving Ideals of Male Body Image as Seen Through Action Toys”, International Journal of Eating Disorders 26 (1999): 68.

Harrison G. Pope, et al., “Muscle Dysmorphia in Male Weightlifters: A Case-Control Study”, American Journal of Psychiatry 157 (August 2000): 1291.

EDIT: there are quite a few other authors and clinicians having dealt with this, but Pope seems to be the most relevant and one of the few who doesn't resort to what one would expect from a traditonal medical or academic treatment of such a subject.