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Did MJ suffer from manorexia?
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Screaming for help, but was anyone listening? (Damian Strohmeyer/Sports Ilustrated/Getty.)
Have you ever heard so much about Michael Jackson in your entire life? As famous and groundbreaking as he was, I don’t believe he dominated the news as much as he is today.
And it’s no wonder why everyone—from Brian Williams to Nancy Grace—is covering this story. Michael was an international superstar and musical genius. Millions of us around the globe watched him mature, moonwalk and morph into someone…mysterious. Intriguing. Eccentric. Bizarre. And 99% of his actions followed suit.
One week after his out-of-the-blue death, we are left with endless questions and many of them have to do with his physical health and mental well-being. Was he dependant on serious painkillers? Was he suffering from Body Dysmorphic Disorder? Did he wear a mask because he was a germaphobe? Was he in debt due to a compulsive shopping addiction? And the Peter Pan complex…I can’t even go there.
But it’s something that TV investigative journalist Diane Dimond said on MSNBC that made me ask myself, “Now why didn’t I pick up on that?” According to Diane, who’s been following the ups and downs of MJ’s career since child molestation case #1 in 1993, Michael had been suffering from anorexia for 20+ years.
Sure, the guy was always lanky and super-thin, but anorexic? Come on, that seems so drastic, obsessive and over-the-top.
On second thought…
But why was this so difficult for me to grasp? Maybe because we tend to label anorexia as a female-only disease, but that’s not the case at all. According to the website maleanorexia.net, this condition is caused by one (or more) of four factors:
Genetics: “If someone in your immediate family has struggled with anorexia, then your chances of developing the disorder increase greatly. Also, certain personality types are more likely to develop eating disorders than others. For example, perfectionists are more likely to develop an eating disorder than their counterparts. In fact, perfectionism is the leading cause of male anorexia. Perfectionism leads to the desire to be right, accepted, and in control—all of which can be the primary causes of male anorexia.”
Brain activity: “When a male with anorexia under eats, the brain dispenses feelings of euphoria. In this way food is used a type of anti-depressant as it relieves any anxious thoughts.”
Family: “Some males with eating disorders report feeling smothered by their families. Yet others felt abandoned and misunderstood. Still more had parents who overemphasized their physical appearances. In these families, the cause of the male anorexia is the fact that the individual learned to keep doubts, fears, anxieties and imperfections hidden.”
Uumm, paging creepy Joe Jackson…
Society: “Cultural pressures to be thin and the portrayal of thin individuals on television are also underlying causes of male anorexia. The continual barrage of ads containing thin, happy people inevitably sends the message that happiness can only be found by being thin.”
The lesson from Michael's passing is that all of the money, fame, fortune and talent doesn’t mean a damn thing if you don’t have your health—physical, mental and emotional. And when it comes down to it, we’re all the same. No one is immune from sadness, fear, doubt, hardship and insecurity.
Not even a King.
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