MESO-Rx Exclusive Is bodybuilding good or bad for mental health - Mair Underwood

[Eman]

well, that would be proper immersion in the community wouldn't it? then I would be a real anthropologist!

I used the same logic in college to live like a rockstar... Immerse myself, be a legit college student. I'm not dead. You're on the right track for sure lol.

Yes, it is me in the new avatar (from an old pic). I rediscovered this pic a few weeks ago. Looking at it now, at the risk of being immodest, I look fucking badass in the pic. But I never remember looking anywhere near that good at the time the pic was taken. That probably has something to do with that weird body image / bodybuilding relationship.

That is a badass picture. You had another one several years ago that was badass too... You were standing in what looked like a calisthenics sort of studio? Fucking shredded. Never forgot that picture.

 

[FR0Z3N_B0MB3RRR]

A world where we count years based on the birth of “the son of god” (then killed for blasphemy it seems ahah) .. a world where thousands of people are killed or enslaved ED...

And all the shit thats goin on since EVER , and there is people thinking about that caring a lot about reaching a goal physique you saw in cartoons and videogames when you were a child or you saw In adulthood in the web, is “mental issues”?

the people in this thread that even remotely consider “having mental issues” is caring a lot about having a specific shape, have mental issues themselves...

No one with a decent brain could think that the ones with mental issues are those who strongly desire to have their dream body... mainly in the fucked world we live in..

Whats the purpose of that “study / reflection” ?
Yes here is a pubmed document that says Bodybuilders have mental issues, their obsession is the worse mental shit that could happen to a human being. Bodybuilders caring with their goals are runining the world and are the big demonstration of how fucked human brain could be, whatta a disgrace.

Ok , do you feel finer now? Are you ok? Good... world keeps sucking but maybe you don’t know.. maybe you dont know how usa have been built by English / Spanish / Porto in 1500, how people live in china / north korea / holocaust / hiroshima nagasaki www / pedos / slavery / racism / hatred - violence toward gay people..

You should have some mental issues to worry about someone that just wanna look like his heroes and is struggling with it... with all the shit that orbitate around that... obsession, and stop ... i m blending fuckin chicken breast with vegetable cube broth and drinking it 6 times daily.. and drinking liquid oatmeal or shit like that.. and look in the mirror every time I could...

Do you think i m crazy? I couldnt care less about your concept of craziness... i piss over it.. rest in pieces...

Maybe you eat shit and look like shit... and the fact you re happy about it its crazy for me... but I wouldn’t open a thread about it...

Who could give a fuck about what idiots think about bodybuilding life style? Just morons could.. mental issues is other stuff..

fuck

(I wasn’t speaking toward a specific person)

 

[KingCahoot3627]

Good topic.

I really like how Millard said we're always looking for reasons to justify this hobby.

I think I lift because its fun for me. I experience almost the same sense of well being when I learn a new song on my guitar or get in rhythm shooting basketball.

Its not therapy for me and I also don't think its destructive. Its just what I like doing instead working on cars, hunting, painting, or any other socially acceptable hobby.

 

[MairUnderwood(Researcher)]

Yes, it is me in the new avatar (from an old pic). I rediscovered this pic a few weeks ago. Looking at it now, at the risk of being immodest, I look fucking badass in the pic. But I never remember looking anywhere near that good at the time the pic was taken. That probably has something to do with that weird body image / bodybuilding relationship.

It is hellishly impressive! When I was dipping my toe in bodybuilding i probably looked one of the best I ever have, definitely the best I have looked since kids. I wish I could have enjoyed it instead of just hating on the small amount of fat i had

 

[MairUnderwood(Researcher)]

Bodybuilding promises radical transformation. I think these feelings have a lot to do with the degree to which we invest in this promise. We believe we have freedom of choice to completely change our physical appearance. So we may sometimes be unhappy because we feel we have the power to look better. When we get older maybe we no longer feel it is a choice, therefore we are no longer troubled since it is out of our control?

I've been trying to apply a perspective outlined by psychologist Dan Gilbert to bodybuilding. It's the idea of "natural happiness" vs. "synthetic happiness".

I THINK as far as bodybuilding goes, "natural happiness" would be believing bodybuilding (with its training, nutrition, drug regimens) gives you the choice of complete transformation and actually creating that comic-book hero physique.

And "synthetic happiness" would be believing physique can not be significantly changed for whatever reason and learning to think and feel differently about your bodies.

If everyone could have what they wanted, of course they would want to be "naturally happy" with a perfect body.

Yet "synthetic happiness" is just as real and may be even more long-term and stable.

So what should we strive for?

These are very interesting thoughts. What I would like would be to experiment with what my body can do but from a place of curiosity rather than thinking my worth was somehow determined by how i look

 

[Demondosage]

I think bodybuilding can be both good and bad for mental health. It can give ppl confidence and empower them, however it can also give you this sense of only being worth a damn if you have a good body when in reality there are so many other things in life that make up the big picture

 

[Silentlemon1011]

These are very interesting thoughts. What I would like would be to experiment with what my body can do but from a place of curiosity rather than thinking my worth was somehow determined by how i look

Youd be surprised at the amount of members in thos board who are motivated by what we call "Anabolic Experimentation" (To steal the phrase from @Eman and @Millard

For many, the experimentation and experience by use of different compounds is fantastic.

