Media Archive
Male Athletes Struggle With Eating Disorders
Posted Jan 14, 2012
During his junior year at Wesley College in Delaware, Patrick Bergstrom was fighting for playing time on the college's lacrosse team. He desperately wanted to excel at the sport he loved, so he began eating less and working out more.
"I think people probably couldn't see the effects," Bergstrom, now 28, told HuffPost, explaining that at the time, his behavior could best be defined as disordered eating. "I was in great shape and I was still able to play."
But after graduating, Bergstrom all but gave up food. Soon, he was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and told that if he did not
Interview with Patrick Bergstrom, founder of ‘I Chose to Live’
Posted Jan 14, 2012
Both the media and statistics reflect eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia as a battle most prevalent in females. However, a 2009 article by Kimberly Weisensee speculates that the statistics regarding male eating disorder sufferers could be greatly exaggerated due to men being less willing to come forward with the issue and that a large percentage of these men are athletes.
Patrick Bergstrom is a male athlete from Hagerstown, Maryland who for four years struggled with both anorexia nervosa and alcoholism. Bergstrom's disorder nearly claimed his life when in March of 2008 he sought treatment at Canopy Cove in Florida. In
Male Athlete Speaks Out About His Anorexia Nervosa Experience, Patrick’s Story.
Posted Jan 14, 2010
From The ANAD Website:
I just stopped eating. Food was a way of control, and my weight drastically dropped to the point where I couldn’t even keep down a small meal. I was completely frightened of eating. I didn’t realize that I was in the biggest game of my life. Like many other young boys growing up, I was a sports junky. As soon as school was out, I enthusiastically threw myself into some sports activity. I always dreamed of being a professional athlete and, yes, I was always reenacting those famous last-second game-winning shots on Sports Center replays. As far
Facing Confidence
Posted Mar 3, 2009
Facing Confidence Week was a new time on the Lubbock Christian University campus, joining the ranks of well-known weeks such as TWIRP Week and Spiritual Renewal Week. Even though the idea for Facing Confidence was new, it was just as profound and important as any other time here on campus.
Amid the many engaging activities, such as an art exhibit and yoga classes, the I Chose to Live program by guest speaker Patrick Bergstrom was especially important. He spoke at chapel last Wednesday morning and later at the AX Devo. In both, Bergstrom spoke about his struggles with anorexia and how
‘I Chose To Live’
Posted Mar 1, 2009
by Patrick Bergstrom + photos by Seth Freeman
We live in a country that spends billions of dollars on beauty products and fad diets. Everywhere you look there is another ad expressing another way to be thin and look attractive. Yet more than 10 million Americans — nine million women and one million men — suffer from eating disorders, an alarming fact considering that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses and are increasing in incidence.
Contrary to popular perception, eating disorders are not really about food and “dieting.” They tend to originate from a complex combination of