Early Warning Signs of Eating Disorders
If your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, or actions with regard to your food, weight, exercise or body image interfere with the quality of life, emotional well being, and/or physical wellness, you may have an eating disorder. Essentially, when your relationship with your weight and body interfere with you being able to be yourself, when your thoughts become obsessive and debilitating, it may be time to seek professional help. At Wisdom Within Counseling, holistic eating disorder therapy and family therapy in Connecticut help families thrive again.
What is Anorexia?
Now, anorexia is a disorder of self-starvation and excessive weight loss. And, this is due to an intense fear of fatness. Often, people with anorexia will cut out all fat. And, they struggle with eating and an impossible pursuit of thinness.
Bulimia
To add, with bulimia, there is purging of some kind. Essentially, bulimia is a secretive cycle of binge eating. Then, there is purging from guilt and shame, which includes compulsive and over exercising.
Binge Eating Disorder
Now, binge eating disorder is a self-destructive cycle of eating a very large amount and then not eating. As well, this impulsive gorging, grazing, and bingeing behavior is not due to physical hunger. Overall, with binge eating disorder people feel a loss or lack of control and loads of guilt with shame. With this eating disorder, eating is fueled by emotions rather than intuitive hunger. Often, binge eating disorder develops as s a way of coping and soothing ones self after trauma.
Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)
Additionally, Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) include a combination of the signs and symptoms of all of the above. Many people have overlapping symptoms of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. Notably, eating disorders steal joy, pleasure, time and aliveness from your life.
To begin, click the pink button below to learn more about holistic eating disorder therapy and the speciality of supporting a healthy, intuitive relationship with food.
What is ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)?
Now, ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder is a lack of interest in eating food in general. In addition, ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder can be about specific food groups. For some with ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, they will only eat white food or only eat soft food. Often, this is due to the sensory characteristics. For some, with ARFID, they have concerns and worries about consequences of eating. Lastly, ARFID impacts children and teens on the autism spectrum, with OCD and those with ADHD too.
What is orthorexia?
With orthorexia, there is an unhealthy fixation on eating healthy food. And, “healthy” is a rigid term constructed by the person with the disorder. Often, there is an extreme obsession with avoiding foods perceived to be harmful.
What happens when someone gets diagnosed with an eating disorder and seeks therapy?
Usually, there is shock or surprise as well as a sense of internalized failure. Sometimes, there is disappointment or embarrassment, shame, guilt, anger or fear. With therapy for eating disorder treatment in Connecticut, the goal is for self and family acceptance.
As well, in therapy for eating disorder treatment, we teach skills for positive body affirmations and a healthy relationship with food.
Why do eating disorders develop and what are the reasons for body shame in our culture?
Gender and sexuality expression play a role in eating disorder treatment
Well, we are brought up the the American culture and fad-diet culture that normalizes calorie counting. In addition, our culture tells us only certain sizes are acceptable. And, body shame and compulsive and abusive exercise habits develop in teenage years. And, due to cultural expectations, a daughter may feel embarrassed or ashamed of their other parent’s appearance. But, we never have a safe place to talk about this stuff. So, the fear develops into disordered eating because they don’t want to get fat. There is lack of education on nutrition in our culture as well. Mostly, advertisements focus on body shame an perpetuate diet culture.
To begin, click the pink button below to learn more about holistic eating disorder therapy and the speciality of supporting a healthy, intuitive relationship with food.
The impacts of eating disorders on siblings of teens or young adults with an eating disorder:
Siblings are greatly affected by a sibling of theirs who has an eating disorder. For siblings, their relationships with other family members change too. As a group of marriage and family therapies, we help siblings process a variety of intense emotions such as grief, guilt, fear, and worry. Holistic eating disorder therapy and family therapy in Connecticut can be a process of healing communication.
For instance, a sibling may have worries about their sibling’s health and hospitalization.
Also, some siblings may develop problematic symptoms like self-harm. Or, they may develop teen drinking or drug use, or become the jokester. This is to off set the eating disorder behavior in their sibling. On the other hand, other siblings may develop “well child” syndrome. In this case, the well child may become forgotten or feel there is less attention on them. In therapy for eating disorders, sibling relationships are important resources for recovery and treatment.
And, siblings can encourage recovery. But, a sibling may be secretly suffering with their own problematic, restrictive eating habits from generational patterns.
In counseling specialized for families with a teen who has an eating disorder, we help the whole family. Siblings may be confused, sad, or grieving if their sibling has left home to be hospitalized and need a safe place to process. Holistic eating disorder therapy and family therapy in Connecticut can provide your family with a safe environment to heal and feel closer.
How do I not ignore my other child and teach them they are loved too?
To start, set aside and schedule individual time with each siblings and parents to remind them they are important and loved. As well, schedule your “well child” to have a meeting with a therapist too. They can process worries and fears in counseling regarding their sibling’s eating disorder treatment.
What to say and what not to say at meal times when you have a teen struggling with an eating disorder?
Commonly, we don’t realize when we body shame others. It is built into our culture. As well, we don’t understand the impact on someone who struggles with an eating disorder. So, when approaching a relative you haven’t seen in a while, instead of saying, “Wow, you’ve gained weight. You look underweight or too heavy, or fatter since the last time I saw you.” This creates judgement about body size and shape. And, a comment like this shows that you are valuing self-worth only on these factors. So, avoid speaking about clothing sizes in a negative way. At Wisdom Within Counseling, we teach skills for self-love and acceptance.
What not to say? Eating disorder therapy and family therapy in Connecticut help you learn what positive things to say.
Avoid saying, “Don’t take so much bread because you don’t want to get fat,” while your child is about to get more bread. Essentially, this is food and body shaming. Instead, share those feelings as taking ownership of your fears.
Now, don’t discuss “weight management,” or “healthy eating discussions,” as these perpetuate body shame. Overall, weight loss means you can only be more worthy of love when you lose weight. And, comments like this perpetuate disordered eating habits.
To begin, book a phone consult for eating disorder therapy and family therapy in Connecticut below.
As a rule of thumb, avoid body and weight-based comments like the following:
“You’ve gained weight, you should get a gym membership and work out more.” “Wow, look at how fast you are now! You’ve gotten faster at running because it looks like you’ve lost weight.” Instead, remember to focus on non-physical comments.
How we can learn to think and gain self-awareness before speaking at family dinner times?
Now, you might think to yourself, “I have received messages that bread is a bad food. My mom stopped eating bread when I was 12 because she didn’t want to get fat. And, I have been cultured to fear getting fat, but I know my heart and brain are help me every day are made of fats. Now, every diet says no carbs. So, I have been influenced by the culture around me as a parent. Yes, I worry that my child will get fat from eating too much. And, I stopped eating bread in college myself and felt so tired all the time. Right now, I feel afraid that my child wants to eat bread. Yes, I could benefit from some parenting counseling to learn how to navigate my fears around bread.”
Eating disorder therapy and family therapy in Connecticut supports calm, positive communication around meal times
So, you might say, “I feel concerned and I feel worried about your mood lately. And, I’ve noticed some of my own food fears coming up and that you have been getting angry around dinner. So, I would like to set you up to have a safe place to talk about your relationship with food. Would you be up for talking with a therapist? And, I would also like to get into therapy too.”
The Wisdom Within Counseling Connecticut eating disorder therapists focus on health-at-every-size and intuitive eating approaches.
Eating disorder professionals are looking to give back self-love, self-awareness, joy, pleasure, aliveness, and passion when it comes to eating.
