Though often overlooked, men are just as able as women to develop any type of eating disorder. Paul Beuttenmuller is living proof. After suffering in silence for many years with exercise addiction, anorexia, and purging behaviors, Paul finally sought treatment. Now secure in his recovery, he talks openly and vulnerably about his struggles with “golden boy syndrome” and his unrelenting compulsions toward perfectionism. Paul is a radiant exemplar that recovery is possible when we surrender to the healing process. Listen to his story in this “Best Of” episode of the Recovery Warrior Show.
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What You’ll Learn:
- What it’s like to seek treatment for an eating disorder as a male
- The definition and the perils of “golden boy syndrome”
- How perfectionism can devastate your life, health, and relationships and how to beat it
- Why it’s important to continue a writing practice even after treatment
- What internal family systems therapy is and how it could help you in your recovery
Favorite Quote
The person you are today would like to thank the person you were five years ago for not giving up. You are awesome.
Exercise is a celebration of what the body can do, not a punishment for what it did.
If you saw the size of the blessing that is coming, you would understand the magnitude of the battle you’re facing.
Favorite Recovery Resource
- Writing in general and sometimes revisiting old therapeutic assignments from treatment.
- Reading about the experiences of others in recovery through sources like Recovery Warriors.
Advice to Former Self
It does get better. There’s still so much road ahead of you and there’s so much you can do with it if you’re willing to go through the process. Be vulnerable, seek treatment, and really do what you need to do and you’ll be able to get to the other side and do those things you’ve always dreamed about.
Paul’s Definition of Recovery
A life that’s not defined by medals and material things, but by experiences and emotions.
For Your Journey
- How to Avoid the Slippery Slope of an Eating Disorder by Paul Beuttenmuller
- 10 Years After Eating Disorder Rock Bottom: A Guy’s Perspective by Paul Beuttenmuller
Connect with Paul Beuttenmuller
Credits
- Opening song “Something to Live For” by Mallory Faye
- Music by JR Patterson at the Voice Collective