Take DNP for example.
A reckless cutting drug?
(As it is described in many places)

Or a potential cure for type 2 diabetes and a great way to reset our own insulin sensitivity via moderate and responsible use?

The fun of researching and experimenting with different compounds and their effect... to me personally, is of almost as much interest as my numbers in the bar (Not quite though...lol)

 

[MairUnderwood(Researcher)]

Take DNP for example.
A reckless cutting drug?
(As it is described in many places)

Or a potential cure for type 2 diabetes and a great way to reset our own insulin sensitivity via moderate and responsible use?

This is so interesting. I have always wanted to research DNP and write a paper on it. I thought I had a great opportunity as a student was going to study it under my supervision, but as it turned out he didn't put in the work and it kinda died in the arse

 

[Eman]

This is so interesting. I have always wanted to research DNP and write a paper on it. I thought I had a great opportunity as a student was going to study it under my supervision, but as it turned out he didn't put in the work and it kinda died in the arse

Study it...? As in ingest and document the results? I would have made a hell of a researcher in college, and I only say that half jokingly.

I'll be doing another DNP cycle in probably in 8ish months. Happy to document and do some more zooms with you if you want to do a paper. There's a few guys on here that would also probably be happy to contribute. I've never gone full tilt with documenting every aspect of a cycle of it but I've documented some of my early cycles... It was enjoyable to an extent.

 

[MairUnderwood(Researcher)]

I

Study it...? As in ingest and document the results? I would have made a hell of a researcher in college, and I only say that half jokingly.

I'll be doing another DNP cycle in probably in 8ish months. Happy to document and do some more zooms with you if you want to do a paper. There's a few guys on here that would also probably be happy to contribute. I've never gone full tilt with documenting every aspect of a cycle of it but I've documented some of my early cycles... It was enjoyable to an extent.

unfortunately i dunno if i have time to start studying dnp just yet as I have to finally get all the other research I have already done published (slowly getting there - has taken me longer than expected to find my voice and work out what I am trying to say in this space)

 

[MairUnderwood(Researcher)]

I think bodybuilding can be both good and bad for mental health. It can give ppl confidence and empower them, however it can also give you this sense of only being worth a damn if you have a good body when in reality there are so many other things in life that make up the big picture

Couldn't agree more. I would really like to work out how to help people get the empowerment without getting off balance

 

[Demondosage]

Couldn't agree more. I would really like to work out how to help people get the empowerment without getting off balance

Self development through exploring other areas of life and accomplishments. Being someone who was guilty of considering myself worthless without a good physique, I can honestly say it took venturing out in other areas outside of the gym life to feel accomplished. I'm a fan of bodybuilding and the gym, but when I see social media of someone who is shirtless in every photo and basically narcissistic as all hell, it really annoys me. But funny enough, that used to be me.

 

[MairUnderwood(Researcher)]

Self development through exploring other areas of life and accomplishments. Being someone who was guilty of considering myself worthless without a good physique, I can honestly say it took venturing out in other areas outside of the gym life to feel accomplished. I'm a fan of bodybuilding and the gym, but when I see social media of someone who is shirtless in every photo and basically narcissistic as all hell, it really annoys me. But funny enough, that used to be me.

This seems to be the case for a lot of people IMHO, they develop more aspects of themselves so the body becomes less important. But some people never seem to shift their focus from their body as their definition of themselves, and they seem to really suffer as a result

 

[StorGuillermoKardamo]

I think bodybuilding can be both good and bad for mental health. It can give ppl confidence and empower them, however it can also give you this sense of only being worth a damn if you have a good body when in reality there are so many other things in life that make up the big picture

I quoted your post here because I think it ties in to what I'm about to say in a sort of flip-flop, two faces of Janus sort of way. For me it taught me that my body, aside from its health, doesn't really mean a damn.

My experience with powerlifting and strength sports taught me that ultimately I was in control of my body composition. If I wanted to change it, I had the means. Knowing this saved me from a lot of despair in my early and mid-twenties. During that time I wasted away from 225lbs at 20 to 130lbs at 23, and ballooned back up to 290lbs by 25. Neither of these were healthy weights for me, but I knew that I could always change it using the knowledge I had from powerlifting. That did a lot for my self image, even though I consciously knew these were decidedly bad looks for me*. I'm in my late 20s now, comfortably hovering around 242lbs and maintaining a slow but successful recomp, managing to lose three inches at my waist while remaining the same weight over the last few months. I still don't look my best, but I know I can get there if I want to - and that helps me to remember that's not the only thing that matters. In fact, its very low on the hierarchy of things that matter. Looking back, aside from the impact on my day to day health, neither of my most extreme body compositions changed anything in life for me nor did any of those in between.

