Transcript Document

Understanding Eating Disorders
Fiona Flynn
25 March 2016
What we will talk about…
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My background
What are eating disorders?
Signs and Symptoms of eating disorders
Effects of eating disorders.
Why people develop eating disorders?
Self esteem.
Body Image.
How people get better?
Bodywhys support services
What to do if I am worried about my child?
What are the main types of eating
disorders?
• Anorexia
• Bulimia
• Binge eating disorder
Why do people get eating disorders?
• Eating disorders are not primarily about food
• Eating disorders are a coping mechanism
• An unconscious way of coping with/avoiding
difficult feelings or situations
• Sometimes by controlling food and weight a
person may feel more in control of his/her life
About eating disorders..
True or False?
• It only happens to girls
• It’s just a teenage thing
• It’s a lifestyle choice
• People with eating disorders are
just looking for attention
• You never fully recover!!
Potential effects on the body
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Poor circulation – feeling cold all the time
Feeling tired all the time
Dry flaky skin
Constipation and abdominal pain
Poor concentration
Withdraw socially
Sore throat
Swollen glands
Decay of tooth enamel
Damage to bodily organs
Osteoporosis - “brittle bones”
My experience
Signs and Symptoms
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Weight loss/gain
Evidence of low self-image
Pre-occupation with weight and body shape
Pre-occupation with food, and in particular with preparing
food for others, that they themselves won't eat
Excessive exercising
Withdrawal from regular activities and social situations
Frequent trips to bathroom after meals (perhaps with sound
of water running)
Unusual food rituals
Constant dieting, even when thin
Taking laxatives or diet pills
Making excuses to get out of eating
Avoiding social situations that involve food
Eating alone, at night, or in secret
Hoarding high-calorie food
Why do people develop eating disorders?
There are as many reasons why
people develop eating
disorders, as there are people
with eating disorders…
There is NO single cause.........
Some common factors:
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Low self esteem, unhealthy body-image
Perfectionist tendencies
Family difficulties/ problems in relationships
Emotional factors
Pressure from fashion, media
Bereavement or loss
Dieting
People with healthy self-esteem tend to...
• Believe in themselves
• Feel that they can do the things they want
when they put in the effort
• Recognise their strengths
• Know what they like and don’t like
• Are able to communicate effectively
• Learn how to handle difficulties
NOBODY FEELS GOOD ALL THE TIME
Sometimes when we’re not feeling
great we…
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Doubt themselves
Focus on the bad stuff
Dwell on personal weaknesses
Compare themselves to others and feel we’re
not good enough
• Go along with things… no matter how
uncomfortable they feel
How to give your self esteem a boost..
• Hang out with supportive people who don’t
put you down or make fun of you….
• Do things YOU enjoy
• Think about what you have learnt about
yourself when you achieve something or
when you have setbacks.
• The way we think…
Accept that NO ONE gets it right all
the time and that no one is happy all
the time.
Self Talk
It can be a good idea to keep a diary of all
the nice things people say or compliments
people give you to look at when you don’t
feel great about yourself
Body Image
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What is body image?
What influences our image of ourselves?
Do we feel pressure to look a certain way?
Where does this come from?
The Media
• Make up
• Lighting
• Airbrushing
Some strategies for increasing positive body
image:
• Emphasise the fact that body image is only one part of who
we are..
• Set a good example
• Focus on talents and doing things they enjoy
• Talk about airbrushing and the fact that the images in
magazines are NOT REAL
• Encourage them to be individual – and not to try to live up to
the media or peer pressure
• Healthy diet and exercise
How do people get better?
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Eating disorders have many different aspects:
Emotional
Physical
Psychological
Behavioural
Getting better means having each aspect
addressed!
How do people get better?
Above all they need lots
of support and
understanding from
those around them 
Treatment & Support Options
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Family Doctor/ G.P.
Counselling or psychotherapy
Nutritionist/ Dietician
Psychiatric treatment
Inpatient/ Outpatient programmes
Support Services – Bodywhys:helpline,
support groups, online support
What to do if you’re concerned your
child may have an issue:
• Read all you can about eating disorders
• Look for support groups that can give you
more information
• Speak to your family doctor if you have
specific medical concerns
• If you know of someone else who has been
through this experience, speak with them and
ask their advice – its important to have
support for yourself too
Distinguishing between an eating disorder
and ‘normal disordered eating’
Some questions you can ask yourself:
• Is your child’s behaviour having an impact beyond
meal times?
• Is their behaviour impacting on their personality, or
on the rest of their day-to-day life?
• Does your child see food as a source of energy and
nutrition, or is some other value being attached?
• How does your child react to mealtimes? Is there an
overly emotional response?
When speaking to your child:
• Do be honest
• Do speak from your own perspective (e.g. “I’m worried about how you’ve
been feeling lately…”)
• Do remember that your child may feel extremely vulnerable
• Do be prepared for denial, resistance, false reassurances
• Do speak in specifics: mention behaviours you have noticed, and explain
why you are concerned about those behaviours
• Do remember to listen as well as speaking – balancing your concerns with
their responses is important at this stage
• Do encourage them to speak as openly as possible
• Don't ask for immediate changes in behaviour
• Don't make accusations
• Don’t demand that they ‘just eat’ or ‘just stop’. This is too much to ask of
them in the early stages.
When speaking to your child..
It is particularly important in the context of your
relationship with your child that they see your anger as
being directed at the eating disorder and not at them.
Ways of making this distinction:
• Avoid labelling your child e.g. describe your child as
'having' or 'being affected by' an eating disorder, as
opposed to 'being anorexic'
• Be clear that you are not assigning blame to your
child
If your child does not want to seek
help
In this scenario it is important to be able to negotiate:
• Focus on specific issues which you are concerned about; this
may be a behaviour, or a physical symptom that you have
observed.
• Explain that you need them to address these issues with you
and with your doctor
• Reassure your child that you are not asking them to change
their behaviours today.
• It is vital that your child feels they can trust you – so if you
make an agreement with them around attending a GP or
similar, you need to stick to it.
• It is also important that they trust any Doctors/Counsellors
they may be dealing with
Within the family
• Accept that it is not your fault.
• If you have other children, share what you know about eating
disorders and supporting a person towards recovery with
them. Encourage them to express their range of feelings
about what is happening to their brother / sister and to their
family.
• Try not to let the needs of the child with the eating disorder
overshadow the needs of siblings. Be aware that the distress
of siblings can be very acute and is often hidden so as not to
burden parents.
• Aim to be as consistent as possible in your approach.
• Self care - Talking to someone (a trusted friend, a helpline
volunteer, a professional care giver) will help to reassure you
and put things back into perspective.
A final note
• Set a good example… Eat healthily and avoid dieting or
making negative statements about your own body or your
eating habits.
• Focus on building self esteem and positive body image
• Learn about eating disorders
• Listen without lecturing
• Take care of yourself…
Bodywhys services
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LoCall Helpline 1890 200 444
Support groups in Dublin, Carlow, Galway
Support email [email protected]
Online support group - BodywhysConnect
Website at www.bodywhys.ie
Text ‘support’ to 53305 for details
Questions?
Thank you