Michael Jackson: Anorexia?
July 22nd, 2009 |
By Joanna Poppink, LMFT
Click here to contact Joanna and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile
For the past two nights I’ve been watching Michael Jackson videos on youtube. Here are a few: Beat It, Billy Jean, Thriller, Michael Jackson & Brittany Spears live, From New York Times: great interactive timeline of Michael Jackson’s life.
I’ve always loved his music and his distinctive and electrifying dance moves. But I had never watched his career unfold chronologically before my eyes from first appearance as a dynamic little boy in the Jackson Five to the creative genius behind Thriller and beyond. His “We are the world” raised millions for starving children in Africa.
Yet at a low Michael was 91 pounds on a five 5′11″ frame. Michael Jackson may have been the ultimate “poor little rich boy.” Did he suffer from anorexia? Maybe. If he did, and I don’t know that he did, it gives me a way to think about his life as well as his death.
Anorexia is not a stand alone illness. It is accompanied by and causes many infirmities. In my opinion, the most troublesome is the thinking distortions that develop from brain cell starvation. This can make a person be powerfully resistant to effective treatment, reach unreasonable conclusions about life situations and create painful chaos in relationships. And, of course, starvation affects every organ in the body with catastrophic consequences. If Michael were anorexic he needed careful and nourishing refeeding.
But living in a more substantial body with more mind clarity would bring him into the reality of a world he could influence tremendously but couldn’t live in personally. Body nourishment, while critical, is only the beginning. The whole person, body, mind and soul needs care and safety. With love and knowledge the person needs gentle encouragement and support to develop a healthy psychological sturdiness. That’s what makes him or her able to be present in a healthy body and cope with and thrive in a challenging world.
Michael Jackson had more challenges than most of us can ever dream of. In my opinion he may have withdrawn from the world and tried to create his own world with his massive finances. But it could never be enough. The fires of his incredible talent and charisma lit up the world and may have also burned him up from the inside.
RIP Michael. I mourn for you. I hope your legacy includes not only your magnificent body of work but also an inspiration to others. I hope your life and your death will teach others to honor personal health, authentic and unique gifts and the need to continue to develop psychological sturdiness throughout life.
I’m listening to Thriller as I write this post with eyes tearing and feet tapping. Oh, Michael.
©Copyright 2009 by Joanna Poppink, LMFT. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. The following article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the following article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry. Click here to contact Joanna and/or see her GoodTherapy.org Profile
5 comments so far
my God i have such mixed feelings about MJ. Loved his spirit, his dancing, his music, all the positive things he did for the world. But the guy was a troubled soul and clearly a survivor of childhood abuse who never, form what i can tell, had a chance to heal in this lifetime. And then there are the allegations that in addition to being a victim of childhood abuse, was a perpetrator and pedophile… so hard to separate the part of me that find him despicable.. i sihs i could transcend it.
What we’re hearing about is the alleged abuse of meds by Michael Jackson. I’d be more inclined to understand that as the reason for his skeletal frame than anorexia. The man had the world at his moonwalking feet and that wasn’t enough. He was a tragic 50 year old crazy mixed up kid.
I think MJ was a victim of success. Sometimes when you have everything in life its difficult to value the basic things like your body, your job, your family etc. I dont know whether he was a victim of anorexia or a victim of a weak mind. Whatever he was he definitely died a sad death.
I certainly would not be surprised to learn that he had anorexia. Aside from the physical appearance which was appalling to so many of us, you know that he had many inner demons that he probably battled for much of his life, and we all know that one of the ultimate ways to deal with some of those issues is to take control of our bodies to an unhealthy extreme. maybe that is what happened in his case- we will probably never know. But how sad to have lost another legend in this manner and mystery. The good ones just never seem to make it to a ripe old age do they? I am not saying that I agree with everything that he did in his life, but I try not to judge. But you have to admit that for a time there was a talent there and that may never again be matched.
Indeed, Michael went through a lot of hell with the media and people, grew up in an abusive household and was ridiculed by some. No wonder all this took a toll on his body. Anorexia? Who knows, but the symptoms described in this article does make sense and explains some of his problems.