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What Parents Need to Know
What eating disorders are about - Eating
disorders, contrary to popular belief, are not principally
about food, eating, or weight management. The assumption is
that anorexics under eat and bulimics overeat and purge, but
the issues are much more complex. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia
nervosa, different manifestations of the same disease syndrome,
are characterized by a preoccupation with weight and body
shape, a pathological fear of becoming fat, erratic or inadequate
food intake, and the inability to regulate eating.
In addition, a child’s eating habits provide
a window into his or her emotional health and capacity to
deal with life. Dysfunctional eating behaviors indicate emotional
imbalances, immaturities, developmental tasks not yet achieved,
or cognitive distortions that could derail the child’s effective
development into adulthood.
Driven by emotions, needs and values, the child
who feels powerless, inadequate, or fearful turns to symptoms
which create the illusion of being in control, establishing
a pseudo-sense of security and predictability in an unstable
world. Ultimately, the disease takes control and makes a victim
of its host. The disordered child does not know how to “feed”
or care for himself or herself, in more ways than one. With
recovery comes an expanded emotional capacity to cope with
all aspects of life, beyond food and eating.
The classic eating disorders; Definitions
Anorexia Nervosa is a pathological fear of being
fat, accompanied by food restriction and at times, purging
and over-exercising. It is generally accompanied by a distorted
body image, and by the absence of the menses.
Bulimia Nervosa is the repeated cycle of out
of control bingeing accompanied by purging or by fasting or
excessive exercise to compensate for the intake of calories.
Bulimics typically abuse laxatives, diuretics or diet pills
and typically struggle with other forms of addiction.
Binge-Eating Disorder of Compulsive Overeating
is characterized by eating when not hungry or without regard
to physiological cues. With binge eating episodes, patient
report the inability to stop or to control the behavior. Deprivation-sensitive
binge eating arises out of excessive dieting or food restriction;
addictive or dissociative binge eating is the practice of
self-medicating or self-soothing, with behaviors evoking tranquility
or numbness.
Things you may not know about eating disorders
- Eating disordered children typically are of normal weight,
and often appear to be the picture of health. Paragons of
self-discipline, they typically excel at academics, sports,
and other activities.
Eating disorders are diseases, which in the
vast majority of cases are totally curable.
Dieting or food restriction is the worst way
to lose weight and can be harmful to the metabolism.
Parents are not responsible for causing eating
disorders in their children.
Parents do not need to wait until symptoms of
eating disorders have become full-blown and prominent before
feeling free to take action with their child. An educated
hunch should serve as motivation enough to confront the child
and seek assistance.
Eating disorder treatment and recovery are unique
in many ways. Addressing eating disorders requires addressing
the wide variety of issues that the eating disorder encompasses.
These include physiological, psychological, behavioral and
nutritional issues. In eating disorder recovery, the patient
can expect to feel worse before (s)he can feel better.
Not every eating quirk represents an eating
disorder. The distinction between disease and benign idiosyncrasy
lies in the purpose behind the behaviors for the individual.
When the use of food goes beyond efforts to achieve satiety,
fueling, or sociability, the parent may want to become vigilant
and involved.
Eating disturbances in your very young child
may be the result of anxiety and compulsivity, or simply the
child’s imitation of significant adult role models. Issues
of control, identity, self-esteem, coping and problem solving
largely drive adolescent and adult eating disorders.
Proactive parental involvement in the child’s
recovery can and should be instrumental in facilitating healing.
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About the Author:
Psychotherapist Abigail H. Natenshon has specialized
in the treatment of eating disorders with individuals, families,
and groups for the past 31years. She is the author of When
Your Child Has An Eating Disorder, A Step-by-Step Workbook
For Parents And Other Caregivers, Jossey-Bass, 1999. Based
on hundreds of successful outcomes, this book shepherds concerned
parents step-by-step through the processes of eating disorder
recognition, confronting the child, finding the most effective
treatment for patient and family, and evaluating and insuring
a timely recovery. A guide to eating disorder prevention,
this book is useful to parents, health professionals and school
personnel alike in countering the pervasive epidemic of unhealthy
eating and body image concerns, and destructive media and
peer influences. Her work can be reviewed further at www.empoweredparents.com
and www.empoweredkidZ.com.
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