 

[Millard]

That is a badass picture. You had another one several years ago that was badass too... You were standing in what looked like a calisthenics sort of studio? Fucking shredded. Never forgot that picture.

Thanks! The picture you are referring to is one of my favorites. My focus at the time wasn't physique. I was enjoying life. Doing all the things I love. It just happened. I can't say I wasn't trying because the things I love also include the weights and the bike

It is hellishly impressive! When I was dipping my toe in bodybuilding i probably looked one of the best I ever have, definitely the best I have looked since kids. I wish I could have enjoyed it instead of just hating on the small amount of fat i had

OTOH, I was totally focused on improving my physique in my photo in this thread. Maybe it's why I didn't enjoy it as much at the time?

 

[Millard]

This seems to be the case for a lot of people IMHO, they develop more aspects of themselves so the body becomes less important. But some people never seem to shift their focus from their body as their definition of themselves, and they seem to really suffer as a result

This is true and definitely needs to be addressed. I think most attention focuses on bodybuilding as a magnet for those with self esteem and body image issues. Is it healthy or unhealthy for this group is one question?

But your article and discussions raise another interesting question: Is bodybuilding a healthy or unhealthy pursuit for psychological well-adjusted and balanced individuals?

Of course, I am biased. And I don't think bodybuilding is the problem. I think society is the problem.

Pre-body, someone may define their self-worth based on various factors e.g. intellect, personality, humor, skills, competency, achievements, etc. And these may be reinforced within their circles.

Post-body, society redefines you. People treat you differently due to physical appearance. It becomes the first thing people notice about you. New people are drawn into your orbit based on your appearance. Their circles change composition. Whereas pre-body, your self-worth was based on a variety of other factors; post-body, there may be a shift towards physique.

No one really wants to be the "but she has a great personality" or the "but he is a really nice guy" person.

Even with all this, bodybuilding can still be empowering. The issue is complex and about much more than just lifting weights or using steroids. That may be the least of it.

 

[MairUnderwood(Researcher)]

Post-body, society redefines you. People treat you differently due to physical appearance. It becomes the first thing people notice about you. New people are drawn into your orbit based on your appearance. Their circles change composition. Whereas pre-body, your self-worth was based on a variety of other factors; post-body, there may be a shift towards physique.

Great point, bodybuilding does seem to encourage identification with the body as a result of outside reactions to your body. Hadn't thought of that!

 

[MairUnderwood(Researcher)]

I was totally focused on improving my physique in my photo in this thread. Maybe it's why I didn't enjoy it as much at the time?

I think you've identified the main issue here: how can you focus on your physique and enjoy the process/keep your sanity? That's what we need to know more about

 

[DavidGoodmen]

OTOH, I was totally focused on improving my physique in my photo in this thread. Maybe it's why I didn't enjoy it as much at the time?

Quite likely so. “totally focused on” makes it sound like a job, something you are doing for some commitment. The times you enjoy it are the times you are doing it just to please yourself with whatever happens and comes your way.

When I trained, my interest was in getting stronger. But, I knew this would be achieved by training, and did not dwell on the minutiae. I liked feeling the weights move at my command, I liked feeling the forces at work and modifying my movement if need be, I loved the full feeling the muscles got from being worked hard, and I even enjoyed the soreness, as it made them feel bigger, and therefore stronger.
I suspect other people do not enjoy these things, but what one likes is something of which one will do more—enthusiastically, sometimes! Being yourself, instead of a target-achieving machine, is more fulfilling, thus was more enjoyable.
I cared that each training session was a gain over the previous one. Other than that, I did not have any specfications or cares. Even with the bizarre problems I am having, I still think this way.
I hope this makes sense, as I am not a therapist, and I do not play one on TV.

 

[DavidGoodmen]

Millard said:
Post-body, society redefines you. People treat you differently due to physical appearance. It becomes the first thing people notice about you. New people are drawn into your orbit based on your appearance. Their circles change composition. Whereas pre-body, your self-worth was based on a variety of other factors; post-body, there may be a shift towards physique.

MairUnderwood(Researcher) said: Great point, bodybuilding does seem to encourage identification with the body as a result of outside reactions to your body. Hadn't thought of that!

As I said elsewhere, people—and they were all men—were in awe of me. I knew this—obviously I knew it then, else I would be unable to discuss it now!—but I knew it as a simple fact, a bit of data, rather than emotionally. In me, logic and emotion are separate. They operate orthogonally, so neither understands the other. I—the conscious personality—understand the logic system very well, and the emotional system only because of years of working to decode its subtleties.
So, anything which would puff up my ego, or alter my personality, simply does not register. My personality does not change with situations, or with whoever happens to be nearby. This is a good introduction:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp03fbScJRU
Of course, not understanding how normal people think is not really an asset!

But Millard is correct: People do treat you differently due to physical appearance. If one is big and strong, then people want to know you. If one is small and weak, then people just make fun of you, and are disparaging. This is not proper behavior, but is all too common.