Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are characterised by eating too much or too little. A person may deny themselves anything to eat (even when hungry) or they may eat constantly and binge, and/or purge themselves, and/or overexercise afterwards. The person thoughts are dominated by food and their weight, and very often appearance.
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Eating disorders often occur as a way to exercise control over the only thing an individual feels he/she can.
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Eating disorders very often occur as a result of traumatic events, poor family support in childhood, family problems and bullying, and constant negative comments about appearance and weight.
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To support a healthy relationship with food, trauma must be worked on and food must be viewed as nourishing and not as a source of fear.
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Individuals may be ashamed of their body shape and weight, and may engage in purging and overexercising in an effort to control their weight.
Identify the signs and seek help as early as possible
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Not all people with eating disorders are obese or skinny, and so it may be difficult to spot them. It also means that girls may be over-diagnosed and boys ignored.
One third of all cases are boys between 13 and 17 years old.
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It is very easy to feel frustrated, rejected and angry at a person with an eating disorder.
You need to be kind and you need to listen. If you don’t listen to them, they will not listen to you.
Remember that the problem is not food but control, so creating barrages will not help. In fact, they may just do the opposite and may encourage worse behaviours.