Would
it
surprise
you
to
know
that
males
account
for
over
20%
of
those
with
eating
disorders?
For
bulimia,
it
goes
up
to
30%.
That
is
what
I
dealt
with
for
more
than
20
years.
A
male
lawyer
binging
and
purging?
What
do
you
say?
Yep.
That
was
me.
It
started
my
freshman
year
in
college.
I
carried
it
through
law
school
and
right
into
the
practice
of
law,
not
to
mention
alcohol
and
cocaine
use
disorder.
Throw
in
major
depression,
and
it’s
not
quite
the
recipe
for
a
fulfilling
legal
career. When
I
first
acknowledged
the
problem,
the
shame
was
all-encompassing.
I
thought
I
was
the
only
guy
in
the
world
who
had
dealt
with
an
eating
disorder.
In
my
mind,
it
was
more
acceptable
to
talk
about
being
an
alcoholic
or
sniffing
my
legal
career
away
on
blow.
I
also
didn’t
know
that
there
is
a
50%
co-occurrence
between
substance
use
and
eating
disorders.
Today,
I
am
approaching
19
years
since
I
last
stuck
my
finger
down
my
throat. It
hasn’t
always
been
a
smooth
journey
as
I
still
deal
with
body
image
issues.
Who
doesn’t,
right? Normative
discontent
is
fine.
Everyone
looks
in
the
mirror
now
and
then
and
says,
“That
sucks.”
What
I
no
longer
do
is
engage
in
destructive
behaviors
like
bulimia
to
deal
with
it.
Recovery
is
possible.
Eating
Disorder
Awareness
Week
started
on
February
24.
If
you
are
a
struggling
teen,
adult,
or
LGTBQ
person,
please
reach
out.
Shame
is
normal.
Resources
are
available.
National
Eating
Disorder
Association
(NEDA)
Brian
Cuban
is
an
attorney,
author,
and
advocate
for
mental
health
awareness
and
recovery.
He
has
spoken
at
law
firms,
conferences,
nonprofit
events,
colleges,
and
universities
across
the
United
States
and
Canada.
He
also
writes
extensively
on
these
subjects.
His
books,
columns,
and
quotes
have
appeared
on
CNN.com,
Foxnews.com,
The
Huffington
Post,
The
New
York
Times,
and
online
and
in
print
newspapers
worldwide.
He
is
also
the
author
of
the
best-selling
book
“The
Addicted
Lawyer,
Tales
of
The
Bar,
Booze
Blow
&
Redemption.”
His
debut
novel,
“The
Ambulance
Chaser,”
was
released
as
the
#1-selling
debut
paperback
thriller.
His
follow-up
crime
thriller,
“The
Body
Brokers”
is
now
available
wherever
books
are
sold
and
at
www.briancuban.com.